H4438 H4438
Royalty, royal power, reign, or kingdom; the domain, exercise, or dignity of kingly rule (chiefly late Hebrew).
A noun appearing primarily in later biblical books (Chronicles, Esther, Daniel, Psalms), מַלְכוּת covers the full spectrum of kingship. It can denote a concrete political realm—a kingdom or territory under a sovereign's authority—as well as the active exercise of royal rule during a reign. In Esther especially, it takes on a more personal coloring, referring to the queen's royal dignity and status. The multilingual glosses confirm these three poles: Spanish 'reino' vs. 'reinado' vs. 'realeza' neatly mirror the territory/reign/dignity distinction. When applied to God (Ps 103:19; 145:11-13), it ascends to describe universal, eternal dominion.
Senses
1. kingdom, realm — The most frequent sense (about two-thirds of occurrences) designates a kingdom as a political entity or territorial domain—the realm over which a king exercises sovereignty. Spanish consistently renders 'reino,' French 'royaume,' and German 'Königreich.' Used of human kingdoms (1 Sam 20:31; 1 Kgs 2:12) and of God's universal kingdom (Ps 145:11-13). The cluster includes possessive constructions ('his kingdom,' 'kingdom of') showing the kingdom as belonging to a ruler. 60×
AR["مَملَكَةَ","مَملَكَةِ","مَمْلَكَةُ","مَمْلَكَةِ","مَمْلَكَتُهُ","مَمْلَكَتِهِ","مُلْك","مُلْكِ"]·ben["তাঁর-রাজকীয়ের","তাঁর-রাজত্ব","তাঁর-রাজত্বের","তাঁর-রাজ্যে","তাঁর-রাজ্যের","তার-রাজত্বের","রাজত্ব","রাজত্বের","রাজ্য","রাজ্য-তার","রাজ্যে"]·DE["Koenigreich"]·EN["his-kingdom","kingdom-of","the-kingdom-of"]·FR["royaume","royauté"]·heb["מלכות","מלכותו","מלכותו-ו"]·HI["अपने-राजकीय","अपने-राज्य-की","अपने-राज्य-के","अपने-राज्य-में","उसका-राज्य","उसके-राज्य","उसके-राज्य-का","राजकीय-उसके","राज्य","राज्य-अपने","राज्य-के","राज्य-को"]·ID["Yehuda","kerajaan","kerajaan-","kerajaannya"]·IT["regalità","regno"]·jav["kaprabon","kaprabon-ipun","karajan","karajanipun","kraton","kraton-ipun","kratonipun"]·KO["그-의-왕국","그의-왕국","그의-왕국에","그의-왕국의","왕국","왕국-","왕국에","왕국이","왕권-그-의","왕권-그의","왕권-의"]·PT["o-seu-reinado","o-seu-reino","reinado-de","reinado-seu","reino-de","reino-dele","reino-seu","seu-reino"]·RU["царства","царства-его","царстве","царстве-его","царстве-своём","царство","царство-его","царством-его","царству-своему"]·ES["reinado-de","reino-de","reino-suyo","su-reinado","su-reino"]·SW["cha-ufalme-wake","malkwּtwo","ufalme","ufalme-wa","ufalme-wake","wa-ufalme-wake","wote","ya-ufalme","ya-ufalme-wake"]·TR["kralliginda","krallığı","krallığı-onun","krallığın","krallığında","krallığını","krallığının"]·urd["اس-کی-بادشاہت","اس-کی-سلطنت","اُس-کی-بادشاہت","اُس-کی-بادشاہی-کا","اُس-کی-سلطنت","اپنی-بادشاہی","اپنی-بادشاہی-کا","اپنی-بادشاہی-کے","بادشاہت","بادشاہی","سلطنت","سلطنت-اپنی","سلطنت-نے"]
1 Sam 20:31, 1 Kgs 2:12, 1 Chr 11:10, 1 Chr 12:24, 1 Chr 14:2, 1 Chr 17:11, 1 Chr 17:14, 1 Chr 22:10, 1 Chr 28:5, 1 Chr 28:7, 2 Chr 1:1, 2 Chr 7:18 (+38 more)
2. reign, rule — About one-fifth of occurrences emphasize the temporal or active dimension: the reign or period of rule rather than the territory itself. Spanish distinguishes this with 'reinado' alongside 'reino.' Chronicles frequently uses this sense in chronological formulae ('in the reign of...'), as in 1 Chr 26:31 and 2 Chr 3:2. The glosses across languages sometimes blur with sense 1, but the contextual focus on duration and royal activity marks the distinction. 21×
