H4428 H4428
King: a human sovereign ruling a city, nation, or territory; also a divine title for God as supreme King
Melek is the Hebrew Bible's primary term for a ruling sovereign, appearing over 2,500 times across the full sweep of Israel's history — from the kings of Canaan in Genesis to the Persian emperors of Ezra-Nehemiah. Every major translation renders it straightforwardly: English 'the king,' Spanish 'el rey,' French 'le roi,' German 'der Konig.' Yet a small but theologically potent cluster of occurrences applies melek directly to God as divine King, especially in the Psalms. 'I have installed my King on Zion' (Ps 2:6) and 'Listen to my cry, my King and my God' (Ps 5:2) use the same word to express the LORD's sovereign rule over Israel and all creation.
1. king, human ruler — A human sovereign or monarch who rules over a city-state, nation, or empire. This covers Israelite kings (Saul, David, Solomon), foreign kings (Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus), and petty kings of Canaan. The cross-linguistic uniformity is striking — every language uses its basic royal term without qualification: English 'the king,' Spanish 'el rey,' French 'le roi,' German 'der Konig / des Konigs.' Gen 39:20 (Pharaoh), 1 Sam 8:9 (Israel's demand for a king), and 1 Sam 12:13 (Saul's installation) illustrate the range. About 2,518 occurrences. 2518×
AR["أَيُّهَا-الْمَلِكُ","الـ-مَلِكُ","الـ-مَلِكِ","المَلِكُ","المَلِكِ","الْ-مَلِكِ","الْمَلِكُ","الْمَلِكِ"]·ben["-রাজা","রাজা","রাজার","সেই-রাজা","সেই-রাজার"]·DE["der-Koenig","des-Königs"]·EN["the-king"]·FR["le-roi"]·heb["ה-מלך"]·HI["रज","रज-कि","रज-के","रज-ने","राजा","राजा-का","राजा-की","राजा-के","राजा-ने"]·ID["raja"]·IT["il-re"]·jav["-sang-prabu","Sang-Raja","bab-abdi-panjenengan","raja","raja-punika","sang-Raja","sang-raja","sang-ratu"]·KO["그-왕","그-왕에게","그-왕의","그-왕이","그-왕이다","그-왕이여","왕","왕과","왕의","왕이","왕이여"]·PT["o-rei"]·RU["-царь","-царю","-царя","царь","царю","царя","царём"]·ES["el-rey"]·SW["gerezani","mfalme"]·TR["-kral","-krala","-kralın","kral","krala","kralla","kralın"]·urd["بادشاہ","بادشاہ-نے","بادشاہ-کا","بادشاہ-کی","بادشاہ-کی-طرف-سے","بادشاہ-کے","بادشاہ؟"]
Gen 39:20, 1 Sam 8:9, 1 Sam 12:2, 1 Sam 12:13, 1 Sam 18:25, 1 Sam 20:5, 1 Sam 21:9, 1 Sam 22:15, 1 Sam 23:20, 1 Sam 26:14, 1 Sam 26:19, 1 Sam 28:13 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. King, divine sovereign — God or the Messiah as divine King, a theological title expressing the LORD's supreme sovereignty. The multilingual glosses shift to possessive and devotional forms — Spanish 'Rey-de-mi / a-nuestro-Rey,' German 'mein Konig,' marking the personal, covenantal relationship between God-as-King and his people. Concentrated in the Psalms: 'I have set my King on Zion' (Ps 2:6), 'Give ear to my words, my King and my God' (Ps 5:2), 'God is my King from of old' (Ps 44:4), 'Sing praises to our King' (Ps 47:6). Only 8 occurrences are distinctly clustered here, but they carry outsized theological weight. 8×
AR["بِـ-مَلِكِهِمْ","لِ-مَلِكِنا","مَلِكي","مَلِكِي"]·ben["আমার-রাজা","আমার-রাজাকে","আমার-রাজার","তাদের-রাজাতে","প্রতি-রাজার-আমাদের","রাজা-আমার"]·DE["in-ihr-König","mein-König","zu-unser-König"]·EN["in-their-king","is-my-King","my-King","my-king","to-our-King"]·FR["dans-roi","rois-de","à-roi"]·heb["ב-מלכם","ל-מלכנו","מלכ-י","מלכי"]·HI["अपना-राजा","अपने-राजा-में","मेरे-राजा","राजा-मेरा","ले-राजा-हमारे-के-लिए"]·ID["Raja-Ku","Rajaku","dalam-Raja-mereka"]·IT["in-il-loro-re","re","re-di"]·jav["Raja-kawula","Raja-kula","Ratuku","ing-Ratu-nipun","kanthi-swara","ratu-kula"]·KO["나-의-왕","나-의-왕-을","나-의-왕-의","나-의-왕-이시요","나-의-왕이여","내-왕이시도다","에-그들의-왕에게","우리-왕-에게"]·PT["Rei-meu","ao-nosso-Rei","meu-Rei","no-seu-Rei","o-meu-rei"]·RU["Царь-мой","Царю-нашему","Царя-Моего","Царя-моего","о-Царе-своём"]·ES["Rey-de-mí","a-nuestro-Rey","en-su-Rey","mi-Rey","mi-rey"]·SW["Mfalme-wangu","kwa-Mfalme-wao","kwa-Mfalme-wetu","mfalme"]·TR["Kralları'nda","Kralım","Kralımın","Kralımıza","kralım","kralımı"]·urd["اپنے-بادشاہ-کو","بِ-اپنے-بادشاہ-میں","میرا-بادشاہ","میرے-بادشاہ","میرے-بادشاہ-کا","ہمارے-بادشاہ-کی"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. מֶ֫לֶךְ2513 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…