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# מָלַךְ

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H4427

**be king** — used 347 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

be king [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4427/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

מָלַךְ: vb. denom. be [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4427/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** vb. denom. be, or become king, or queen, reign;— Pf. מ׳ Jos 13:10 +, etc.; Impf. יִמְלֹךְ (-לוֹךְ) Ex 15:18 +; וַיִּמְלֹךְ Gn 36:32 +; 2 ms. תִּמְלֹךְ Gn 37:8 +, (הֲתִֽמֲלֹךְ Je 22:15 Bear); Imv. מְלָךְ־, Ju 9:14; מָלְכָה Ju 9:8; מָלְכִי Ju 9:10, 12; Inf. abs. מָלֹךְ Gn 37:8 1 S 24:21; cstr. מְלֹךְ 1 K 2:15 +; sf. מָלְכוֹ 1 S 13:1 +; Pt. מֹלֵךְ Je 22:11 + 2 times; מֹלֶכֶת 2 K 11:3 = 2 Ch 22:12;—be (become) king, reign, mostly of Hebrew kings, 2 S 2:10 1 K 16:22 2 K 3:1; 9:13, but also gen. Pr 8:15; 30:22; of Can., Edom., Aramaic, Assyrian, Pers. kings, etc.: Ju 4:2 Gn 36:31 1 K 11:25 2 K 8:15; 19:37 Est 1:1 +; sq. בְּ loc. (usually city) Jos 13:10, 12 Ju 4:2 2 S 5:5 1 K 11:24; 14:21 + often; but also Gn 36:31, 32 1 Ch 1:43 בְּארץ, and even בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּה נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ 2 S 3:21; sq. עַל c. people or land 1 S 8:9, 11; 12:14; 13:1 1 K 15:1, 9; 16:23 + often; sq. בְּ loc. + עַל territ. (or pop.) 2 S 5:5 1 K 11:42; sq. תַּחַת (תַּחְתָּיו) 2 S 16:8 Gn 36:33f. = 1 Ch 1:44f., 1 K 14:20, 31 2 K 8:15; 13:24 Je 22:11 + often; †subj. God, sq. על ψ 47:9 Mi 4:7 Ez 20:33 1 S 8:7; sq. בְּ Is 24:23; abs. Ex 15:18 Is 52:7 ψ 93:1; 96:10 = 1 Ch 16:31, 97:1; 99:1; 146:10†; subj. future (Mess.) king Is 32:1 Je 23:5; †subj. a woman (= be queen) 2 K 11:3 = 2 Ch 22:12 (both sq. עַל), Est 2:4 sq. תַּחַת†; Imv. only in fable, king of trees, Ju 9:8, 10, 12, 14 all sq. על; בְּמָלְכוֹ especially = when he began to reign, became king 1 S 13:1 2 S 2:10 1 K 14:21 + often; Inf. also = reign: בְּשְׁנַת שְׁמֹנֶה לְמָלְכוֹ 2 K 24:12; 25:1, cf. v 27; 1 K 6:1 2 Ch 16:13; 17:7; 29:3; 34:3, 8, cf. עַד מְלֹךְ דָּוִד 1 Ch 4:31; עַד מְלֹךְ מַלְכוּת פָּרָס 2 Ch 36:20; began to reign and reigned מָלַךְ וַיִּמְלֹךְ 1 K 15:25; 16:29 2 K 3:1 +; often מָלַךְ alone with same meaning 1 K 16:23 2 K 13:1, 10; 14:23 +. Pf. הִמְלִיךְ 1 S 15:35 + 2 times; הִמְלַ֫כְתָּ 1 K 3:7, etc.; Impf. וַיַּמְלֵךְ 2 K 23:34 + 4 times; וַיַּמְלִיכוּ Ju 9:6 + etc.; Inf. cstr. הַמְלִיךְ 1 K 12:1 + etc.; Pt. מַמְלִיךְ Ez 17:16;—make king, or queen, cause to reign, sq. acc. pers. Ju 9:16 1 S 11:15 1 K 1:43; 12:1; 16:21 2 K 10:5; 11:12 (anointing and coronation) = 2 Ch 23:11, 2 K 17:21 1 Ch 11:10; 12:32, 39 2 Ch 10:1; 11:22 Ez 17:16; sq. לִשׁלמֹה (לְ of dir. obj., as Aramaic) 1 Ch 29:22; sq. acc. cogn. 1 S 8:22 (+ לָהֶם), 12:1 (+ על), Is 7:6 (+ בְּתוֹךְ); sq. לְמֶלֶךְ Ju 9:6 1 S 15:11; sq. acc. pers. + בְּ loc. Je 37:1; + עַל Ju 9:18 1 S 15:35 1 K 12:20; 16:16 2 K 8:20 1 Ch 12:38; 28:4 (acc. om.), 23:1 2 Ch 1:9, 11; 21:8; 36:4, 10, cf. 2 S 2:9 (3 times עֲל־, 3 times אֶל־); + תַּחַת 1 K 3:7 2 K 14:21; 21:24; 23:30 (anointing), v 34; 24:17 2 Ch 1:8; 22:1; 26:1; 33:25; 36:1; Est 2:17 (= make queen at coronation); abs. Ho 8:4. Pf. הָמְלַךְ עַל מַלְכוּת כַּשְׂדִּים Dn 9:1.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 126 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (8 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (7 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: he reigned (97); he became king (79); he (42).

## In the verses

[Exodus 15:18](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.15.18/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.15.18/#tree)

יְהוָ֥ה ׀ יִמְלֹ֖ךְ לְעֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃

*Word for word:* Yahweh he.will.reign forever of.perpetuity and ever

*JPS 1917:* The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

[2 Kings 12:1](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/2KI.12.1/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/2KI.12.1/#tree)

בֶּן־שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִ֖ים יְהוֹאָ֥שׁ בְּמָלְכֽוֹ׃פ

*Word for word:* \[was\].a.son of.seven years Jehoash when he became.king

*JPS 1917:* Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4427.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4427/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).