Reference: King
Easton
is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Jos 12:9,24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek subdued seventy kings (Jg 1:7). In the New Testament the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king (1Pe 2:13,17); and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called a king (Mt 14:9; Mr 6:22).
This title is applied to God (1Ti 1:17), and to Christ, the Son of God (1Ti 6:15-16; Mt 27:11). The people of God are also called "kings" (Da 7:22,27; Mt 19:28; Re 1:6, etc.). Death is called the "king of terrors" (Job 18:14).
Jehovah was the sole King of the Jewish nation (1Sa 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 (1Sa 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 (1Sa 10:1). The limits of the king's power were prescribed (1Sa 10:25). The officers of his court were, (1) the recorder or remembrancer (2Sa 8:16; 1Ki 4:3); (2) the scribe (2Sa 8:17; 20:25); (3) the officer over the house, the chief steward (Isa 22:15); (4) the "king's friend," a confidential companion (1Ki 4:5); (5) the keeper of the wardrobe (2Ki 22:14); (6) captain of the bodyguard (2Sa 20:23); (7) officers over the king's treasures, etc. (1Ch 27:25-31); (8) commander-in-chief of the army (1Ch 27:34); (9) the royal counsellor (1Ch 27:32; 2Sa 16:20-23).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."
And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.
Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary,
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.
Over the king's treasuries was Azmaveth the son of Adiel; and over the treasuries in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah; and over those who did the work of the field for tilling the soil was Ezri the son of Chelub; read more. and over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite; and over the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. Over the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah was Baal-hanan the Gederite; and over the stores of oil was Joash. Over the herds that pastured in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite; over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai. Over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; and over the donkeys was Jehdeiah the Meronothite. Over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. All these were stewards of King David's property. Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, being a man of understanding and a scribe. He and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni attended the king's sons.
Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king's army.
He is torn from the tent in which he trusted and is brought to the king of terrors.
Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us.
until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'
And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given.
Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world,when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You have said so."
For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you."
To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
which he will display at the proper time--he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Fausets
Moses (De 17:14-17) contemplated the contingency of a king being set up in Israel as in all the adjoining nations. The theocracy and the law could be maintained under kings as under a commonwealth. God's promise was," kings of people shall be of Sarah" (Ge 17:16). Other allusions to kings to come occur (Ge 36:31; Nu 24:17; De 28:36). The request of the people (1Sa 8:5, etc.), "make us a king to judge us like all the nations," evidently is molded after De 17:14; so Samuel's language in presenting Saul to the people (1Sa 10:24) as "him whom the Lord hath chosen" alludes to Moses' direction (De 17:15), "thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall choose." It was not the mere desire for a king which is blamed, but the spirit of their request and the circumstances under which they made it.
They set aside Samuel, though appointed by the heavenly King, on the pretext "behold thou art old," though he took a leading part in state affairs for 35 years afterward (1Sa 8:5), "they have not rejected thee but ... Me that I should not reign over them"; they distrusted God's power and will to save them from Nahash (1Sa 12:12), though He had delivered them from the Philistines (1 Samuel 7). Samuel's sons were corrupt, but that did not warrant their desire to set aside himself, whom none could accuse of corruption (1 Samuel 12). Impatience of God's yoke (the laws of the theocracy), eagerness to imitate the nations around, and unbelief in trial, instead of seeking for the cause of their misfortunes in themselves, were the sin of their request. God in retribution "gave them a king in His anger" (Ho 13:10-11).
Samuel by God's direction warned them of the evil results of their desire, the prerogative to dispose of their property and their children at will, which he would claim; yet they refused to obey: "nay, but we will have a king, that we also may be like all the nations, and that the king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." The sacred record of Solomon's multiplying horses and chariots from Egypt, and foreign wives who turned away his heart, alludes to the prohibition (De 17:16-17; compare De 7:3-4; Ex 34:16), and proceeds to verify the prediction of the results of disobedience to it. God saves not by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord His people's God (Ho 1:7). Moses' caution against "returning to Egypt" accords with his experience (Nu 14:4). After the kingdom was set up in Israel the danger was no longer of a literal (but see Jer 42:14) but of a spiritual backsliding return to Egypt (Ho 11:5; Isa 30:1-2; 36:9; Eze 17:15).
Solomon's multiplication of horses and chariots from Egypt entailed constant traffic with that idolatrous nation, which the prohibition, De 17:16, was designed to prevent. The king when set up, as the judge previously, was but God's viceroy, enjoying only a delegated authority. The high priest, priests, and Levites, as God's ministers, were magistrates as well as religious officers. Saul was elected by the divine oracle from an obscure family, so that all saw his authority was held solely at God's pleasure. The king had the executive power under God; God reserved to Himself the executive. The words "Jehovah is our Judge, Jehovah is our Lawgiver, Jehovah is our King," embody the theocracy (Isa 33:22). The land itself was His (Le 25:23-42,55); and the people, as His servants, could not be permanently bondservants to men.
