What does מָלַךְ (malak) mean in the Bible?
מָלַךְ (malak): Kingship involves both accession to throne and the ongoing exercise of sovereign judgment and counsel.
Hebrew · H4427
מָלַךְ
To reign ; inceptively, to ascend the throne ; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel
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מָלַךְ H4427
Pronunciation malak
What does מָלַךְ (malak) mean in the Bible?
מָלַךְ (malak): Kingship involves both accession to throne and the ongoing exercise of sovereign judgment and counsel.
Full entry for מָלַךְ (H4427) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4427?
The BSB source-word alignment has 348 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include reigned (69), and he reigned (49), when he became king (38), became king (29), king (19).
Where does מָלַךְ (malak) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 36:31. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Kings (90), 2 Chronicles (79), 1 Kings (62), 1 Chronicles (27).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It reigned 69× Genesis 36:31, Genesis 36:32, Genesis 36:33, Genesis 36:34
and he reigned 49× 1 Samuel 13:1, 2 Samuel 2:10, 1 Kings 14:21, 1 Kings 15:2
when he became king 38× 1 Samuel 13:1, 2 Samuel 5:4, 1 Kings 14:21, 1 Kings 22:42
became king 29× 1 Kings 15:1, 1 Kings 15:9, 1 Kings 15:25, 1 Kings 15:33
king 19× Judges 9:16, Judges 9:18, 1 Samuel 15:11, 1 Samuel 15:35
will reign 9× Exodus 15:18, 1 Samuel 8:9, 1 Samuel 8:11, 1 Kings 1:13
of his reign 8× 2 Kings 24:12, 2 Chronicles 16:13, 2 Chronicles 17:7, 2 Chronicles 29:3
reigns 8× 2 Samuel 15:10, 1 Chronicles 16:31, Psalms 47:8, Psalms 93:1
Reign 7× Judges 9:8, 1 Kings 1:35, 1 Kings 2:11, 1 Kings 14:20
and made him king 6× 2 Samuel 2:9, 1 Kings 12:20, 2 Kings 14:21, 2 Kings 23:30
and reigned 6× 1 Kings 15:28, 2 Kings 15:10, 2 Kings 15:14, 2 Kings 15:25
as king 6× 1 Samuel 11:15, 1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Kings 16:21, 1 Chronicles 23:1
. . . 4× Genesis 37:8, 1 Samuel 24:20, 2 Kings 25:27, 1 Chronicles 29:27
he reigned 4× 2 Samuel 5:5, 1 Kings 14:19, 1 Chronicles 3:4
- 3× 1 Kings 2:11, 1 Kings 16:23
and reign 3× Judges 9:10, Judges 9:12, Judges 9:14
of Zedekiah’s reign 3× 2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 51:59, Jeremiah 52:4
and appointed 2× 2 Kings 8:20, 2 Chronicles 21:8
and proclaimed him king 2× 2 Kings 11:12, 2 Chronicles 23:11
and was succeeded by 2× 2 Samuel 10:1, 1 Chronicles 19:1
has become king 2× 1 Kings 1:11, 1 Kings 1:18
ruled 2× 2 Kings 11:3, 2 Chronicles 22:12
still reigned 2× 1 Kings 12:17, 2 Chronicles 10:17
to make him king 2× 1 Kings 12:1, 2 Chronicles 10:1
will be king 2× 1 Samuel 23:17, 1 Kings 1:5
[and] he reigned 1× 2 Samuel 5:4
[when] he became king 1× 2 Chronicles 25:1
[Zimri] began to reign 1× 1 Kings 16:11
And David reigned 1× 1 Chronicles 3:4
and gained control 1× 1 Kings 11:24
and He will reign 1× Jeremiah 23:5
and I have set 1× 1 Samuel 12:1
and made her queen 1× Esther 2:17
and that you may rule 1× 2 Samuel 3:21
and You have made me king 1× 2 Chronicles 1:8
and you shall reign 1× 1 Kings 11:37
And Zimri reigned 1× 1 Kings 16:10
Appoint 1× 1 Samuel 8:22
as their king 1× 1 Samuel 8:7
