Strong’s H4397 · Hebrew

מֲלְאָךְ
mălʼâk
mal-awk'

Definition

a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher)

Etymology

from an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy;

Where the KJV renders it

  • ambassador
  • angel
  • king
  • messenger

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.