The king was closely connected with the priesthood, and was bound to "write (i.e. have written for him) a copy of the law out of that before the priests and Levites; he should read therein all his life, to keep all the words, that his heart might not be lifted up above his brethren, to the end that he might prolong his days in his kingdom" (De 17:18-20). Instead of being, like Eastern kings, of a distinct royal caste, he was simply to be first among equals, like his subjects bound by the fundamental law of the nation (compare Mt 23:9). None of the Israelite kings usurped the right to legislate. The people chose their king, but only in accordance with God's "choice" and from their "brethren" (1Sa 9:15; 10:24; 16:12; 1Ki 19:16; 1Ch 22:10). The rule ("one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee," De 17:15) that no stronger should reign gives point to the question (See JESUS CHRIST), Mt 22:17, "is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar?" (Jer 30:21).
The unlimited polygamy of Eastern kings was forbidden. Samuel wrote down "the manner of the kingdom" (1Sa 10:25), i.e. the rights and duties of the king in relation to Jehovah the supreme King, and to the nation. Despotic murders were committed as that of the 85 priests at Nob, besides the other inhabitants, by Saul (1Sa 22:18-19); but mostly the kings observed forms of law. Even Ahab did not seize at once Naboth's vineyard, but did it with the show of a trial. David slew Rechab and Baanah because they were self convicted of Ishbosheth's murder. The king was commander in chief, supreme judge, and imposer of taxes (Menahem, 2Ki 15:19-20; Jehoiakim, 2Ki 23:35) and levies of men (1Ki 5:13-15). He was "the Lord's anointed," consecrated with the holy oil heretofore reserved for the priests (Ex 30:23-33; 1Ki 1:39; 2Sa 7:14; Ps 89:19-20,26-27; 2:2,6-7). It was sacrilegious to kill him, even at his own request (1Sa 24:5-6,10; 26:9,16; 2Sa 1:14; La 4:20).
Type of Messiah (Da 9:26). The prophets were his advisers, reprovers (12/type/esv'>2 Samuel 12, 1 Kings 21) and intercessors with God (1Ki 12:21-24; Isa 37:22-36; Jer 37:17; 38:2,4,14-26). He was bound to consult God by the Urim and Thummim of the high priest in every important step (1Sa 14:18-19; 28:6; 2Sa 2:1; 5:19,23). He held office on condition of loyalty to his supreme Lord. Saul, failing herein, forfeited his throne; he usurped the place of God's will: "we inquired not at the ark in the days of Saul" (1Ch 13:3). David, on the contrary, could not bear that God's throne, the ark, should lie neglected while his throne was so elevated, and he stripped off his royal robe for the linen ephod to do homage before the symbol of God's throne (2Sa 6:14).
The king selected his successor, under God's direction, as David chose Solomon before the elder son Adonijah (1Ki 1:30; 2:22; 2Sa 12:24-25); compare 2Ch 11:21-22, Rehoboam, Abijah; the firstborn was usually appointed (2Ch 21:3-4). The queen mother was regent during a son's minority, and always held a high position of power at court (1Ki 2:19; 2Ki 24:12,15; 11:1-3; Athaliah). His chief officers were the recorder, who wrote annals of his reign (2Sa 8:16); the scribe or secretary wrote dispatches and conducted his correspondence (2Sa 8:17); the officer over the house, arrayed in a distinctive robe of office and girdle (Isa 22:15, etc., Isa 36:3); the king's friend or companion (1Ki 4:5); the captain of the body guard (2Sa 20:23; 1Ki 2:25,34,46), who was also chief executioner; the commander in chief under the king (2Sa 3:30-39; 20:23); his counselor (25/type/esv'>2Sa 24:25,25; 1Ch 27:32). Besides demesnes, flocks, tenths (1Sa 8:15), levies, he enjoyed a large revenue by "presents," which virtually became a regular tax.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.
"Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. read more. And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. And you shall say to the people of Israel, 'This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.'"
and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land. read more. "If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. But if he has not sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property. "If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee. But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee. As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. But the fields of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever. "If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. "If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.
"When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,'
"When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,' you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'
Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'
Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.' And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. read more. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
"The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.
and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."
and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."
He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!" Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,'when the LORD your God was your king.
So Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here." For the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel. Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."
And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he."
Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn and strike the priests." And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.
And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed."
Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, 'I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD's anointed.'
But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?"
