מַלְכוּת
kingdom
also: royalty, royal power, reign, sovereign power fuller range ↓
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
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct 71 times (78%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute 19 times (21%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Absolute 1 time (1%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 91 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H4438 appears — 82 distinct verses across 12 books. 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.
Numbers 1 verse
1 Samuel 1 verse
1 Kings 1 verse
1 Chronicles 11 verses
- 1 Chronicles 11:10 בְ/מַלְכוּת֛/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Now these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who shown themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of Yahweh concerning Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 12:23 מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs These are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of Yahweh.
- 1 Chronicles 14:2 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms David perceived that Yahweh had established him king over Israel; for his kingdom was exalted on high, for his people Israel's sake.
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It shall happen, when your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
- 1 Chronicles 17:14 וּ/בְ/מַלְכוּתִ֖/י conj + prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.
- 1 Chronicles 22:10 מַלְכוּת֛/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
- 1 Chronicles 26:31 לְ/מַלְכ֤וּת prep + n c fs cs Of the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even of the Hebronites, according to their generations by fathers' [houses]. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Jazer of Gilead.
- 1 Chronicles 28:5 מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 28:7 מַלְכוּת֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms I will establish his kingdom forever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my ordinances, as at this day.
- 1 Chronicles 29:25 מַלְכ֔וּת n c fs Yahweh magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 29:30 מַלְכוּת֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms with all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.
2 Chronicles 17 verses
- 2 Chronicles 1:1 מַלְכוּת֑/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and Yahweh his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
- 2 Chronicles 2:1 לְ/מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of Yahweh, and a house for his kingdom.
- 2 Chronicles 2:12 לְ/מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Huram said moreover, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for Yahweh, and a house for his kingdom.
- 2 Chronicles 3:2 לְ/מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms He began to build in the second [day] of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
- 2 Chronicles 7:18 מַלְכוּתֶ֑/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 11:17 מַלְכ֣וּת n c fs cs So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
- 2 Chronicles 12:1 מַלְכ֤וּת n c fs cs It happened, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of Yahweh, and all Israel with him.
- 2 Chronicles 15:10 לְ/מַלְכ֥וּת prep + n c fs cs So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
- 2 Chronicles 15:19 לְ/מַלְכ֥וּת prep + n c fs cs There was no more war to the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
- 2 Chronicles 16:1 לְ/מַלְכ֣וּת prep + n c fs cs In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 16:12 לְ/מַלְכוּת/וֹ֙ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he didn't seek Yahweh, but to the physicians.
- 2 Chronicles 20:30 מַלְכ֣וּת n c fs cs So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.
- 2 Chronicles 29:19 בְּ/מַלְכוּת֛/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.
- 2 Chronicles 33:13 לְ/מַלְכוּת֑/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms He prayed to him; and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh he was God.
- 2 Chronicles 35:19 לְ/מַלְכ֖וּת prep + n c fs cs In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this Passover kept.
- 2 Chronicles 36:20 מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs Those who had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
Ezra 5 verses
- Ezra 1:1 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
- Ezra 4:5 מַלְכ֖וּת n c fs cs and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
- Ezra 4:6 וּ/בְ/מַלְכוּת֙ מַלְכוּת֑/וֹ conj + prep + n c fs cs n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
- Ezra 7:1 בְּ/מַלְכ֖וּת prep + n c fs cs Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
- Ezra 8:1 בְּ/מַלְכ֛וּת prep + n c fs cs Now these are the heads of their fathers' [houses], and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:
Nehemiah 2 verses
- Nehemiah 9:35 בְּ/מַלְכוּתָ/ם֩ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3mp For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and fat land which you gave before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
- Nehemiah 12:22 מַלְכ֖וּת n c fs cs As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of fathers' [houses]; also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian.
Esther 21 verses
- Esther 1:2 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,
- Esther 1:4 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms when he shown the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even one hundred eighty days.
- Esther 1:7 מַלְכ֛וּת n c fs They gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king.
- Esther 1:9 הַ/מַּלְכ֔וּת ptcl def.art + n c fs Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
- Esther 1:11 מַלְכ֑וּת n c fs to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was beautiful to look on.
- Esther 1:14 בַּ/מַּלְכֽוּת prep det + n c fs and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom),
- Esther 1:19 מַלְכוּת֙ וּ/מַלְכוּתָ/הּ֙ n c fs conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3fs If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it not be altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another who is better than she.
- Esther 1:20 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms When the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and small.
- Esther 2:3 מַלְכוּת/וֹ֒ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;
- Esther 2:16 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ לְ/מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms So Esther was taken to king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
- Esther 2:17 מַלְכוּת֙ n c fs The king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
- Esther 3:6 מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs But he scorned the thought of laying hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai: therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
- Esther 3:8 מַלְכוּתֶ֑/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; and their laws are diverse from [those of] every people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to allow them.
- Esther 4:14 לַ/מַּלְכֽוּת prep det + n c fs For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish: and who knows whether you haven't come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
- Esther 5:1 מַלְכ֔וּת מַלְכוּת/וֹ֙ הַ/מַּלְכ֔וּת n c fs n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms ptcl def.art + n c fs Now it happened on the third day, that Esther put on her royal clothing, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house.
