βασιλεύς, -€ws, 6, leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king; univ.: οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, Mt. xvii. 25; Rev. xvi. 14[L T Tr WH om. τῆς γῆς ]» ete.; τῶν ἐθνῶν, Lk. xxii. 25; of the king of Egypt, Acts vii. 10, 18; Heb. xi. 23, 27; of David, Mt.i. 6; Acts xiii. 22; of Herod the Great and his successors, Mt. ii. 1 sqq.; Lk.i.5; Acts xii. 1; xxv. 13; of a tetrarch, Mt. xiv. 9; Mk. vi. 14, 22, (of the son of aking, Xen. oec. 4, 16 ; “reges Syriae, regis Antiochi pueros, scitis Romae nuper fuisse,” Cic. Verr. ii. 4, 27, cf. de senectute 17,59; [Verg. Aen. 9, 2287); of a Roman emperor, 1 Tim. ii. 2; 1 Pet. ii. 17, cf. Rev. xvii. 9 (10), (so in prof. writ. in the Roman age, as in Joseph. b. j. 5, 13, 6; Hdian. 2, 4, 8 [4 Bekk.]; of the son of the emperor, ibid. 1, 5, 15 [5 Bekk.]); of the Messiah, ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων, Mt. ii. 2, ete.; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mk. xv. 32; Jn. i. 49 (50); xii. 13; of Christians, as to reign over the world with Christ in the millennial kingdom, Rev. i. 6; v. 10 (Ree. in both pass. and Grsb. in the latter; see βασιλεία, 3 e.); of God, the supreme ruler over all, Mt. v. 835; 1 Tim. i. 17 (see αἰών, 2); Rev. xv. 3; βασιλεὺς βασιλέων, Rev. xvii. 14 [but here as in xix. 16 of the Victorious Messiah]; ὁ Bac. τῶν βασιλευόντων, 1 Tim. vi. 15, (2 Mace. xiii. 4; 3 Mace. y. 35; Enoch 9,4; [84,2; Philo de decal. § 10]; cf. [κύpwos τῶν Bao. Dan. ii. 47]; κύριος τ. κυρίων, Deut. x. 17; Ps. exxxv. (exxxvi.) 3; [so of the king of the Parthians, Plut. Pomp. ὃ 38, 17).

βασιλεύς basileus 115x

a king, monarch, one possessing regal authority

βασιλεύς, -έως, ὁ,

[in LXX chiefly for מֶלֶךְ;]

a king: Mt 1:6 2:1; used by courtesy of Herod the Tetrarch, Mt 14:9; of the Roman Emperor, as freq. in κοινή (Deiss., LAE, p. 367), I Pe 2:13, 17; of the Christ, in the phrase ὁ β. τ. Ἰουδαίων, Mt 2:2, al.; τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Mk 15:32, Jo 1:50 12:13; of God, Mt 5:35, I Ti 1:17, Re 15:3; β. βασιλέων, Re 17:14 19:16; β. τ. βασιλευόντων, I Ti 6:15 (on the associations of the word to Jewish Hellenists, v. Cl. Rev., i, 7).†

βασιλεύς. 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 , βασιλεύω 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 (C2 i. p. 7) has’ pointed ‘out? In the NT it was transferred to the Roman Emperor (1 Tim 25, 1 Pet 215 17) in accordance with common usage, as borne out by the inscriptions, e.g. 7G IIT. 12", 17°(time of Hadrian), C/G 11. 2721" (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 1715, 197%) was again “ΕἼ 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— y;ayadiya xfayabiyanam: cf. the verbal phrase in the next article. For the latter, cf. the occult document Ρ Leid W+1¥- § (ii/iii A.p.) ἐπικαλοῦμαί σε, βασιλεῦ βασιλέων, τύραννε τυράννων, ἔνδοξο ἐνδοξοτάτων, δαίμων ϑαιμώνων, 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 (7.v.). On OG/S 351 (iii/B.c.) βασίλισσαν Φιλωτέραν βασιλέως ΤΤτολεμαίου (sc. 11, 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 (basileus) — king. βᾰσῐλ-εύς, ὁ, genitive έως, Epic dialect ῆος, [Refs 5th c.AD+] Oracle texts cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+] Aeolic dialect -ηες[Refs 7th c.BC+] old Attic dialect -ῆς[Refs 5th c.BC+]:— king, chief, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: frequently with collateral sense of captain or judge, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; later, hereditary king, opposed to τύραννος, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but also of tyrants, as Hiero, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of Gelo, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of Pisistratus, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: joined with a substantive, βασιλεὺς ἀνήρ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἄναξ β. lord king, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἰωνῶν β., of the eagle, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: comparative βασιλεύτερος more kingly, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: superlative βασιλεύτατος [Refs 8th c.BC+] __b of the gods, Ζεὺς θεῶν β. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; as cult title of Zeus, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁ μέγας β., of God, [LXX+1st c.AD+]: superlative βασιλεύτατοι τῶν θεῶν [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

2. as a title of rank, prince, β. εἰσὶ καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ ἐν.. Ἰθάκῃ [Refs 8th c.BC+], etc.; of Cyrus, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. b descendant of a royal house, especially in Ionia, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; βασιλέων οἶκοι 'estates of the royal house', name of a district in Chios, Ἀθηνᾶ [Refs]

3. generally, lord, master, [Refs 8th c.BC+]

4. metaphorically, πόλεμος πάντων β. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. at Athens, the second of the nine Archons, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. title of magistrates in other Greek states, as βασιλᾶες at Elis, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II.3. at Rome, β. τῶν ἱερῶν, = rex sacrorum, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

III. after the Persian war (without Article), the king of Persia, [Refs 5th c.BC+] of the Satraps, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III.2. of Alexander and his successors, usually with Article, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; Ἀντίγονος Alex.III; Πτολεμαῖος [Refs 1st c.BC+]; title used by Parthian kings, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; of God, [NT]

III.3. of the Roman emperors, [NT+1st c.AD+]

IV. of any great man, πένησί τε καὶ βασιλεῦσιν [Refs 1st c.AD+]

IV.2. first or most distinguished of any class, Ἡρώδην τὸν β. τῶν λόγων [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; winner at a game, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Stoic sage, μόνος β. [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; βασιλέως ἐγκέφαλος 'morsel fit for a king', [Refs 4th c.BC+]; β. σῦκα, name of a choice kind, Philem.Legal. cited in [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

V. ={συμποσίαρχος}, [Refs 1st c.AD+]

VI. wren, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

VII. queen-bee,[Refs] is scanned ?~X ?~X ¯ in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; codices βασίλεια.)