4415. melach

Lexical Summary

melach: service

Original Word: מְלַח
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: mlach
Pronunciation: meh-lakh
Phonetic Spelling: (mel-akh')
KJV: + have maintenance
NASB: service
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H4414 (מָלַח - To salt)]

1. to eat salt
2. (generally) to subsist

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

have maintenance

(Aramaic) corresponding to malach; to eat salt, i.e. (generally) subsist -- + have maintenance.

see HEBREW malach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) denominative verb from melach
Definition
to eat salt
NASB Translation
service (1).

Topical Lexicon

Overview of Biblical Usage

The noun מְלַח (melach) surfaces only once (Ezra 4:14), where Persian officials write, “Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, we are sending to inform the king”. Here salt represents the royal provisions binding the writers in allegiance to Artaxerxes.

Historical Context

Ezra 4 unfolds during the early reign of Artaxerxes I. Provincial administrators oppose Jerusalem’s reconstruction and appeal to the king’s self-interest. In the Persian court, rations—salt included—were privileges signaling employment and loyalty. By invoking salt, the authors stress legal obligation: those nourished by the throne must protect the throne.

Idiomatic Sense: “Eating Salt”

• Sustenance: receiving royal provisions.
• Allegiance: a metaphor for sworn fidelity.
• Mutual Obligation: beneficiaries protect the benefactor’s honor and interests.
• Legal Weight: in Ancient Near Eastern diplomacy, salt sealed agreements just as ink seals modern contracts.

Covenantal Significance of Salt

Scripture uses salt to underscore covenant permanence and purity.

• Leviticus 2:13 — “the salt of the covenant of your God.”
• Numbers 18:19 — a “covenant of salt forever” with the priests.
• 2 Chronicles 13:5 — the Davidic rule is “by a covenant of salt.”

Ezra 4:14 echoes this framework: if human covenants reinforced by salt are binding, God’s covenants are far more enduring.

Theological Themes

Preservation: as salt arrests decay, God’s covenant preserves His people.

Purity: salt seasoned sacrifices, pointing to holiness in worship.

Loyalty: receiving the king’s salt demands faithful service—an earthly mirror of the believer’s allegiance to Christ.

Practical and Ministry Applications

• Work Ethic: salaries are modern “salt”; Christians serve employers with sincerity (Colossians 3:22–24).
• Covenant Memory: salt imagery enriches teaching on the Lord’s Table, highlighting the enduring New Covenant.
• Discipleship: believers, as “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), restrain moral decay through holy conduct and gospel proclamation.
• Leadership: church leaders model covenant faithfulness, urging the flock to keep their “saltiness” (Mark 9:50).

Related Passages

Job 6:6

2 Kings 2:19–22

Ezekiel 43:24

Matthew 5:13

Mark 9:49–50

Colossians 4:6

Christological and Ecclesiological Perspective

Jesus fulfills the “covenant of salt” by establishing the everlasting covenant in His blood. Those who partake of His grace “eat the King’s salt,” obligating themselves to unwavering loyalty. The Church, preserved by Christ, becomes the preservative of society, embodying purity and permanence until He returns.

Conclusion

Though מְלַח occurs only in Ezra 4:14, it illuminates a sweeping biblical portrait: salt signifies sustenance, loyalty, and unbreakable covenant. This single verse thus invites believers to steadfast devotion to the ultimate King whose covenant never loses its savor.

Forms and Transliterations

מְלַ֔חְנָא מלחנא mə·laḥ·nā meLachna məlaḥnā

Englishman's Concordance

Ezra 4:14
HEB: מְלַ֤ח הֵֽיכְלָא֙ מְלַ֔חְנָא וְעַרְוַ֣ת מַלְכָּ֔א
NAS: because we are in the service of the palace,
KJV: we have maintenance from [the king's] palace,
INT: maintenance of the palace the service dishonor the king's

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 4415
1 Occurrence

mə·laḥ·nā — 1 Occ.