Hammelech הַמֶּלֶךְ

Hammelech, which means "the king" in Hebrew, is mentioned in Jer.36.26 and Jer.38.6 as the father of two officials during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah. In Jer.36.26, Jerahmeel, the son of Hammelech, is identified as one of the officials sent by King Jehoiakim to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet after the king burned the scroll containing Jeremiah's prophecies. In Jer.38.6, Malchijah (or 'Malchiah'), another son of Hammelech, is mentioned as one of the officials who threw Jeremiah into a cistern at the request of the princes who opposed the prophet's message. The use of the term "Hammelech" in these passages has led some scholars to believe that it may be a title rather than a proper name, indicating that Jerahmeel and Malchiah were royal officials. However, the exact nature of their roles and their relationship to the king remains unclear.