Lexicon :: Strong's H4428 - meleḵ

Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered;[fn]

he will thunder in the heavens against them.

The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give power to his king;

he will lift up the horn of his anointed.[fn]

They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”

“Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”

“When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the LORD won’t answer you on that day.”

“Listen to them,” the LORD told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

“But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You[fn] must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population.”

And all the people shouted,[fn] “Long live the king! ”

Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.

“But they forgot the LORD their God, so he handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them.

“But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’ ​— ​even though the LORD your God is your king.

“Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the LORD’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”

They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”

“However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

When Saul assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies in every direction: against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he caused havoc.[fn]

Samuel told Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now, listen to the words of the LORD.

He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.

“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the LORD all night.

Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, haven’t you become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel

“But I did obey the LORD! ” Saul answered.[fn] “I went on the mission the LORD gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,

he has rejected you as king.

Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the LORD, the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of Amalek.”

Agag came to him trembling,[fn] for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”[fn][fn]

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected for myself a king from his sons.”

Previously, an Israelite man had declared, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the family of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”

[fn] When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner? ”

“Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.

As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments.

Then David responded, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law? ”

Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’ ” Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father, Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.

So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I’m supposed to sit down and eat with the king. Instead, let me go, and I’ll hide in the countryside for the next two nights.[fn]

So David hid in the countryside.

At the New Moon, the king sat down to eat the meal.

“He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go so I can see my brothers.’ That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.”

David answered the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.’ I have stationed my young men at a certain place.

David said to Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword on hand? I didn’t even bring my sword or my weapons since the king’s mission was urgent.”

David fled that day from Saul’s presence and went to King Achish of Gath.