Opinions on why Ezekiel avoided the term מֶלֶךְ (“king”) when speaking of Israel’s kings vary. Since outside this book references to the office of נָשִׂיא (“prince”) occur most frequently in the narratives concerning Israel’s wandering in the desert, where leaders of tribes and clans were supposedly apolitical sacral figures, some suggest that by using this term the prophet was trying to reestablish this role as primary also for the monarch.10 Others argue that Ezekiel prefers נָשִׂיא over מֶלֶךְ