- Esther 5:3 הַ/מַּלְכ֖וּת ptcl def.art + n c fs Then said the king to her, What will you, queen Esther? and what is your request? it shall be given you even to the half of the kingdom.
- Esther 5:6 הַ/מַּלְכ֖וּת ptcl def.art + n c fs The king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, What is your petition? and it shall be granted you: and what is your request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
- Esther 6:8 מַלְכ֔וּת מַלְכ֖וּת n c fs n c fs let royal clothing be brought which the king uses to wear, and the horse that the king rides on, and on the head of which a crown royal is set:
- Esther 7:2 הַ/מַּלְכ֖וּת ptcl def.art + n c fs The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is your petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted you: and what is your request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
- Esther 8:15 מַלְכוּת֙ n c fs cs Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan shouted and was glad.
- Esther 9:30 מַלְכ֖וּת n c fs cs He sent letters to all the Jews, to the hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, [with] words of peace and truth,
Psalms 5 verses
- Psalms 45:6 מַלְכוּתֶֽ/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
- Psalms 103:19 וּ֝/מַלְכוּת֗/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.
- Psalms 145:11 מַלְכוּתְ/ךָ֣ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, And talk about your power;
- Psalms 145:12 מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, The glory of the majesty of his kingdom.
- Psalms 145:13 מַֽלְכוּתְ/ךָ֗ מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms n c fs cs Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Jeremiah 3 verses
- Jeremiah 10:7 מַלְכוּתָ֖/ם n c fs cs + sfx pers 3mp Who should not fear you, King of the nations? for to you does it appertain; because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like you.
- Jeremiah 49:34 מַלְכ֛וּת n c fs cs The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
- Jeremiah 52:31 מַלְכֻת֗/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the [first] year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison;
Daniel 14 verses
- Daniel 1:1 לְ/מַלְכ֖וּת prep + n c fs cs In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and besieged it.
- Daniel 1:20 מַלְכוּתֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.
- Daniel 2:1 לְ/מַלְכוּת֙ prep + n c fs cs In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
- Daniel 8:1 לְ/מַלְכ֖וּת prep + n c fs cs In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.
- Daniel 8:22 מַלְכֻי֛וֹת n c fp As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
- Daniel 8:23 מַלְכוּתָ֔/ם n c fs cs + sfx pers 3mp In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
- Daniel 9:1 מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
- Daniel 10:13 מַלְכ֣וּת n c fs cs But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
- Daniel 11:2 מַלְכ֥וּת n c fs cs Now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he has grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
- Daniel 11:4 מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ מַלְכוּת֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms When he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the sky, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these.
- Daniel 11:9 בְּ/מַלְכוּת֙ prep + n c fs He shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.
- Daniel 11:17 מַלְכוּת֛/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him.
- Daniel 11:20 מַלְכ֑וּת n c fs Then shall stand up in his place one who shall cause a tax collector to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
- Daniel 11:21 מַלְכ֑וּת מַלְכ֖וּת n c fs n c fs In his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
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.
The Hebrew noun מלכות centers on the idea of “kingdom.” Alongside “kingdom” the lexicon also lists “royalty”, “royal power”, and “reign” — part of its full sense range. Spanning 82 verses in 12 books, it ranks among the moderately common words of the Hebrew Bible. Esther dominates its distribution — 21 of 82 verses. Debuting at Numbers 24:7, it then recurs through the corpus. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4438 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 →
- 82
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 82 distinct verses.
- 12 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 12 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #455
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 455 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 82 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Esther 21 verses 26%
- 2 Chronicles 17 verses 21%
- Daniel 14 verses 17%
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 82 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 76 verses · 93%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 5 verses · 6%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1 verse · 1%
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).
- King James Version: Kingdom 43×, Reign 19×, Royal 12×
- American Standard Version: Kingdom 40×, Reign 18×, Royal 11×
- Berean Standard Bible: Kingdom 44×, Royal 17×, Reign 16×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Kingdom 38×, Royalty 14×, Reign of 13×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4438 across 91 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 15 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 H4438 across 93 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 17 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 H4438 across 88 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 7 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 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4438 across 95 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 6 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
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 3 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.
