Mĕlûkâ concerns kingship or dominion, with human royal office and the Lord's rule requiring their distinct referents. First Samuel 10:25 records Samuel explaining the rights of kingship, writing them on a scroll and placing it before the Lord.
Reading a lexicon entry
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.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Reader summary
Full entry for מְלוּכָה (H4410) · Open the biblical lexicon
Mĕlûkâ concerns kingship or dominion, with human royal office and the LORD's rule requiring their distinct referents. First Samuel 10:25 records Samuel explaining the rights of kingship, writing them on a scroll and placing it before the LORD.
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the kingdom (4), the kingship (4), [who was a member] of the royal (2), the royal (2), a king (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Samuel 10:16. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Kings (7), 1 Samuel (5), 2 Samuel (2), Ezekiel (2).
Mĕlûkâ concerns kingship or dominion, with human royal office and the Lord's rule requiring their distinct referents. First Samuel 10:25 records Samuel explaining the rights of kingship, writing them on a scroll and placing it before the Lord. The description gives kingship a stated and witnessed framework; it does not say a king's personal desires create unlimited authority over others.
First Kings 21:7 records Jezebel invoking Ahab's reign before arranging false testimony and Naboth's death to obtain his vineyard. The subsequent word through Elijah condemns murder and seizure, so her appeal cannot serve as a faithful model of royal power. Psalm 22:28 says dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules the nations, while Obadiah 1:21 ends with the kingdom belonging to Him. Teaching must distinguish divine rule from a human ruler's self-assertion rather than claiming a present leader inherits God's unchallengeable authority or using a prophetic kingdom statement to settle modern territorial rights.
Written royal rights, Jezebel's abusive invocation of reign, the Lord's dominion and the prophetic kingdom conclusion have distinct speakers and claims. Kingship must remain accountable to the passage's evaluation rather than authorizing possession, false testimony or present divine-right assertions.
Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.
Samuel explains the rights of kingship, writes them and places the scroll before the Lord. The account describes a framework rather than unrestricted permission for any ruler's wishes.
But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
Jezebel invokes Ahab's reign before obtaining Naboth's vineyard through false testimony and killing. Elijah's subsequent condemnation prevents treating her appeal as endorsed royal entitlement.
For dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.
Dominion belongs to the Lord as the surrounding praise anticipates nations turning and worshiping. The statement does not transfer that sovereignty to a particular contemporary human leader.
The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
The oracle concludes that the kingdom belongs to the Lord after its specified restoration and judgment address. This source-bound statement does not independently settle modern borders or authorize reader violence.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. The realm or domain brought under a king's rule and authority, emphasizing the ruled territory over the ruler
The realm or domain brought under a king's rule and authority, emphasizing the ruled territory over the ruler
something ruled, i.e. a realm BDB: kingship Usage: kingsom, king's, × royal.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Samuel's account includes explained rights, writing and placement before the Lord rather than a definition of kingship as whatever the ruler wants. Jezebel's question to Ahab shows how a claim to reign can be used to justify obtaining another person's property. The narrative then exposes false testimony and killing, and Elijah's word explicitly condemns murder and seizure. Possession achieved through royal machinery is not thereby just.
Psalm 22 confesses the Lord's dominion in a widening movement of praise among nations, while Obadiah concludes its particular oracle with the kingdom belonging to Him. Neither statement grants a modern ruler the Lord's status or allows a reader to infer territorial rights without separate evidence and review. John 18:33-37 offers a Christian comparison in which Jesus speaks of His kingdom, rejects its origin in this world and connects His mission with testimony to truth. These witnesses distinguish authority, accountability and divine rule without making a lexical noun settle every political or theological question.
Ps.22.28
Kingship or dominion is specified by its possessor and construction, whether a human office, royal claim or the Lord's rule. The noun does not evaluate every holder positively; attributed speech and subsequent narrative judgment must remain separate evidence.
John 18:33-37 records Jesus speaking to Pilate about His kingdom's origin and His testimony to truth. It supplies a Christian kingship comparison without making the Hebrew noun a Greek identity. It does not transfer Jesus' authority to a modern officeholder or settle every present political arrangement through one word.