Bible Dictionary
Duke
Duke is an older translation of a term meaning a tribal chief, prince, or leader. In the Old Testament it is especially used for the chiefs of Edom and other tribal groups.
Definition
Duke is an older English rendering of a word meaning chief, prince, captain, or tribal leader. It was used particularly for the chiefs of Edom, but the underlying term was not limited to an Edomite hereditary title.
Biblical Usage
The term appears in passages concerning the chiefs of Edom and other tribal or political leaders. In one Maccabean passage it translates a word meaning captain, while elsewhere related terms are rendered princes or principal men.
Historical Background
When the King James Version was made, “duke” had the general force of the Latin dux, meaning leader, rather than its later English sense as a formal noble title. The underlying Hebrew probably denotes a tribal chief or leader of a clan.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Derived from the Latin dux, meaning “a leader;” Arabic, “a sheik.” This word is used to denote the phylarch or chief of a tribe (Gen. 36:15-43; Ex. 15:15; 1 Chr. 1:51-54).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>duk: The rendering in the King James Version in Ge 36:15 ff; Ex 15:15, and 1Ch 1:51 ff of 'alluph (the American Standard Revised Version and the English Revised Version, margin "chief"), and in Jos 13:21 of necikhim ("dukes," the Revised Version (British and American) "princes"). It occurs also, as the rendering of strategos, in 1 Macc 10:65 (the Revised Version (British and American) "captain"). Elsewhere necikhim is translated "princes" or "principal men." The fact that with two exceptions the term is applied in English Versions of the Bible only to the chiefs of Edom has led to the impression that in the family of Esau the chiefs bore a special and hereditary title. But 'alluph was a general term for tribal chief or prince (compare Zec 9:7; 12:5,6; the Revised Version (British and American) "chieftains," the King James Version "governors").</p><p>Moreover, at the time the King James Version was made the word "duke" was not used as a title in England: the term had the same general force as dux, the word employed in the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) So Sir T. Elyot (died 1546) speaks of "Hannibal, duke of Carthage" ( The Governor, II, 233); Shakespeare, Henry V, III, 2, 20, "Be merciful, great duke, to men of mould" (compare Midsummer Night's Dream, I, 1, 21); Sylvester (1591) Du Bartas, "The great Duke, that in dreadful aw upon Mt. Horeb learned the eternal law." In a still earlier age Wycliff uses the word of the Messiah (Mt 2:6); and in Select Works, III, 137, "Jesus Christ, duke of oure batel."</p><p>Yet in all probability the Hebrew word was more specific than "chief" or "duke" in the broad sense. For if 'alluph is derived from 'eleph, "thousand," "tribe," the term would mean the leader of a clan, a "chiliarch" (compare Septuagint, Zec 9:7; 12:5,6). the American Standard Revised Version has eliminated the word "duke." See CHIEF.</p><p>J. R. Van Pelt</p>