Baasha became king 1× 1 Kings 15:29
become king 1× 1 Kings 1:13
become queen 1× Esther 2:4
becomes king 1× Proverbs 30:22
bolstered 1× 1 Chronicles 11:10
came to power 1× 2 Chronicles 36:20
Do you intend to reign 1× Genesis 37:8
Does it make you a king 1× Jeremiah 22:15
had become king 1× 2 Kings 9:29
had reigned 1× Joshua 13:12
have made me king 1× 2 Chronicles 1:9
He must reign 1× 2 Chronicles 23:3
I have made you king 1× 2 Chronicles 1:11
I will rule 1× Ezekiel 20:33
intending to make him king 1× 2 Chronicles 11:22
is king 1× 2 Kings 9:13
of [Solomon’s] reign 1× 1 Kings 6:1
of the reign 1× Jeremiah 1:2
reigns forever 1× Psalms 146:10
rules 1× 1 Samuel 12:14
set up kings 1× Hosea 8:4
should not reign 1× 1 Samuel 11:12
should not rule 1× Job 34:30
So [Rezon] ruled 1× 1 Kings 11:25
so that he could not reign 1× 2 Kings 23:33
succeeded him 1× 2 Kings 1:17
succeeded his father 1× 2 Kings 8:16
that I should reign 1× 1 Kings 2:15
the king 1× Jeremiah 37:1
the reign 1× 1 Chronicles 4:31
thought 1× Nehemiah 5:7
to make 1× Judges 9:6
to make me king 1× 1 Chronicles 28:4
to reign 1× Jeremiah 33:21
to rule 1× 1 Samuel 12:12
to the kingship 1× Ecclesiastes 4:14
was king 1× 1 Chronicles 29:26
was made ruler 1× Daniel 9:1
was to succeed him 1× 2 Kings 3:27
when he began to reign 1× 2 Samuel 2:10
who enthroned him 1× Ezekiel 17:16
who reigned over 1× Esther 1:1
who succeeded 1× Jeremiah 22:11
will rule 1× Micah 4:7
you have reigned 1× 2 Samuel 16:8
you will be king 1× 1 Samuel 24:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 36:31 מָלְכ֖וּ to reigned Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Genesis 36:31 מְלָךְ־ to reigned Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Genesis 36:32 וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:33 וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:34 וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:35 וַיִּמְלֹ֨ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:36 וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:37 וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:38 וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 36:39 וַיִּמְלֹ֤ךְ to reigned Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 36:31
Aligned rows 348
Books represented 22
Genesis 12 Exodus 1 Joshua 3 Judges 8 1 Samuel 17 2 Samuel 12 1 Kings 62 2 Kings 90 1 Chronicles 27 2 Chronicles 79 Nehemiah 1 Esther 4 Job 1 Psalms 6 Proverbs 2 Ecclesiastes 1 Isaiah 5 Jeremiah 11 Ezekiel 2 Daniel 2 Hosea 1 Micah 1
Source forms
מָלַ֖ךְ 46x mā·laḵ Joshua 13:10, Joshua 13:21, Judges 4:2, 1 Samuel 13:1
וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ 41x way·yim·lōḵ 2 Samuel 10:1, 1 Kings 11:43, 1 Kings 14:20, 1 Kings 14:31
וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְ 13x way·yim·lōḵ 2 Samuel 8:15, 1 Kings 12:17, 1 Kings 15:25, 1 Kings 22:51
בְמָלְכ֔וֹ 12x ḇə·mā·lə·ḵōw 2 Kings 8:26, 2 Kings 14:2, 2 Kings 15:2, 2 Kings 15:33
בְּמָלְכ֔וֹ 11x bə·mā·lə·ḵōw 1 Kings 22:42, 2 Kings 16:2, 2 Kings 21:19, 2 Kings 23:31
וַיִּמְלֹ֣ךְ 11x way·yim·lōḵ Genesis 36:32, Genesis 36:33, Genesis 36:34, Genesis 36:36
מָלַ֥ךְ 10x mā·laḵ Joshua 13:12, 2 Samuel 15:10, 1 Kings 1:13, 1 Kings 15:1
