kings / sovereigns

The word “king” is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. In the New Testament, the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king (1 Pet. 2:13, 17), and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called a king (Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22).

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There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek subdued seventy kings (Judg. 1:7).

Sovereign God

The title of King is applied to God (1 Tim. 1:17), and to Christ, the Son of God (1 Tim. 6:15-16; Matt. 27:11). The people of God are also called “kings” (Dan. 7:22, 27; Matt. 19:28; Rev. 1:6, etc.). Death is called the “king of terrors” (Job 18:14).

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• Kingly office of Christ
• Messianic prophecies
• GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, election, and man’s free will—What does the Bible say? Answer

Hebrew kings

Jehovah was the sole King of the Jewish nation (1 Sam. 8:7; Isa. 33:22). But there came a time in the history of that people when a king was demanded, that they might be like other nations (1 Sam. 8:5). The prophet Samuel remonstrated with them, but the people cried out, “Nay, but we will have a king over us.” The misconduct of Samuel's sons was the immediate cause of this demand.

The Hebrew kings did not rule in their own right, nor in name of the people who had chosen them, but partly as servants and partly as representatives of Jehovah, the true King of Israel (1 Sam. 10:1).

The limits of the king's power were prescribed (1 Sam. 10:25).

The officers of his court were:

1. the recorder or remembrancer (2 Sam. 8:16; 1 Kings 4:3)
2. the scribe (2 Sam. 8:17; 20:25
3. the officer over the house, the chief steward (Isa. 22:15
4. the “king's friend,” a confidential companion (1 Kings 4:5)
5. the keeper of the wardrobe (2 Kings 22:14)
6. captain of the bodyguard (2 Sam. 20:23)
7. officers over the king's treasures, etc. (1 Chr. 27:25-31)
8. commander-in-chief of the army (1 Chr. 27:34)
9. the royal counsellor (1 Chr. 27:32; 2 Sam. 16:20-23).
10. ambassador

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Chronological list of Hebrew kings

Kings in the Bible
alphabetical

Kingdoms

• Assyria
• kingdom of Babylon
• Egypt
• kingdom of Israel
• kingdom of Judah
• Persia
• Rome
• Chaldea
• Media

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