מֶ֫לֶךְ
king
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Page 2 of 2 — showing verses 201–268 of 268 distinct verses where H4428 appears in the Book of 2 Kings. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
2 Kings
- 2 Kings 19:11 מַלְכֵ֥י n c mp cs Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shall you be delivered?
- 2 Kings 19:13 מֶֽלֶךְ וּ/מֶ֣לֶךְ וּ/מֶ֖לֶךְ n c ms cs conj + n c ms cs conj + n c ms cs Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?
- 2 Kings 19:17 מַלְכֵ֥י n c mp cs Of a truth, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
- 2 Kings 19:20 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Whereas you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard [you].
- 2 Kings 19:32 מֶ֣לֶךְ n c ms cs Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.
- 2 Kings 19:36 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and lived at Nineveh.
- 2 Kings 20:6 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs I will add to your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
- 2 Kings 20:12 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
- 2 Kings 20:14 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What said these men? and from whence came they to you? Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.
- 2 Kings 20:18 מֶ֥לֶךְ n c ms cs Of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you shall father, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
- 2 Kings 20:20 לְ/מַלְכֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 21:3 מֶ֣לֶךְ n c ms cs For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of the sky, and served them.
- 2 Kings 21:11 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols;
- 2 Kings 21:17 לְ/מַלְכֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 21:23 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.
- 2 Kings 21:24 הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
- 2 Kings 21:25 לְ/מַלְכֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 22:3 לַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ הַ֠/מֶּלֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms It happened in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying,
- 2 Kings 22:9 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 22:10 לַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has delivered me a book. Shaphan read it before the king.
- 2 Kings 22:11 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms It happened, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.
- 2 Kings 22:12 הַ/מֶּ֡לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms The king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
- 2 Kings 22:16 מֶ֥לֶךְ n c ms cs Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will bring evil on this place, and on the inhabitants of it, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.
- 2 Kings 22:18 מֶ֣לֶךְ n c ms cs But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Yahweh, thus shall you tell him, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: As touching the words which you have heard,
- 2 Kings 22:20 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place. They brought the king word again.
- 2 Kings 23:1 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 23:2 הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 23:3 הַ֠/מֶּלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all [his] heart, and all [his] soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant.
- 2 Kings 23:4 הַ/מֶּ֡לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
- 2 Kings 23:5 מַלְכֵ֣י n c mp cs He put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of the sky.
- 2 Kings 23:11 מַלְכֵ֨י n c mp cs He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
- 2 Kings 23:12 מַלְכֵ֣י הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ n c mp cs ptcl def.art + n c ms The altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, did the king break down, and beat [them] down from there, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
- 2 Kings 23:13 מֶֽלֶךְ הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ n c ms cs ptcl def.art + n c ms The high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
- 2 Kings 23:19 מַלְכֵ֤י n c mp cs All the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [Yahweh] to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
- 2 Kings 23:21 הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.
- 2 Kings 23:22 מַלְכֵ֥י וּ/מַלְכֵ֥י n c mp cs conj + n c mp cs Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;
- 2 Kings 23:23 לַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ prep det + n c ms but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this Passover kept to Yahweh in Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 23:25 מֶ֗לֶךְ n c ms Like him was there no king before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
- 2 Kings 23:28 לְ/מַלְכֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 23:29 מֶֽלֶךְ מֶ֥לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֤לֶךְ n c ms cs n c ms cs ptcl def.art + n c ms In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and [Pharaoh Necoh] killed him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
- 2 Kings 24:1 מֶ֣לֶךְ n c ms cs In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
- 2 Kings 24:5 לְ/מַלְכֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 24:7 מֶ֣לֶךְ מֶ֣לֶךְ לְ/מֶ֥לֶךְ n c ms cs n c ms cs prep + n c ms cs The king of Egypt didn't come again out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
- 2 Kings 24:10 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
- 2 Kings 24:11 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it;
- 2 Kings 24:12 מֶֽלֶךְ מֶ֣לֶךְ מֶ֣לֶךְ n c ms cs n c ms cs n c ms cs and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
- 2 Kings 24:13 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ מֶֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms n c ms cs He carried out there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had said.
