Royal

Royal - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

ROY'AL, a. [L. regalis, from rex, king. See Reck and Right.]

1. Kingly; pertaining to a king; regal; as royal power or prerogative; a royal garden; royal domains; the royal family.

2. Becoming a king; magnificent; as royal state.

3. Noble; illustrious.

How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio?

ROY'AL, n.

1. A large kind of paper. It is used as a noun or an adjective.

2. Among seamen, a small sail spread immediately above the top-gallant-sail; sometimes termed the top-gallant-royal.

3. One of the shoots of a stag's head.

4. In artillery, a small mortar.

5. In England, one of the soldiers of the first regiment of foot, called the royals, and supposed to be the oldest regular corps in Europe.

roi'-al: Either belonging to a king (kingdom) or having kingly power, dignity, authority, etc. In Hebrew, the word is expressed by using different nouns in the gen. case (the "construct state"). They are:

(1) melekh, "king": "Asher .... shall yield royal dainties," literally, choice morsels of the king, meaning fit for a king (Ge 49:20); "besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty," literally, which he gave her according to the hand (the wealth) of King Solomon (1Ki 10:13; compare the Revised Version margin); "a royal statute," literally, statute of a malka', which is the emphatic Aramaic term for melekh, "king" (Da 6:7);

(2) mamlakhah, "the power and dignity of a king," "Gibeon .... one of the royal cities," i.e. a capital city with a king of her own (Jos 10:2; compare 1Sa 27:5); "all the seed royal," literally, the seed of the kingdom (2Ki 11:1; compare 2Ch 22:10);

(3) malkhuth, "kinghood," "kingdom": "royal majesty," literally, majesty of kinghood (1Ch 29:25); quite frequently in the Book of Esther; royal wine (1:7); crown (1:11; compare 2:17; 6:8); commandment (1:19); "her royal estate," literally, her kinghood (1:19); house royal (2:16; compare 5:1); royal apparel (5:1; compare 6:8,15); throne (5:1);

(4) melukhah, "kingdom," "kingly power and dignity": "royal city," literally, the city of the kingdom, meaning here that part of the city (Rabbah) in which the royal palace was situated (2Sa 12:26); "royal diadem," literally, turban of kinghood (Isa 62:3);

(5) in Jer 43:10 we find the word shaphrir; its meaning is uncertain: "royal pavilion" (the Revised Version (British and American) and the King James Version), "glittering" (Revised Version, margin), "scepter," "a carpet covering a throne."

The New Testament uses the word for basilikos, "belonging to king": "royal apparel" (Ac 12:21); "the royal law," something like "the golden rule," being foremost because including all others (Jas 2:8), and for basileios (being vested with kingly power and honor), "royal priesthood," the Hebrew rendering would be mamlekheth kohanim, "a kingdom of priests," i.e. a kingdom whose citizens are priests, emphasizing the two facts that the true Christians have free access to the grace of God and that they enjoy the liberties and privileges of His kingdom (1Pe 2:9).

William Baur

Definition

The term “royal” describes people and things associated with a king or queen.

• Examples of things that could be called “royal” include a king’s (or queen’s) position, clothing, palace, throne, and crown.
• A king or queen usually lived in a royal palace.
• A king wore special clothing, sometimes called “royal robes.” Often a king’s robes were purple, this color could only be produced by a rare and expensive type of dye.
• In the New Testament, believers in Jesus were called a “royal priesthood.” Other ways to translate this could include “priests who serve God the King” or “called to be priests for God the King.”
• The term “royal” could also be translated as “kingly” or “belonging to a king.”

(See also: king. palace, priest, purple, queen, robe)

Bible References

• 1 Kings 10:13
• 2 Chronicles 18:28-30
• Amos 7:13
• Genesis 49:19-21

Word Data

• Strong’s: H0643, H1921, H1935, H4410, H4428, H4430, H4437, H4438, H4467, H4468, H7985, G09330, G09340, G09370