AR["بِـ-مُلْكِهِ","لِ-مَمْلَكَةِ","لِ-مَمْلَكَتِهِ","لِ-مُلْكِ","لِ-مُلْكِهِ","لِـ-مُلْكِ","لِمَلْكِ","لِمُلْكِ","مَملَكَةِ","مُلْكِ","مُلْكِهِ"]·ben["-কে-তাঁর-রাজত্বের","-রাজত্বের","তাঁর-রাজত্বে","তাঁর-রাজত্বের","তার-রাজত্বের","রাজত্ব","রাজত্বে-","রাজত্বের"]·DE["Koenigreich","[מלכות]","[מלכתו]"]·EN["for-his-kingdom","his-reign","in-his-reign","kingdom-of","of-his-reign","of-reign-of","of-the-reign-of","reign-of","the-reign-of","to-reign-of"]·FR["[מלכות]","[מלכתו]","pour-royaumes","royauté"]·heb["ב-מלכותו-ו","ל-מלכות","ל-מלכותו-ו","מלכות","מלכותו","מלכותו-ו"]·HI["अपने-रअजय-मेइन","अपने-राज्य-के","अपने-राज्य-के-लिए","उसके-राज्य","उसके-राज्य-के","के-राज्य","के-राज्य-उसके","राज्य","राज्य-के"]·ID["-pemerintahan","-pemerintahannya","dalam-pemerintahannya","dari-pemerintahan","kerajaan","kerajaannya","pemerintahan","pemerintahannya","untuk-kerajaannya"]·IT["regalita","regalità","regno"]·jav["dhateng-kratonipun","jumenengan-ipun","kanggé-kratonipun","kanggé-panjumenengan-raja","kanggé-panjumenengan-rajanipun","kaprabon-ipun","karajan","karajanipun","kraton","kratonipun","pamaréntahan","paprentahan","paprentahanipun","saking-kraton","wonten-ing-jumenengipun"]·KO["그-의-왕국","그-의-통치-동안","그의-왕국과","그의-통치의","나라-의","에-그의-왕국","에-대한-왕국","에-왕국","에게-그-의-왕국","왕국","왕권에","왕권의","왕위의","왕위의-그의","으로-왕국","의-통치","통치-의"]·PT["de-reinado-de","de-reinado-seu","de-seu-reinado","do-reinado-de","no-reinado-dele","o-reinado-de","para-reinado-de","para-seu-reinado","reinado-de","seu-reinado","seu-reino"]·RU["в-царствовании-его","воцарения-своего","для-царства-его","к-царствованию","к-царствованию-его","царстве","царствования","царствования-его","царством-его"]·ES["de-el-reinado-de","de-reinado-de","de-su-reinado","del-reinado-de","en-reinado-su","para-reinado-de","para-reinado-su","para-su-reinado","reinado-de","reinado-de-él","su-reinado"]·SW["kwa-ufalme-wake","lmalkwּt","ufalme-wa","ufalme-wake","utawala","wa-ufalme-wa","wa-ufalme-wake","wa-utawala","wa-utawala-wa","wa-utawala-wake","wakati-wa-utawala-wake"]·TR["kralligi","kralliginin","krallığı","krallığı-için","krallığına","krallığında","krallığının","krallığının-"]·urd["اُس-کی-بادشاہت-کے","اپنی-بادشاہت-میں","اپنی-بادشاہت-کے-لیے","اپنی-بادشاہی-کے","اپنی-سلطنت-کے","بادشاہت","بادشاہت-کی","بادشاہت-کے","بادشاہی","سلطنت","سلطنت-اُس-کی","سلطنت-کے","کی-بادشاہت"]
1 Chr 26:31, 1 Chr 29:30, 2 Chr 2:1, 2 Chr 2:12, 2 Chr 3:2, 2 Chr 15:10, 2 Chr 15:19, 2 Chr 16:1, 2 Chr 16:12, 2 Chr 29:19, 2 Chr 35:19, Ezra 4:5 (+9 more)
3. royalty, royal dignity — A smaller cluster (roughly 10 occurrences) refers to royalty as a personal attribute—royal dignity, queenly status, or sovereign rank. This sense appears prominently in Esther, where the queen's מַלְכוּת is her royal position and splendor (Esth 1:11, 4:14). Spanish 'realeza,' French 'royauté,' and the English gloss 'royalty' all capture this abstract, qualitative nuance distinct from both territory and temporal rule. 10×
AR["مَلَكِيًّا","مَلَكِيٌّ","مَلَكِيٍّ","مُلْكٍ","وَ-مَمْلَكَتَهَا"]·ben["ও-তাঁর-রাজত্ব","রাজকীয়","রাজত্বের"]·DE["Koenigreich","und-Koenigreich"]·EN["and-her-royalty","royalty"]·FR["et-royauté","royauté"]·heb["ו-מלכותה-ה","מלכות"]·HI["और-उसका-राजकीय-पद","राजकीय","राज्य"]·ID["dan-kerajaannya","kerajaan"]·IT["e-regalità","regalità"]·jav["kaprabon","karajan","lan-kaprabon-ipun"]·KO["그리고-그녀의-왕위를","왕국의","왕궁의","왕권의","왕백의","왕복을","왕의"]·PT["e-reino-dela","realeza","reino"]·RU["и-царство-её","царский","царское","царском","царства","царственность"]·ES["realeza","reinado","reino","y-su-reinado"]·SW["la-kifalme","mavazi-ya-kifalme","mfalme","na-akamvika","ufalme","ya-kifalme","ya-ufalme"]·TR["kraliyet","krallık","ve-kraliçeliğini"]·urd["اور-اس-کی-بادشاہی","بادشاہت-کی","شاہی"]
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×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַלְכוּת 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;— 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);…