מַלְכִּיָּה
𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤉𐤄
Malekiyah
H4441 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Personal name meaning 'My king is Yah' or 'The king belongs to Yah'. Used as the name for multiple individuals in the Hebrew Bible, all Israelites who bear this theophoric name as an indication of religious allegiance or family devotion to YHWH. The word does not signify kingship as an office, but rather expresses the relationship or association of an individual to the deity YHWH through the name, either as a statement of faith or a parental wish for divine patronage.
Semantic Range
personal name meaning 'My king is Yah', the king (belongs to) Yah, my king is Yahweh; used as a theophoric given name for multiple Israelite individuals
Root / Etymology
From the root מ-ל-ך (מלך) meaning 'to rule, be king' and the theophoric element יָהּ (Yah), which is a shortened form of the divine name YHWH. The name is a compound, typical of Israelite anthroponymy, combining a possessive or relational element ('my king' or 'the king of') with the divine name.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The name מַלְכִּיָּה (Malkîyâh) appears in variant forms: מַלְכִּיָּה (found e.g. in Nehemiah 3:11) and מַלְכִּיָּהוּ (Malchiah; Jeremiah 38:6). Both are theophoric names, characteristic of the monarchic and post-exilic periods when invoking the deity in names was especially common. There is no evidence that bearers of the name held royal office. Rather, the name is individual and familial, not political. Some later translations and Christian traditions render the name as 'Malchijah' or 'Malchiah,' and in Second Temple or later Greco-Roman contexts, the name is sometimes Hellenized or adapted. The English term 'Jew' is sometimes used in translation for bearers in late biblical contexts, but historically the biblical bearers are Israelites or Judahites. The name illustrates the common Israelite practice of theophoric naming and reflects wide usage across social strata.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
or מַלְכִּיָּהוּlemma מַלְכִּיָהוּ missing dagesh, corrected to מַלְכִּיָּהוּ; (Jeremiah [38:6), from מֶלֶךְ and יָהּ; king of (i.e. appointed by) Jah; Malkijah, the name of ten Israelites; Malchiah, Malchijah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
מלך (m-l-k) — to rule, to be king, to reign
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H3230 | יַמְלֵךְ | He-Will-Reign |
| H4409 | מַלּוּךְ | to Reigning-One |
| H4427 | מָלַךְ | in his reigning |
| H4428 | מֶלֶךְ | among the kings |
| H4429 | מֶלֶךְ | the sovereign |
Word Forms
4 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4441-02 |
מַלְכִּיָּ֔ה | malekiyah | HNp |
Malchijah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah | 10 |
H4441-04 |
וּ/מַלְכִּיָּה֙ | umalekiyah | HC/Np |
and Malchijah | And My-King-is-Yah | and Malekiyah | 4 |
H4441-03 |
מַלְכִּיָּ֣הוּ | malekiyahu | HNp |
Malchiah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah | 1 |
H4441-01 |
לְ/מַלְכִּיָּה֙ | lemalekiyah | HR/Np |
to Malchijah | to My-King-is-Yah | to Malekiyah | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
16 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4441-02 |
Jeremiah 21:1 | מַלְכִּיָּ֔ה | malekiyah | HNp |
Malkijah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-02 |
Jeremiah 38:1 | מַלְכִּיָּ֑ה | malekiyah | HNp |
Malchiah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-03 |
Jeremiah 38:6 | מַלְכִּיָּ֣הוּ | malekiyahu | HNp |
Malchiah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-04 |
Ezra 10:25 | וּ/מַלְכִּיָּה֙ | umalekiyah | HC/Np |
and Malchijah | And My-King-is-Yah | and Malekiyah |
H4441-04 |
Ezra 10:25 | וּ/מַלְכִּיָּ֖ה | umalekiyah-2 | HC/Np |
and Malchijah | And My-King-is-Yah | and Malekiyah |
H4441-02 |
Ezra 10:31 | מַלְכִּיָּ֖ה | malekiyah | HNp |
Malchijah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-02 |
Nehemiah 3:11 | מַלְכִּיָּ֣ה | malekiyah | HNp |
Malchijah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-02 |
Nehemiah 3:14 | מַלְכִּיָּ֣ה | malekiyah | HNp |
Malchijah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-02 |
Nehemiah 3:31 | מַלְכִּיָּה֙ | malekiyah | HNp |
Malchijah | My King is Yah | Malekiyah |
H4441-04 |
Nehemiah 8:4 | וּ/מַלְכִּיָּ֛ה | umalekiyah | HC/Np |
and Malchijah | And My-King-is-Yah | and Malekiyah |