βασιλεύς, βασιλέως, ὁ, leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king; universally: οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, Mat_17:25; Rev_16:14 (L T Tr WH omit τῆς γῆς), etc.; τῶν ἐθνῶν, Luk_22:25; of the king of Egypt, Act_7:10; Act_7:18; Heb_11:23; Heb_11:27; of David, Mat_1:6; Act_13:22; of Herod the Great and his successors, Mat_2:1 ff; Luk_1:5; Act_12:1; Act_25:13; of a tetrarch, Mat_14:9; Mar_6:14; Mar_6:22 (of the son of a king, Xenophon, oec. 4, 16; "regesSyriac,regisAntiochipueros,scitisRomaenuperfuisse," Cicero, Verr. 2:4, 27, cf. de senectute 17, 59; (Vergil Aen. 9, 223)); of a Roman emperor, 1Ti_2:2; 1Pe_2:17, cf. Rev_17:9 (10), (so in secular writings in the Roman age, as in Josephus, b. j. 5, 13, 6; Herodian, 2, 4, 8 (4 Bekker); of the son of the emperor, ibid. 1, 5, 15 (5 Bekker)); of the Messiah, ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Mat_2:2, etc.; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mar_15:32; Joh_1:49 (50); ; of Christians, as to reign over the world with Christ in the millennial kingdom, Rev_1:6; Rev_5:10 (Rec. in both passages and (Griesbach in the latter; see βασιλεία, 3 e.); of God, the supreme ruler over all, Mat_5:35; 1Ti_1:17 (see αἰών, 2); Rev_15:3; βασιλεύς βασιλέων, Rev_17:14 (but here, as in Rev_19:16 of the victorious Messiah); ὁ βασιλεία τῶν βασιλευόντων, 1Ti_6:15 (2Ma_13:4; 3Ma_5:35; Enoch 9, 4; (84, 2; Philo de decal. § 10); cf. (κύριος τῶν βασιλειῶν, Dan_2:47); κύριος τῶν κυρίων, Deu_10:17; Psa_135:3 (; (so of the king of the Parthians, Plutarch, Pomp. § 38, 1)).

βασιλεύς basileus 115x a king, monarch, one possessing regal authority king; rule; ruler.

βασιλεύς , -έως , ὁ , [in LXX chiefly for H4428 ;] a king: Mat_1:6 ; Mat_2:1 ; used by courtesy of Herod the Tetrarch, Mat_14:9 ; of the Roman Emperor, as freq . in κοινή ( Deiss., LAE , p. 367), 1Pe_2:13 ; 1Pe_2:17 ; of the Christ, in the phrase ὁ β . τ . Ἰουδαίων , Mat_2:2 , al. ; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ , Mar_15:32 , Joh_1:50 ; Joh_12:13 ; of God, Mat_5:35 , 1Ti_1:17 , Rev_15:3 ; β . βασιλέων , Rev_17:14 ; Rev_19:16 ; β . τ . βασιλευόντων , 1Ti_6:15 (on the associations of the word to Jewish Hellenists, v. Cl. Rev . , i, 7).†

βασιλεύς [page 104] In a letter written not later than B.C. 334 the title of βασιλεύς is adopted by Alexander the Great ( Priene 1), and it was a favourite designation of his successors in the Syrian and Egyptian monarchies. In this way it became familiar to the Jews of the Dispersion; and when found in the Septuagint as the translation of their vernacular title would be instinct with present meaning and full of absorbing associations, as Hicks ( CR i. p. 7) has pointed out. In the NT it was transferred to the Roman Emperor ( 1Ti_2:2 , 1Pe_2:13 ; 1Pe_2:17 ) in accordance with common usage, as borne out by the inscriptions, e.g. IG III. 12 .15, .17 (time of Hadrian), CIG II. 2721 .11 (time of the Antonines), and the other examples cited by Magie, p. 62. Similarly Deissmann ( LAE , p. 367 f.) brings forward evidence to show that the full title βασιλεὺς βασιλέων (as Rev_17:14 ; Rev_19:16 ) was again in very early Eastern history a decoration of actual great monarchs and also a divine title. The former has of course as its most obvious example the title of the Persian Kings, as at Behistan χπ̣βyaθ iya χπ̣βyaθ iyβnβm : cf. the verbal phrase in the next article. For the latter, cf. the occult document P Leid W xiv. 8 (ii/iii A.D.) ἐπικαλοῦμαί σε , βασιλεῦ βασιλέων , τύραννε τυράννων , ἔνδοξο ἐνδοξοτἁτων , δαίμων δαιμώνων , ἄλκιμε ἀλκιμωτάτων , ἅγιε ἁγίων . The similarity and at the same time contrast in the Christian usage would thus be full of significance to the Early Church, as in the case of the title κύριος ( q. v. ). On OGIS 35 .1 (iii/B.C.) βασίλισσαν Φιλωτέραν βασιλέως Πτολεμαίου ( sc. II, Philadelphus), Dittenberger (p. 648) contests Strack s attempt to claim βασιλεύς as well as βασίλισσα as a term applicable to non-regnant members of a royal family : he notes that there is all the difference between βασιλεύς and its feminine. Wilcken Archiv iii. p. 319 supports him, and notes inscriptions where βασιλεύς is promptly dropped when a mere H.R.H. is named after the king and his consort. He also commends Dittenberger s remark that Augustus and Augusta had the same difference after Domitian s time.

βασιλεύς [Etym: deriv. uncertain] "a king, chief", Hom. : later it was "an hereditary king", opp. to τύραννος, Hdt. , attic; ἄναξ β. lord "king", Aesch. : c. gen., β. νεῶν id=Aesch. ; οἰωνῶν β., of the eagle, id=id=Aesch. :— Hom. has a comp. βασιλεύτερος "more of a king, more kingly", Sup. βασιλεύτατος "most kingly". of "the king's son, prince", or any one sharing in the government, Od. generally, "a lord, master, householder", Il. , Pind. at Athens, "the second of the nine Archons" was called βασιλεύς; he had charge of the public worship, and the conduct of criminal processes, Plat. , etc. after the Persian war, "the king of Persia" was called βασιλεύς (without the Art.), Hdt. , attic; more rarely ὁ βασιλεύς, or ὁ μέγας βας. Hdt.

βασιλεύς, -έως, ὁ, [in LXX chiefly for מֶלֶךְ ;] a king: Mat.1:6 2:1; used by courtesy of Herod the Tetrarch, Mat.14:9; of the Roman Emperor, as frequently in κοινή (Deiss., LAE, p. 367), 1Pe.2:13, 17; of the Christ, in the phrase ὁ β. τ. Ἰουδαίων, Mat.2:2, al.; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mrk.15:32, Jhn.1:50 12:13; of God, Mat.5:35, 1Ti.1:17, Rev.15:3; β. βασιλέων, Rev.17:14 19:16; β. τ. βασιλευόντων, 1Ti.6:15 (on the associations of the word to Jewish Hellenists, see Cl. Rev., i, 7).† (AS)