- 2 Kings 24:15 הַ֠/מֶּלֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֜לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- 2 Kings 24:16 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
- 2 Kings 24:17 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, [Jehoiachin's] father's brother, king is his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
- 2 Kings 24:20 בְּ/מֶ֥לֶךְ prep + n c ms cs For through the anger of Yahweh did it happen in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
- 2 Kings 25:1 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
- 2 Kings 25:2 לַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ prep det + n c ms So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
- 2 Kings 25:4 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and [the king] went by the way of the Arabah.
- 2 Kings 25:5 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
- 2 Kings 25:6 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ מֶ֥לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms n c ms cs Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment on him.
- 2 Kings 25:8 לַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ מֶֽלֶךְ מֶֽלֶךְ prep det + n c ms n c ms cs n c ms cs Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 25:9 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms He burnt the house of Yahweh, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire.
- 2 Kings 25:11 הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The residue of the people who were left in the city, and those who fell away, who fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away captive.
- 2 Kings 25:19 הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city.
- 2 Kings 25:20 מֶ֥לֶךְ n c ms cs Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
- 2 Kings 25:21 מֶ֨לֶךְ n c ms cs The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
- 2 Kings 25:22 מֶ֣לֶךְ n c ms cs As for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor.
- 2 Kings 25:23 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
- 2 Kings 25:24 מֶ֥לֶךְ n c ms cs Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Don't be afraid because of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
- 2 Kings 25:27 מֶֽלֶךְ מֶ֨לֶךְ מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms cs n c ms cs n c ms cs It happened in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
- 2 Kings 25:28 הַ/מְּלָכִ֛ים ptcl def.art + n c mp and he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon,
- 2 Kings 25:30 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
מלך — transliterated melek — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “king.” Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 14:1. It appears 1,919 verses across 35 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its most common vocabulary. It shares a root with מלך, מלוכה and מלך. See the sense tree, 1,919-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4428 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 1,919
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 1,919 distinct verses.
- 35 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 35 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #15
- by frequency
