βασιλεύς
A sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)
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What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
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Canonical witness: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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What does βασιλεύς (basileús) mean in the Bible?
βασιλεύς (basileús) is a Greek word meaning "a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)". βασιλεύς, -έως, ὁ, [in LXX chiefly for מֶלֶךְ ;] a king: Mat. Identifies the central charge against Jesus. This term runs through the canonical themes of Kingdom, Messiah.
Full entry for βασιλεύς (G935) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
Sovereign ruler holding absolute authority; applied to God, Christ, earthly monarchs, and Roman emperors throughout NT.
a king: Mat.1:6 2:1; used by courtesy of Herod the Tetrarch, Mat.14:9; of the Roman Emperor, as frequently in κοινή (Deiss., LAE, p. 367), 1Pe.2:13, 17; of the Christ, in the phrase ὁ β. τ. Ἰουδαίων, Mat.2:2, al.; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mrk.15:32, Jhn.1:50 12:13; of God, Mat.5:35, 1Ti.1:17, Rev.15:3; β. βασιλέων, Rev.17:14 19:16; β. τ. βασιλευόντων, 1Ti.6:15 (on the associations of the word to Jewish Hellenists, see Cl. Rev., i, 7).
Why This Word Matters
Identifies the central charge against Jesus. Acts 17:1-9
Identifies Jesus as the Messianic ruler. Luke 19:28–40
Clarifies the nature of Jesus’ messianic claim. Luke 23:1–5
Affirms royal identity of Jesus.
Messianic kingship affirmed in crucifixion.
Highlights misunderstanding of Christ's mission as merely political.
Identifies Jesus as the true ruler, central to the accusation and confession.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
New Testament Witnesses
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain