כִּסֵּא

From the study of Isaiah 47:1

Range of meaning

Seat of honour; royal throne; by extension, royal power and dynasty ('the throne of David').

Against the English

'Throne' is accurate. The Hebrew syntax 'no throne!' is starker than BSB/WEB's smooth 'without a throne'. KJV's '[there is] no throne' keeps the abruptness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 14:13: the king of Babylon boasted, 'I will raise my throne above the stars of God' and was brought down to Sheol. In Babylonian royal ideology the king's throne was granted by Marduk and renewed at the New Year (akītu) festival.

From the study of Isaiah 66:1

Range of meaning

A chair or seat of honour, especially a royal throne. By extension it means kingship or rule itself ("the throne of David" = the Davidic dynasty). Of God, it means the seat of his kingly rule (BDB, HALOT s.v.).

Against the English

"Throne" is accurate. English readers may picture only a decorative chair. In Hebrew the throne stands for the right to rule and to judge.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 6:1 has the Lord "seated on a throne, high and lifted up," with only the hem of his robe filling the temple. Jeremiah 3:17 calls Jerusalem "the throne of the LORD." Jeremiah 17:12 says "a glorious throne... is the place of our sanctuary." Ezekiel 43:7 calls the temple "the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet." In Israel and the wider ancient Near East, the temple's inner room was imagined as a god's throne room. In Israel the throne was invisible, above the cherubim of the ark (1 Sam 4:4; Ps 99:1).

From the study of Psalm 93:2

Range of meaning

Seat of honour, especially a royal throne. By extension it means royal authority, reign, or dynasty (2 Sam 7:16; 1 Kgs 1:37). Of God, it is his heavenly throne (Isa 6:1; 66:1; Ps 11:4), and in Jerusalem worship it is linked to the ark, the cherubim and the sanctuary (Jer 3:17; 14:21; 17:12).

Against the English

'Throne' is accurate. The only risk is picturing a piece of furniture alone. In Hebrew the throne is the reign itself and the place where the King is present.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 17:12 is a close parallel: 'A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning (merishon), is the place of our sanctuary.' It joins throne, antiquity and temple, as Psalm 93 does (compare v. 5, 'holiness befits your house'). In Ugaritic myth, the god's kingship is shown by his throne and palace (KTU 1.2–1.4).