- Top 25 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 15 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 1,919 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- 2 Kings 268 verses 14%
- 1 Kings 231 verses 12%
- 2 Chronicles 218 verses 11%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 1,919 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,231 verses · 64%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 613 verses · 32%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 75 verses · 4%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: King 1,741×, Kings 202×, King's 187×
- American Standard Version†: King 1,824×, Kings 192×, All the kings 24×
- Berean Standard Bible†: King 1,732×, Kings 261×, King’s 120×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: King 1,322×, King of 697×, Kings of 130×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4428 across 2,523† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 173 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H4428 across 2,522† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 225 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H4428 across 2,406† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 86 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 118 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4428 across 2,390† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 37 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
9 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 9 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
מלך I king (NH id.
- 1. king: of Egypt Gn 39:20 f. Ex 1:8 f. Dt 11:3 1 K 3:1; of Mesopotamia, Shinar, Assyrian, Babyl., Pers., etc. Ju 3:8, 10 Gn 14:1 f. 2 K 15:19, 20, 29; 17:3 f.; 18:13 f.; 24:1, 11 f. Ezr 1:1 f.; 4:3 f. Est 1:2 +, 1 K 11:18, 40; 14:25 2 K 17:4 f.; 23:29 +; of Canaan, Philist., Edom, Moab, etc. (often of single city): Gn 14:2 f. v 18; 20:2; 26:1, 8; 36:31 Nu 20:14; 21:1 f.; 22:4, 10 Dt 1:4; 3:1 f. Jos 2:2 (often in Jos), Ju 1:7; 5:19; 8:5, 12; 11:12 f.; 2 K 3:4 f. +; of Aram, Hamath, etc. 2 S 8:3 f. v 9 1 K 15:18; 20:1 f.; 22:3 2 K 5:1 f.; 8:7 f v 29; 9:14, 15; 15:37; 16:5 f. +; of Tyre, etc. 2 S 5:11; 1 K 5:15; 9:11; 16 +, etc.; especially of Israel (undivided, and of both divisions) Gn 36:31 Nu 23:21; 24:7 Dt 17:14 f. Ju 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25; 1 S 2:10; 8:5 f. 2 S 2:4 f. 1 K 1:33, 34 f. + very often; cf. also Ju 9:5.—2 S 18:29b del. הַמּ׳ We Klo Dr Kit Bu. Note that in early books המלך דוד is nearly always said; in late books usually דוד (שׁלמה וגו׳) המלך; cf. Aramaic כּוֹרֶשׁ מַלְכָּא, etc. e.g. Genesis 39:20
- 2. of Davidic king, as under divine protection, 1 S 2:10 (‖ מְשִׁיחוֹ), ψ 2:6; 18:51; 89:19; 61:7, cf. 99:4; so in (Messianic) prediction Ho 3:5 Is 32:1 Je 23:5 Ez 37:22, 24 Zc 9:9. e.g. 1 Samuel 2:10
- 3. used of י׳ as king of Israel 1 S 12:12; poet. Dt 33:5 cf. ψ 5:3; 10:16; 29:10; 44:5; 48:3; 68:25; 74:12; 84:4; 145:1; 149:2 Is 41:21; 43:15; 44:6 Zp 3:15; מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד ψ 24:7, 8, 9, 10(×2); universal king ψ 47:3, 8; 95:3; 98:6 Je 10:7, 10, cf. 46:18; 48:15; 51:57 Zc 14:9, 16, 17 Mal 1:14; of false god Am 5:26. e.g. 1 Samuel 12:12
- 4. in fable, king of trees Ju 9:8, 15; fig. of crocodile Jb 41:26; מ׳ אֵין לָאַרְבֶּה Pr 30:27; of death, מֶלָךְ בַּלָּהוֹת Jb 18:14. e.g. Judges 9:8