This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the LORD's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head."
And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier. read more. They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. And the king lamented for Abner, saying, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen."And all the people wept again over him. Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, "God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!" And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The LORD repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!"
And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.
Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary,
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, 'Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,' even so will I do this day."
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right.
King Solomon answered his mother, "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah."
Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;
King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. read more. Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country,
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: read more. "Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 'Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the LORD and went home again, according to the word of the LORD.
Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power. Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land.
And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul."
Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king.
Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: "I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.' And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
"Ah, stubborn children," declares the LORD, "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us.
And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: "'She despises you, she scorns you-- the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you-- the daughter of Jerusalem. "'Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel! read more. By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon, to cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, to come to its remotest height, its most fruitful forest. I dug wells and drank waters, to dry up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt. "'Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins, while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown. "'I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.' "And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David." And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the LORD.
King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, "Is there any word from the LORD?" Jeremiah said, "There is." Then he said, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."
"Thus says the LORD: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.
Then the officials said to the king, "Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm."
King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, "I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me." Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me." read more. Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life." Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand." King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me." Jeremiah said, "You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me: Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying, "'Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you; now that your feet are sunk in the mud, they turn away from you.' All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire." Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,' then you shall say to them, 'I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"
and saying, 'No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,'
The breath of our nostrils, the LORD's anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, "Under his shadow we shall live among the nations."
But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen."
They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers-- those of whom you said, "Give me a king and princes"? I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.
Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
Hastings
KING
1. Etymology and use of the term.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
"When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,' you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. read more. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.' And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian."
"Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, 'Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?' Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh."
He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom."
So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. read more. Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash,
One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side." But he did not tell his father.
Then they told Saul, "Behold, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood." And he said, "You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here."
And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul.
And the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?
And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
And they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts
Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary, read more. and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were priests.
And Joab sent messengers to David and said, "I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters.
And the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead.
And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, "From what city are you?" And when he said, "Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,"
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."
And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
He said, "You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD.
Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;
Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.
King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.
King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
And the king of Israel said, "Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son,
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it
And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.
Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. read more. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
and over those who did the work of the field for tilling the soil was Ezri the son of Chelub;
He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.
He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, "Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment. read more. Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes." Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, to give judgment for the LORD and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. And he charged them: "Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart: whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the LORD be with the upright!"
The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.
Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob!
Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice.
And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
"And to the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.
"What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst.
I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will kill all its princes with him," says the LORD.
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals-- those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us."
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."
Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."
Smith
King,
a chief ruler, one invested with supreme authority over a nation, tribe or country. --Webster. In the Bible the word does not necessarily imply great power or great extent of country. Many persons are called kings whom we should rather call chiefs or leaders. The word is applied in the Bible to God as the sovereign and ruler of the universe, and to Christ the Son of God as the head and governor of the Church. The Hebrews were ruled by a king during a period of about 500 years previous to the destruction of Jerusalem, B.C. 586. The immediate occasion of the substitution of a regal form of government for that of judges seems to have been the siege of Jabesh-gilead by Nahash king of the Ammonites.
The conviction seems to have forced itself on the Israelites that they could not resist their formidable neighbor unless they placed themselves under the sway of a king, like surrounding nations. The original idea of a Hebrew King was twofold: first, that he should lead the people to battle in time of war; and, a second, that he should execute judgment and justice to them in war and in peace.
In both respects the desired end was attained. Besides being commander-in-chief of the army, supreme judge, and absolute master, as it were, of the lives of his subjects, the king exercised the power of imposing taxes on them, and of exacting from them personal service and labor. In addition to these earthly powers, the king of Israel had a more awful claim to respect and obedience. He was the vicegerent of Jehovah,
and as it were his son, if just and holy.
he had been set apart as a consecrated ruler. Upon his dead had been poured the holy anointing oil, which had hitherto been reserved exclusively for the priests of Jehovah. He had become, in fact, emphatically "the Lord's anointed." He had a court of Oriental magnificence. The king was dressed in royal robes,
his insignia were, a crown or diadem of pure gold, or perhaps radiant with precious gems,
2Sa 1:10; 12:30; 2Ki 11:12; Ps 21:3
and a royal sceptre. Those who approached him did him obeisance, bowing down and touching the ground with their foreheads,
and this was done even by a king's wife, the mother of Solomon.
His officers and subjects called themselves his servants or slaves. He had a large harem, which was guarded by eunuchs. The law of succession to the throne is somewhat obscure, but it seems most probable that the king during his lifetime named his successor. At the same time, if no partiality for a favorite wife or son intervened, there would always be a natural bias of affection in favor of the eldest son.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you."
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,'when the LORD your God was your king.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage.
So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount.
Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, "What do you desire?"
Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.' And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.