מֶ֫לֶךְ
king
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-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).
24 verses where H4428 appears in the Absolute state in the Book of Nehemiah. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
Nehemiah
- Nehemiah 1:11 לַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ prep det + n c ms Lord, I beg you, let now your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cup bearer to the king.
- Nehemiah 2:1 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ לַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms prep det + n c ms It happened in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been [before] sad in his presence.
- Nehemiah 2:2 הַ/מֶּ֜לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.
- Nehemiah 2:3 לַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms I said to the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and the gates of it are consumed with fire?
- Nehemiah 2:4 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Then the king said to me, For what do you make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
- Nehemiah 2:5 לַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant have found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may build it.
- Nehemiah 2:6 הַ/מֶּ֜לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
- Nehemiah 2:7 לַ/מֶּלֶךְ֒ הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah;
- Nehemiah 2:8 לַ/מֶּ֗לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God on me.
- Nehemiah 2:9 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.
- Nehemiah 2:14 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Then I went on to the spring gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass.
- Nehemiah 2:18 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. They said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good [work].
- Nehemiah 2:19 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they ridiculed us, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you do? will you rebel against the king?
- Nehemiah 3:15 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The spring gate repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors of it, the bolts of it, and the bars of it, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, even to the stairs that go down from the city of David.
- Nehemiah 3:25 הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms Palal the son of Uzai [repaired] over against the turning [of the wall], and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [repaired].
- Nehemiah 5:4 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute [on] our fields and our vineyards.
- Nehemiah 5:14 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that is], twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bread of the governor.
- Nehemiah 6:6 לְ/מֶ֔לֶךְ prep + n c ms in which was written, It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause you are building the wall: and you would be their king, according to these words.
- Nehemiah 6:7 מֶ֚לֶךְ לַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ n c ms prep det + n c ms You have also appointed prophets to preach of you at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.
- Nehemiah 9:37 לַ/מְּלָכִ֛ים prep det + n c mp It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
- Nehemiah 11:23 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms For there was a commandment from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required.
- Nehemiah 11:24 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.
- Nehemiah 13:6 מֶֽלֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ n c ms cs ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms But in all this [time] I was not at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king: and after certain days asked I leave of the king,
- Nehemiah 13:26 מֶ֣לֶךְ מֶ֜לֶךְ מֶ֖לֶךְ n c ms cs n c ms n c ms Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin.
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.