- 5. combinations are:—
- a. הַמּ׳ הַגָּדוֹל 2 K 18:19, 28 = Is 36:4, 13 (of Assyrian king: cf. Assyrian šarru rabû); מ׳ גָּדוֹל Ec 9:14 (indef.); of י׳ Mal 1:14, מ׳ ג׳ עַל־כל־אלהים ψ 95:3; עוֹלָם מ׳ Je 10:10 (of י׳); מ׳ מְלָכִים Ez 26:7 (king of Babyl.) e.g. 2 Kings 18:19
- b. יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ 1 S 10:24 2 S 16:16(×2) 1 K 1:34, 39 2 K 11:12 2 Ch 23:11; מֶלָךְ בירושׁלם Ec 1:1, cf. 1 Sa 15:26; 2 S 5:2 1 K 14:2 1 Ch 29:25 2 S 2:11 (היה מ׳ בחברון על־) 1 K 11:37 2 Ch 28:4 Ec 1:12. e.g. 1 Samuel 10:24
- c. following a very (one or two acc.) שִׂים מ׳ על Dt 17:14, 15(×2) 1 S 10:19; שִׂים לָנוּ מ׳ 1 S 8:5; שִׂים לְמ׳ 1 K 10:9; נָתַן מ׳ לְ 1 S 8:6 Ho 13:10, 11; נָתַן עַל 1 S 12:13 2 Ch 2:10 Ne 9:37; 13:26; הִמְלִיךְ לְמֶלֶךְ Ju 9:6 1 S 15:11; הִמְלִיךְ מ׳ על 1 S 12:1; הִמְלִיךְ מ׳ לְ 1 S 8:22; מָשַׁח מ׳ עַל Ju 9:8; מָשַׁח לְמ׳ 1 K 1:45; מָשַׁח לְמ׳ עַל Ju 9:15 1 S 15:1, 17; 2 S 2:4; 5:3, 12; 12:7 1 K 1:34 1 Ch 11:3; 14:8; מ׳ יִהְיֶה על 1 S 8:19; בִּקֵּשׁ למ׳ על 2 S 3:17; הֵכִין לְמ׳ על 2 S 5:12 1 Ch 14:2; הֵקִים מ׳ על 1 K 14:14 Dt 28:36; יָשַׁב עַל־כִּסֵּא י׳ לְמ׳ תַּחַת וגו׳ 1 Ch 29:23, cf. Pr 20:8; נָתַן עַל־כִּסֵּא לְמ׳ לְי׳ אלהיך 2 Ch 9:8. e.g. Deuteronomy 17:14
- d. מַעֲדַנֵּי־מֶלֶךְ Gn 49:20 royal dainties, fig.; מִשְׁתֵּה הַמּ׳ 1 S 25:36 royal feast (in sim.); אֶבֶן הַמּ׳ 2 S 14:26 king’s weight; יַד־הַמּ׳ 1 K 10:13 royal bounty (in sim.); גִּזֵּי הַמּ׳ Am 7:1 king’s mowings; מִקְדַּשׁ מ׳ Am 7:13 royal sanctuary; עֲטֶרֶת מַלְכָּם 2 S 12:30 crown of their king = 1 Ch 20:2 (but read מִלְכֹּם 𝔊 We Klo Dr Kit Kau—not Bu KitChr. Hpt); cf. also בַּיִת, עֵמֶק, גַּן, שָׁוֵה, etc.—N.pr. אבימלך, אחימלך, אלימלך, נתן מלך, עבד מלך, v. sub אב, אח, etc. e.g. Genesis 49:20
מלך II m. son of Micah, a Benjamite (on מ׳ as individ. name v. GrayProp. N. 116, 112 n. 4
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. king (NH id.; MI 1.5.10.18.23 מלך; 1:4 המלכן; Ph. מלך; Zinj. מלך DHMSendsch. 60; Assyrian maliku, malku, prince (Assyrian šarru = king); Arabic مَلِكٌ king (orig. Heb. מַלִךְ inferred, LagBN 73 BaNB § 112 WMMAs. u. Europ. 76); Sab. מלכן SabDenkmNo. 1; cstr. מלך, pl. אמלך CISiv. 37; cf. Ethiopic አምላክ God (and Nöl.c.); Aramaic ܡܠܶܟ, מְלֵיךְ; Palm. מלך מלכא VogNo. 28; Nab. מלכא EutNab. 1);—מ׳ abs. Gn 36:31 + (ins. also 2 S 13:17 𝔊 Th We Dr Kit Bu, and v 34 𝔊 We Dr Kit Bu); in p. always מֶ֑לֶךְ Gn 49:20 + 238 times (so also n.pr. in -מֶלֶךְ); cstr. Gn 14:1 +; sf. מַלְכִּי 2 S 19:44 + 6 times, etc.; pl. מְלָכִים Gn 14:9 +; מְלָכִין Pr 31:3; cstr. מַלְכֵי Gn 17:6 +; sf. מְלָכֶיהָ Is 7:16 + 3 times; מַלְכֵיהֶם Dt 7:24 + 16 times, etc.;—
II. n.pr.m. son of Micah, a Benjamite (on מ׳ as individ. name v. GrayProp. N. 116, 112 n. 4; cf. Ph. n.pr. מלך (v. Bloch); Sab. n.pr. מלכם CIS iv. 1; Palm. n.pr. מלכו VogPalm. 92 al. Nab. id., EutNab 21, 4 al. VogNab. 1, 2);—1 Ch 8:35 (𝔊 Μελχηλ), 9:41 (𝔊 Μαλαχ; 𝔊L Μελχιηλ in both).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from מלך (mâlak) (H4427) — to reign.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
*מַלָּךְ
- (= מַה לָךְ) what is it to thee?; of no practical value. Sabb. 150ᵃ sq. חשבונות של מ׳ ושל מה בכך (Ms. M. מה לך, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) accounts of ‘what is it to thee?’ and of ‘what is in it?’, i.e. for no practical purpose. [Oth. opin., v. Ar.]