מָ֠לַךְ 10x mā·laḵ 1 Kings 15:33, 1 Kings 16:8, 2 Kings 13:1, 2 Kings 13:10
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 108x Joshua 13:10, Joshua 13:12, Joshua 13:21, Judges 4:2
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 83x Genesis 36:32, Genesis 36:33, Genesis 36:34, Genesis 36:35
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular 39x 1 Samuel 13:1, 2 Samuel 2:10, 2 Samuel 5:4, 1 Kings 14:21
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 16x Judges 9:6, 1 Samuel 11:15, 1 Kings 12:20, 1 Kings 16:16
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 15x Exodus 15:18, 1 Samuel 8:9, 1 Samuel 8:11, 1 Samuel 11:12
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular 12x 2 Kings 24:12, 2 Kings 25:1, 2 Chronicles 16:13, 2 Chronicles 17:7
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct 6x 1 Kings 12:1, 1 Chronicles 12:31, 1 Chronicles 12:38, 1 Chronicles 28:4
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 5x 2 Kings 23:34, 2 Kings 24:17, 1 Chronicles 23:1, 2 Chronicles 36:4
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Kingship involves both accession to throne and the ongoing exercise of sovereign judgment and counsel.
Strong's H4427
Lexical occurrences 351 verses Word forms 3 forms 153 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Isaiah 24:16b-23 Source Gloss
to reign ; inceptively, to ascend the throne ; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Kingship involves both accession to throne and the ongoing exercise of sovereign judgment and counsel.
to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel Usage: consult, × indeed, be (make, set a, set up) king, be (make) queen, (begin to, make to) reign(-ing), rule, × surely.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 153
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 145×
Perfect 1Chr 3:4 · 1Chr 16:31 · 1Chr 29:26 · 1Chr 29:27 · 1Kgs 1:11 · 1Kgs 1:13 · 1Kgs 1:18 · 1Kgs 2:11 · 1Kgs 11:42 · 1Kgs 14:19 · 1Kgs 14:20 · 1Kgs 14:21 · 1Kgs 15:1 · 1Kgs 15:2 · 1Kgs 15:9 · 1Kgs 15:10 111×
Imperfect 1Kgs 1:13 · 1Kgs 1:17 · 1Kgs 1:24 · 1Kgs 1:30 · 1Kgs 1:35 · 1Sam 8:9 · 1Sam 8:11 · 1Sam 11:12 · 1Sam 12:12 · 2Chr 23:3 · 2Kgs 3:27 · Exod 15:18 · Isa 32:1 · Prov 30:22 · Ps 146:10 · 1Sam 23:17 21×
Infinitive construct 1Chr 1:43 · 1Chr 4:31 · 2Chr 36:20 · Gen 36:31 4×
Sequential imperfect Judg 9:10 · Judg 9:12 · Judg 9:14 4×
Participle active 2Chr 22:12 · 2Kgs 11:3 · Jer 33:21 3×
Infinitive absolute 1Sam 24:21 1×
Jussive Esth 2:4 1×
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 7×
Perfect 1Kgs 1:43 · 1Sam 15:35 · Jer 37:1 · 1Kgs 3:7 · 1Sam 15:11 · Hos 8:4 6×
Imperfect 2Kgs 10:5 1×
Hophal causative passive — the subject is caused to perform the action 1×
Perfect Dan 9:1 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
To rule as king.
To rule or exercise kingship.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 351 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מָלַךְ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
It emphasizes that restored strength centers on God’s sovereign rule. Isaiah 24:16b-23
The final vision centers on the Lord’s sovereign kingship. Micah 4:6-8
Canonical Themes
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain