King in the Bible

Called KING OF KINGS

Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
Also Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37.

⇒Bible Encyclopedia for KIN.

Divinely authorized

Deuteronomy 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Also 1 Samuel 9:16-17; 16:12; 1 Chronicles 22:10; 2 Chronicles 2:11-12; Proverbs 8:15; Daniel 2:21,37; 4:17; 5:20; Hosea 8:4; 13:11.

⇒Definition of king

How chosen

⇒"Kings" Bible Outline

By divine appointment, Saul

1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

David and the Davidic dynasty

1 Samuel 16:1-13 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? ...

Hereditary succession

2 Samuel 7:12-16 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. ...
Also 1 Kings 1:28-30; 2 Chronicles 21:3-4; Psalm 89:35-37.

See ISRAEL, KINGS OF JUDAH

Not hereditary

1 Chronicles 1:43-51 Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 44 And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. 45 And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. 46 And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, which smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. ...

See ISRAEL, KINGS OF ISRAEL, after the revolt

By lot

1 Samuel 10:20-21 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

Modes of induction into office

By anointing

See ANOINTING

By proclamation

2 Samuel 15:10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.
Also 1 Kings 1:33-34; 2 Kings 9:13; 11:12.

By an oath

2 Kings 11:4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son.

Ceremonial recognition of

Prostration

1 Samuel 25:41 And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
Also 2 Samuel 9:6,8; 1 Kings 1:23,31,47.

Obeisance

1 Kings 1:16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

Kneeling before

Matthew 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Salutation to: "O king, live forever,"

Daniel 2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
Also Daniel 6:6,21.

Acts as Judge

2 Samuel 8:15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.
Also 2 Samuel 15:2; 1 Kings 10:9; 2 Kings 8:1-6; Psalm 72:1-4; 122:5; Acts 25:11-12,20.

Precepts concerning

Deuteronomy 17:14-19 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. ...
Also Proverbs 31:4-5; Ezekiel 46:16-18.

Obedience to, enjoined

Ecclesiastes 8:2-5 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. 3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? 5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

Rights and duties of

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Also Proverbs 25:5-6,15; 29:4,12,14; Jeremiah 21:12.

Exercise executive clemency

1 Samuel 11:13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.

Constitutional restrictions of

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Also 1 Samuel 10:24-25; 2 Samuel 5:3; 2 Kings 11:12,17; 2 Chronicles 23:11; Jeremiah 34:8-11; Daniel 6:12-15.

Influenced by popular opinion

Saul

1 Samuel 14:45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
Also 1 Samuel 15:24.

David

2 Chronicles 20:21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Hezekiah

2 Chronicles 30:2 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.

Zedekiah

Jeremiah 38:19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
Also Jeremiah 38:24-27.

Herod

Matthew 14:5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
Also Acts 12:2-3.

Pilate

John 19:6-13 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. 7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. 8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; 9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. ...

Religious duties of

Ezekiel 45:9-25 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. 10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. 12 And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. ...
Also Ezekiel 46:2,4-8.

Deification of

Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Also Ezekiel 28:9.

Loyalty to, enjoined

Proverbs 16:14-15 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it. 15 In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
Also Ecclesiastes 10:20.

Influential queens

Bath-sheba

1 Kings 1:28-34 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. 29 And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. ...

Jezebel

1 Kings 18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
Also 1 Kings 18:13; 19:1-3; 21:5-16.

Esther

Esther 5:1-8 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. 2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. 3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. 4 And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. ...

Respect due to

Job 34:18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
Also Isaiah 8:21; Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17.

Profiting from

Confiscations of property

2 Samuel 16:4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.
Also 1 Kings 21:1-16.

Plunder

2 Samuel 12:30 And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
Also 1 Chronicles 26:27; 2 Chronicles 24:23.

Tariff on imports, and internal revenue on merchandise

1 Kings 10:15-29 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. 16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. 17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. ...

Taxes

2 Samuel 20:24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:
Also 1 Kings 12:18; 2 Chronicles 17:11.

Poll tax

Matthew 17:24-27 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Presents

1 Samuel 10:27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
Also 1 Samuel 16:20; 2 Samuel 8:2; 1 Kings 10:2,10,25; 2 Chronicles 9:24; Psalm 72:10.

Commissary of

1 Kings 4:7-19 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8 And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: 9 The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan: 10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: ...
Also 1 Kings 4:27-28; 1 Chronicles 27:25-31; 2 Chronicles 26:10; 32:28-29.

Extensive livestock of

Judges 12:14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
Also 1 Kings 1:33; 4:26; 10:25; 2 Chronicles 9:24-25; Esther 6:8.

Chief officers of

The captain of the army

2 Samuel 8:16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
Also 1 Kings 4:4.

The recorder

2 Samuel 8:16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
Also 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:3.

The scribe

2 Samuel 8:17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;
Also 2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 4:3.

The chief priests

2 Samuel 8:17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;
Also 2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 4:2.

The chief of the bodyguard

2 Samuel 8:18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.
Also 2 Samuel 15:18; 20:23; 1 Chronicles 11:25.

The collector of taxes

2 Samuel 20:24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:

The chief ruler

2 Samuel 20:26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
Also 1 Kings 4:5; Esther 3:1-2; 8:1-2,15; 10:3.

The advisor

1 Kings 4:5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend:

The provincial governors

Daniel 6:1-3 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; 2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

Subordinate officers of

The governor of the household

1 Kings 4:6 And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
Also 2 Chronicles 28:7.

The keeper of the wardrobe

2 Kings 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.
Also 2 Chronicles 34:22.

Drunkenness of, forbidden

Proverbs 31:4-5 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

Drunken, instances of

Hosea 7:5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

Baasha

1 Kings 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.

Ben-hadad

1 Kings 20:16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

Belshazzar

Daniel 5:1-4 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Also Daniel 5:23.

Ahasuerus

Esther 1:7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
Also Esther 1:10; 5:6; 7:2.

Prayer for

Ezra 6:10 That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

Prayer for, enjoined

1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Decrees of, irrevocable

Esther 8:8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.
Also Daniel 6:8-9,12-15.

Chronicles of, recorded

1 Kings 11:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
Also 1 Kings 14:19; 2 Kings 21:25; 1 Chronicles 9:1; 27:24; 29:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 20:34; 26:22; 32:32; Ezra 5:17; Esther 6:1.

See GOVERNMENT

See RULERS

For the kings of Israel, before and after the revolt of the ten tribes

See ISRAEL