מָלַךְ
- (b. h.) [to lead in council,] to preside; to officiate; to be ruler. B. Bath. 164ᵇ מ׳ שנה מונין לו שתים when he has been in office one year, they date (in documents) ‘the second year’. Meg. 11ᵃ (ref. to המֹלֵךְ, Esth. I, 1) מ׳ מעצמו started a dynasty with himself (had no claims of succession). Ib. מָלְכוּ בכיפה, v. כִּיפָּה. Zeb. 118ᵇ עשרה שנה שמ׳ וכ׳ ten years during which Samuel ruled alone, ושנה שמ׳ שאול וכ׳ and one year during which Saul and Samuel ruled conjointly; Tem. 15ᵃ; a. fr. e.g. Esther 1:1
- [to be led,]
- 1. to take council, to ask advice or permission. Ber. 3ᵇ נִמְלָכִין בסנהדרין they ask the Sanhedrin for their confirmation. Ib. 4ᵃ כל מה … אני נ׳ במפיבשת וכ׳ in whatever I undertake, I consult the opinion of M., my teacher. Ib. 29ᵇ וכשאתה … הִמָּלֵךְ בקונך וצא and when thou art about to go on a journey, take council of thy Maker (pray) and go out. B. Mets. 14ᵃ צריך לִימָּלֵךְ the scribe must ask for authorization (to insert in the contract); a. fr.
- 2. [to take council with one’s self,] to reconsider, change one’s mind. Gitt. III, 1. Dem. III, 2 הלוקח … ונ׳ להחזיר if one buys vegetables …. and then decides to return (the goods). Ib. 3 נטלן לאוכלן ונ׳ להצניע if he took them up to eat them and changed his mind (deciding) to keep them; a. fr.
- to appoint or elect for rulership, to acknowledge the authority of. Snh. 64ᵃ שהִמְלִיכוּהוּ עליהם, v. מוֹלֶךְ. Y. Ned. IX, beg. 41ᵇ (ref. to Ps. LXXXI, 10) זר שבקרבך אל תַּמְלִיכֵהוּ עליך allow not the tyrant within thee (the evil inclination) to rule over thee. Ab. Zar. 18ᵃ אומה זו מן השמים הִמְלִיכוּהָ this (Roman) nation has been given the rulership by divine decree. R. Hash. 16ᵃ אמרו לפני … מלכיות שתַּמְלִיכוּנִי עליכם recite before me verses of homage (v. מַלְכוּת), in order that you may declare me your ruler; a. fr. e.g. Psalms 81:10
מְלַךְ
- 1. to rule. Targ. Gen. XXXVII, 8; a. fr.—Part. מָלִיךְ. Targ. Jer. XXXIII, 21 (ed. Wil. מְלִיךְ, corr. acc.); a. fr.—Ab. Zar. 10ᵃ בעינא דיִמְלַךְ וכ׳ I desire that my son Severus be king after me; ib. דיִמְלוֹךְ.—Ber. 64ᵃ מ׳ רבה Rabbah officiated (as teacher and judge); a. fr.
- 2. (mostly מליך) to decide. Targ. Is. XIV, 27. Ib. XXIII, 8 (ed. Ven. מַלִּיךְ). Ib. 9 מִילְכָהּ ed. Lag. (some ed. מלכא, read: מִלְכָהּ); a. fr.—Part. pass. מְלִיךְ. Ib. XIV, 26; a. e.
- 3. to advise. Targ. II Sam. XVII, 7. Targ. I Kings I, 12; a. fr.
- 1. to advise. Targ. Job XXVI, 3.
- 2. to decide, v. supra.
- 1. = preced. = preced. Hif. Targ. I Kings III, 7; a. fr.
- 2. to counsel, persuade. Targ. Josh. XV, 18. Targ. Y. Deut. XXX, 6; a. e.—[Targ. Prov. VIII, 15 מַמְלְכִין ed. Lag. rule (oth. ed. מלכין).]
- , אִמְּ׳ = preced. Nif.—Targ. Is. XXXII, 7; a. fr.—B. Bath. 4ᵃ בתר דעבדין מִתְמַלְּכִין do people ask for advice (or permission) after they have acted? Ber. 27ᵇ אִימְּלִיךְ וכ׳ consult my family. Ib. אזיל ואִמְּ׳ וכ׳ he went and consulted his wife. Ned. 54ᵃ כל מילתא דצריך שליחא לאִמְּלוּכֵי וכ׳ any change of order for which the messenger has to ask special authorization, is heterogeneous (to the object of the original commission); כל מילתא דמִימְּלִיךְ שליח עלה וכ׳ a change for which the messenger asks for instructions is homogeneous. Sot. 43ᵇ אי אימ׳ עלה if he reconsiders his original disposal; a. fr.
