Lexicon
מַלְכוּת
mal.khut
H4438
H:N-F Hebrew

royalty

91
Occurrences
12
Books
Hebrew
Language

mal.khut denotes a ruler’s kingdom or reign, and can also mark royal status or the period of a king’s rule.

The term most often identifies a king’s kingdom or exercised rule, whether established, strengthened, restored, divided, or possessed. It also occurs for royal status and things belonging to the royal sphere, and in clauses that date events by a ruler’s reign.

Senses in use

  1. A kingdom or realm under royal rule · dominant

    The singular construct noun marks the kingdom associated with a ruler or people: in 1 Kings 2:12 the APB renders Solomon’s kingdom as firmly established, and in 2 Chronicles 20:30 it renders Jehoshaphat’s kingdom as quiet. Daniel 11:4 describes a kingdom being broken, divided, uprooted, and given to others, while Daniel 8:22 uses the plural form for four kingdoms arising from one nation.

  2. Royal standing, authority, or royal possessions · common

    The noun can concern royal standing or what belongs to it rather than a territorial realm. In 1 Chronicles 29:25 the APB speaks of royal splendor placed on Solomon; in Esther 1:19 it describes a royal position being given to another; and in Esther 1:7 and Esther 1:9 it refers to royal wine and a royal house.

  3. A ruler’s regnal period · occasional

    In dating clauses, the construct noun identifies the period measured by a king’s rule. In 2 Chronicles 15:10 the APB dates an assembly to Asa’s fifteenth year, and in Daniel 2:1 it dates Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams to his second year; 2 Chronicles 35:19 similarly dates the Passover to Josiah’s eighteenth year.

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses the APB variously presents the term through “kingdom,” “reign,” “royalty,” and royal descriptions such as “royal splendor” and “royal position.” These are renderings of their clauses rather than fixed English equivalents for each token.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture