Footnote 1 – Biblical Views: God Save the Queen: The Political Origins of Salvation

Interestingly, the phrase “God Save the King” (and its match “God Save the Queen”) may have its origin in the King James Version of the Bible, where the Hebrew phrase Yechi hamelekh (יחי המלכ) was repeatedly translated as “God save the king” (e.g., 1 Samuel 10:24; 2 Samuel 16:16; 2 Kings 11:12; 2 Chronicles 23:11; cf. 1 Kings 1:25, 34, 39). Modern translations often render the phrase more literally as “Long live the king!”