The Hebrew kings did not rule in their own right, nor in name of the people who had chosen them, but partly as servants and partly as representatives of Jehovah, the true King of Israel (1Sa 10:1). The limits of the king's power were prescribed (1Sa 10:25). The officers of his court were, (1) the recorder or remembrancer (2Sa 8:16; 1Ki 4:3); (2) the scribe (2Sa 8:17; 20:25); (3) the officer over the house, the chief steward (Isa 22:15); (4) the "king's friend," a confidential companion (1Ki 4:5); (5) the keeper of the wardrobe (2Ki 22:14); (6) captain of the bodyguard (2Sa 20:23); (7) officers over the king's treasures, etc. (1Ch 27:25-31); (8) commander-in-chief of the army (1Ch 27:34); (9) the royal counsellor (1Ch 27:32; 2Sa 16:20-23).
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