'Prince' in the Bible

“Listen to us, my lord; you are a prince of God [a mighty prince] among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave or hinder you from burying your dead [wife].”

When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her].

“The blessings of your fatherAre greater than the blessings of my ancestors [Abraham and Isaac]Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;They shall be on the head of Joseph,Even on the crown of the head of him who was the distinguished one and the one who is prince among (separate from) his brothers.

But the man said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Certainly this incident is known.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Let them present their offerings, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

On the ninth day [it was] Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Benjamin [who presented his offering];

Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us?

for they harass you with their tricks, the tricks with which they have deceived you in the matter [of the Baal] of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because [of the Baal] of Peor.”

You shall take one leader from every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance.

With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,And the favor and goodwill of Him who dwelt in the bush.Let these blessings come upon the head of Joseph,And upon the crown of the head of him who was distinguished [as a prince] among his brothers.

He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” Then Joshua fell with his face toward the earth and bowed down, and said to him, “What does my lord have to say to his servant?”

The captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy (set apart to the Lord).” And Joshua did so.

Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has the Lord not anointed you as ruler over His inheritance (Israel)?

But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”

Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out [to war] and brought Israel in [from battle]. And the Lord told you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over them.’”

So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord [that I did this], who chose me above your father and all his house, to appoint me as ruler over Israel, the people of the Lord. Therefore I will celebrate [in pure enjoyment] before the Lord.

So now, say this to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.

Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, leader of the sons of Judah.

Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came [David] the leader [and eventually the Messiah], yet the birthright was Joseph’s—

Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a leader of the tribe of Reuben.

In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over My people Israel.’”

Now, therefore, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel.

They ate and drank that day before the Lord with great rejoicing.They made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and anointed him as ruler for the Lord and Zadok as [high] priest.

Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ (ancestors’) households.

Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah the chief leader among his brothers, because he intended to make him king.

And Cyrus, king of Persia, had Mithredath the treasurer bring them out, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the governor (leader) of Judah.

“For you say, ‘Where is the house of the noble man?And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’

“I would count out to Him the number of my steps [with every detail of my life],Approaching His presence as if I were a prince.

Shin.Princes persecute me without cause,But my heart stands in [reverent] awe of Your words [so I can expect You to help me].

Excellent speech does not benefit a fool [who is spiritually blind],Much less do lying lips benefit a prince.

For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince,Whom your eyes have seen.

For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;And the government shall be upon His shoulder,And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

“Listen carefully, I have appointed him [David, representing the Messiah] to be a witness to the nations [regarding salvation],A leader and commander to the peoples.

‘Their prince will be one of them,And their ruler will come forward from among them.I will bring him near and he shall approach Me,For who is he who would have the boldness and would dare [on his own initiative] to risk his life to approach Me?’ says the Lord.

He also took out of the city one official who was overseer of the soldiers, and seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men who were still in the city.

The king [of Judah] will mourn and the prince (Zedekiah) will be clothed with [garments of] despair and anguish, and the hands of the people of the land shall tremble [in terror]. I will deal with them in accordance with their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”

Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “This oracle (a burden to be carried) concerns the prince (Zedekiah) in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are there.”’

The prince who is among them will load his provisions and supplies on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall to go out. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes.

And you, O dishonored and wicked one [Zedekiah], the prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of final punishment is here,’

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Because your heart is lifted upAnd you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,I sit in the seat of the godsIn the heart of the seas’;Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—

‘Thus says the Lord God,“I will also destroy the idolsAnd I will put an end to the images in Memphis;There will no longer be a prince of the land of Egypt.And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

They will live in the land where your fathers lived, [the land] that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they will live there, they and their children and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever.

“Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal.

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince (ruler) of Meshech and Tubal;

As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the porch (portico) of the gate and shall go out the same way.”

“The prince shall have land on either side of the portion set aside as a holy section and the property of the city, adjacent to the holy section and the property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border.

This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”

“All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel.

On that day the prince shall provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

The prince shall enter by the porch (portico) of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall prepare and provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until evening.

The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.

And he shall provide a grain offering, an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, and a hin of oil with an ephah.

When the prince enters, he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and go out by the same way.

When they go in, the prince shall go in among them; and when they go out, he shall go out.

“At the feasts and the appointed festivals the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah.

When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons from his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons [permanently]; it is their possession by inheritance.

But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his until the year of liberty [the Year of Jubilee]; after that it shall be returned to the prince. His inheritance shall be only his sons’ [permanently]; it shall belong to them.

Moreover, the prince shall not take from the people’s inheritance by oppression and by evicting them from their property; he shall give his sons an inheritance from his own possession, so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.”’”

“The remainder, on both sides of the holy allotment and of the property possessed by the city, shall belong to the prince. In front of the 25,000 cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the 25,000 toward the west border, alongside the [tribal] portions, it shall be for the prince. The holy allotment with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the midst of it.

Exclusive of the property of the Levites and of the property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince.

Indeed, it magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host [of heaven]; and it took away from Him the daily sacrifice (burnt offering), and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down (profaned).

“And through his shrewdnessHe will cause deceit to succeed by his hand (influence);He will magnify himself in his mind,He will corrupt and destroy many who enjoy a false sense of security.He will also stand up and oppose the Prince of princes,But he will be broken, and that by no human hand [but by the hand of God].

So you are to know and understand that from the issuance of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Messiah (the Anointed One), the Prince, there will be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it will be built again, with [a city] plaza and moat, even in times of trouble.

Then after the sixty-two weeks [of years] the Anointed One will be cut off [and denied His Messianic kingdom] and have nothing [and no one to defend Him], and the people of the [other] prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in opposition to me for twenty-one days. Then, behold, Michael, one of the chief [of the celestial] princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

Then he said, “Do you understand [fully] why I came to you? Now I shall return to fight against the [hostile] prince of Persia; and when I have gone, behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.

But I (Gabriel) will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. There is no one who stands firmly with me and strengthens himself against these [hostile spirit forces] except Michael, your prince [the guardian of your nation].

“Also I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I (Gabriel) arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.

After this, he (Antiochus III the Great, King of Syria) will turn his attention to the islands and coastlands and capture many [of them]. But a commander (Lucius Scipio Asiaticus of Rome) will put an end to his aggression [toward Rome’s territorial interests]; in fact, he will repay his insolence and turn his audacity back upon him.

The overwhelming forces [of the invading armies of Egypt] will be flooded away before him and smashed; and also the prince of the covenant [will be smashed].

“Now at that [end] time Michael, the great [angelic] prince who stands guard over the children of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; but at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the Book [of Life], will be rescued.

For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod or teraphim (household idols).

Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly;The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul.So they twist the course of justice between them.

Then he said, “These are the two sons of fresh oil [Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the prince of Judah] who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth [as His anointed ones].”