מֶלֶךְ
- preced.) leader in council, chief, king. Ber. 3ᵇ אדוננו המ׳ our lord the king! Tosef. Snh. VIII, 5, a. fr. מ׳ מלכי המלכים the Most Supreme King (the Lord). Ib. IX, 8 אפי׳ מ׳ של מלכים even a king of kings (great sovereign). Snh. 38ᵃ, a. fr. מ׳ בו"ד (v. בָּשָׂר) a human chief. Ab. Zar. 10ᵃ אין מושיבין מ׳ בן מ׳ they (the Romans) do not allow the son of a king to succeed his father. Kerith. 5ᵇ מ׳ ראשון a first king, starter of a dynasty. Shebu. 6ᵇ מַלְכֹּו של זה this hyparch’s chief. Num. R. s. 18 משה מ׳ וכ׳ Moses has made himself the chief, and Aaron is high priest &c.; a. v. fr.—Pl. מְלָכִים. Hor. 12ᵃ כיצד מושחין את המ׳ וכ׳ how are kings anointed? By drawing with the oil the outlines of a crown; Ker. 5ᵇ. Ib. מַלְכֵי בית דוד the kings of the house of David (southern kingdom); מ׳ ישראל the kings of the northern kingdom; a. v. fr.—בַּת מְ׳ Princess, name of a demon afflicting the eye, also a certain disorder of the eye, v. בַּת I. Sabb. 109ᵃ (Var. בת חורין, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note).—Pl. בנות מֶלֶךְ. Tosef. B. Kam. IX, 27 יצאו בנות מ׳ the ‘princesses’ (humors of the eye) escaped (in consequence of a blow).
מֶלֶךְ ²
- Targ. Ps. XXIV, 7; 9. Targ. Ex. I, 8; a. fr.—Snh. 110ᵃ איהו הוה מ׳ he (Moses) himself is chief. Y. Yeb. XVI, 15ᶜ, v. אָרְסְקִינָס. Y. Ter. VIII, 46ᵇ bot. אתעביד מ׳ he (Dioclet) became king; a. fr.—Pl. מַלְכֵין, מַלְכַיָּא, מַלְכֵי. Targ. Gen. XVII, 6. Ib. XIV, 5. Targ. Prov. VIII, 15; a. fr.—Gitt. 62ᵃ שלמא עלייכו מ׳ (to scholars) peace be with you, chiefs!—Shebu. 6ᵇ תרי מ׳ וכ׳ two kings and two viceroys (hyparchs); a. fr.
מֵלַךְ
- (preced. wds.) counsel, advice. Targ. Is. III, 3. Targ. Y. Deut. VIII, 18 (O. עצה; h. text כֹּחַ); a. fr.—Pl. מִלְכִין, מִלְכַיָּא, מִי׳. Targ. Is. XXV, 1. Targ. Job XII, 17 (not מַ׳). Targ. Hos. X, 6; a. e.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 242 distinct written forms H4428 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 182 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4428, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- מלוכה mᵉlûwkâh H4410 kingship
- מלך mᵉlak H4431 counsel
- מלכות malkûwth H4438 kingdom
- מלכת mᵉleketh H4446 queen
- ממלכה mamlâkâh H4467 kingdom
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- ימלך Yamlêk H3230 Jamlech
- מלוך Mallûwk H4409 Malluch
- מלך Môlek H4432 Molech
- מלכת Môleketh H4447 Hammoleketh
- מלך Melek H4429 Melech
- מלכיאל Malkîyʼêl H4439 Malchiel
- מלכיה Malkîyâh H4441 Malchijah
- מלכיצדק Malkîy-Tsedeq H4442 Melchizedek
- מלכירם Malkîyrâm H4443 Malchiram
- מלכישוע Malkîyshûwaʻ H4444 Malchishua
- מלכם Malkâm H4445 Milcom
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 20 — not the complete family. 11 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1,799 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 1,919 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 14:1
- Exodus 1:8
- Numbers 20:14
- Deuteronomy 1:4
- Joshua 2:2
- Judges 1:7
- 1 Samuel 2:10
- 2 Samuel 2:4
- 1 Kings 1:1
- 2 Kings 1:3
- 1 Chronicles 3:2
- 2 Chronicles 1:12
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.