מֶלֶכְ
melek "king",
used of Israelite kings (1:1, 7:1,
10, 13), foreign monarchs (1:15; 2:1)
and of the kingship of gods (5:26). It is interesting that despite the concentration
on royalty in the oracles against the nations in 1:3-2:16,
it is not till 1:15 that the
word itself appears. Previously either the terms "the one enthroned"
or "who grasps the scepter" were used.