Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Eric Weiss" <eweiss AT gte.net>]

Please forgive my possible mistransliteration; it's usually spelled "melech 
haolam" in popular English transliteration.

I know this isn't a Biblical phrase, but it is in many Jewish liturgical 
prayers dating to Biblical times.

It's usually translated "King of the Universe" but (WOLAM to me has more of 
a time sense than an earth/solar system/galaxies sense (which is how I 
react to the word "universe"). I've checked Brown-Driver-Briggs, Holladay, 
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, New International Dictionary of 
Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, and Ernest Klein's Etymological 
Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for meaning(s) of (WOLAM.

What would be a better translation?

[I am revising a personally-written Passover Haggadah, and this phrase is 
frequent. At present I have a footnote saying that there is not an English 
equivalent for (WOLAM or the phrase MELEK HA(WOLAM. Am I correct to say 
this?]

Some possibilities that come to me (none of which I really like) are:

King of the Ages
King of Eternity
Eternal King
Sovereign King or Sovereign Lord or Sovereign One
King of Everything or King of All

Also, since (WOLAM is definite in this construct phrase(?) (my Hebrew is 
very rusty), then should the definite article precede MELEK - e.g., "THE 
King of Eternity" - as opposed to, e.g., "King of THE Ages/Eternity"?

Or is this actually to be understood as an adjectival phrase, i.e.: 
"Eternal King" or "THE Eternal King"?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Eric Weiss
eweiss AT gte.net