- 1. royal power, dominion Nu 24:7 (c. תִּנַּשֵּׂא), 1 S 20:31 (c. תִּכּוֹן), 1 K 2:12 (c. id.); cf. Je 10:7 Ec 4:14; 1 Ch 11:10; 12:23; 29:30 (‖ גְּבוּרָה), 2 Ch 33:13 Est 1:19, royal (queenly) dignity 4:14; 1 Ch 14:2 (c. נִשֵּׂאת); c. לָכַד Dn 11:21; c. הֵכִין (subj. י׳) 1 Ch 17:11; 28:7; 2 Ch 12:1 (subj. Rehob.); Isr. royalty as belonging to י׳ 1 Ch 17:14; dominion of י׳ ψ 103:19 (c. מָֽשְׁלָה), ψ 145:13(×2); כְּבוֹד מ׳ v 11; כְּבוֹד הֲדַר מ׳ v 12; שֵׁבֶט מ׳ ψ 45:7; כִּסֵּא מ׳ 1 Ch 22:10; 28:5 2 Ch 7:18; of Pers. Est 1:2; 5:1; בַּיִת לְמ׳ 2 Ch 1:18; 2:11; בֵּית מ׳ Est 1:9; 2:16; 5:1 (cf. Assyrian bit šarruti DlHWB 171); יֵין מ׳ royal wine Est 1:7; דְּבַר מ׳ royal command Est 1:19; הוֹד מ׳ royal honour, majesty 1 Ch 29:25 Dn 11:21; so perhaps also הֶדֶר מ׳ Dn 11:20 v. Bev; עשֶׁר כְּבוֹד מ׳ Est 1:4; כֶּתֶר מ׳ royal crown Est 1:11; 2:17; 6:8; לְבוּשׁ מ׳ royal apparel Est 6:8; 8:15; מ׳ (לְבוּשׁ om.) Est 5:1 (queenly attire). e.g. Numbers 24:7
- 2. reign: 40th year of reign of David 1 Ch 26:31 cf. 2 Ch 3:2; 15:10, 19; 16:1, 12; 35:19 Je 49:34 Dn 1:1; also 2 Ch 29:19; of Babyl. and Pers. kings Je 52:31 (בִּשְׁנַת מ׳ ‖ 2 K 25:27 מָלְכוֹ) Dn 2:1; 8:1 Ezr 4:5, 6(×2) 7:1; 8:1 Ne 12:22 Est 2:16; cf. עַד־מְלֹךְ מַלְכוּת פָּרָס 2 Ch 36:20. e.g. 1 Chronicles 26:31
- 3. kingdom, realm 2 Ch 1:1; 11:17; 20:30 Ne 9:35; especially realm of Babyl. and Pers. 2 Ch 36:22 = Ezr 1:1, Est 1:14, 20; 2:3; 3:6, 8; 5:3, 6; 7:2; 9:30 Dn 1:20; 8:22, 23; 9:1; 10:13; cf. 11:2, 4(×2), 9, 17; v 20 הֶדֶר מ׳ = Jerus. according to Hi, but v. 1 supr. e.g. 2 Chronicles 1:1
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
n.f. royalty, royal power, reign, kingdom (chiefly late);—מ׳ abs. Est 1:9 +; cstr. 1 Ch 12:23 +; sf. מַלְכוּתִי 1 Ch 17:14, etc.; pl. מַלְכֻיּוֹת Dn 8:22;—
— 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.
מַלְכוּת
- 1. kingdom, government; office. Ab. III, 5 עול מ׳ the yoke of (secular) government (burden of office). Ber. 13ᵇ, a. fr. עול מ׳ שמים the yoke of (submission to) divine government. Gitt. VIII, 5, v. הוּגָּן. Ber. 48ᵇ, a. e. אין מ׳ נוגעת וכ׳, v. חָבֵר. Sot. 11ᵇ (ref. to בתים, Ex. I, 21) בתי מ׳ dynasties.—מרד במ׳ to rebel against the government, to commit treason. Snh. 49ᵃ; a. fr.—מ׳ הָרִשְׁעָה the wicked government (Rome). Ber. 61ᵇ Ms. M. a. early ed. (later ed. יון); a. fr.—קרוב למ׳ connected with the court (influential). B. Kam. 83ᵃ. Gitt. 14ᵇ; a. fr.—Pl. מַלְכִיּוֹת. Gen. R. s. 44 ארבעה … גיהינם ומ׳ וכ׳ the Lord showed him (Abraham) four things: future punishment, (persecution by foreign) governments &c.; Mekh. Yithro, s. 9 ארבע מ׳ וכ׳ the four empires which were destined to subject his descendants. Ber. 34ᵇ, a. e. אין בין … אלא שעבוד מ׳ מלבד there will be no difference (in the conditions of life) between the present and the Messianic days except (the delivery from) the oppression of governments; a. fr. e.g. Exodus 1:21
- 2. (in liturgy) a benediction invoking God as king (אלהינו מלך העולם). Ib. 12ᵃ כל ברכה שאין בה מ׳ וכ׳ a benediction in which the word ‘king’ does not occur, is no benediction.—Pl. מַלְכִיּוֹת the references to the divine kingdom in the Musaf of the New Year’s Day, the section called Malkhiyoth. R. Hash. IV, 5. Ib. 6 עשרה מ׳ the recitation of ten Biblical verses referring to the divine government. Ib. (32ᵇ) זכרונות מ׳ וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. sing.), v. זִכָּרוֹן. Y. ib. III, 58ᵈ; 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 49 distinct written forms H4438 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.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4438, 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 melek H4428 king
- מלך mᵉlak H4431 counsel
- 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
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 12 — not the complete family. 4 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 74 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 82 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
- Numbers 24:7
- 1 Samuel 20:31
- 1 Kings 2:12
- 1 Chronicles 11:10
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
- Ezra 1:1
- Esther 1:2
- Psalms 45:6
- Ecclesiastes 4:14
- Jeremiah 52:31
- Daniel 1:1
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.
