Word

חֶלֶב

cheleb · H2459 · Hebrew · 92 occurrences

See all 92 in Search

Meanings

fat

Fat parts of the body of animals and human beings; often the main ingredient of a sacrifice; regarded as the best part of the meat, but also associated with unresponsiveness and stubbornness

Examples
Genesis 4:4 Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering;
Exodus 23:18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning.
Exodus 29:13 “And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar.
best, choice

Pertaining to being the best part of an object or the best among a range of objects

Examples
Genesis 45:18 and take your father and your households and come to me; and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’
Numbers 18:12 “All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of what they give to the LORD, I have given them to you.
Numbers 18:29 ‘Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the LORD, from all the best of them, the sacred part from them.’

How it’s used In 9 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

41 occurrences in 24 groups

הוּhis 8
שֶׁלֶםpeace offering, fellowship offering 5
הֵןin 3
זֶבַחsacrifice 3
Other words · 20 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

20 occurrences in 4 groups

הֵןin 7
כָּסָהto cover 7
קֶרֶבmidst, among, inner parts 6
כֶּסֶלloins, confidence 5

Named alongside itApposition

5 occurrences in 7 groups

רֵאשִׁיתbeginning, first, best 2
יֹתֶרֶתappendage of the liver 1
כִּלְיָהkidneys, heart 1
לֶחֶםbread, food 1
מְכַסֶּהcovering 1
אַלְיָהfat tail 1

What it doesIt is the subject

6 occurrences in 4 groups

סוּרto turn aside, to depart, to remove 2
עָשָׂהto do, to make 2
לוּןto spend the night, to grumble 1
סָגַרto shut 1

What is done to itIt is the object

45 occurrences in 12 groups

לָקַחto take, to receive 10
קָטַרto burn incense, to burn (offerings) 10
אָכַלto eat, to devour 8
רוּםto be high, to raise, to lift up 4
קָרַבto come near, to offer 3
Other words · 7 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10

Second object ofSecond object

2 occurrences in 2 groups

רָוָהto moisten 1
שָׂבַעto be satiated 1

What it is said to bePredicate

1 occurrences in 1 groups

יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

17 occurrences in 6 groups

מִןfrom 12
כlike/as 4
בin/on/with 3
כְּמוֹas, like 2
עִםwith 2
עַלon, upon, over, against 1

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

אִשָּׁהoffering made by fire 1

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Semantic domains 2 entries

Good002001001031: The noun names the choicest, richest part of an animal or produce, as Abel brings an offering "from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions," the best part set apart for the LORD (Genesis 4:4).
Names of People003001007: This code is inherited from the domain listing shared with this word's homograph, the personal name Heleb (חֵלֶב (Chêleb, H2460)); the "fat, best part" sense attested here does not itself name a person.

Word family 3 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

חֶלֶבcheleb · H2459חָלָב châlâb · H2461 · milk · 44×חֶלְבְּנָה chelbᵉnâh · H2464 · galbanum · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2459. cheleb I. חֵ֫לֶב noun masculineExo 29:13 fat (Late Hebrew id., fat, so Phoenician…

H2459. cheleb
I. חֵ֫לֶב noun masculineExo 29:13 fat (Late Hebrew id., fat, so Phoenician חלב (probably); Aramaic (also diaphragm in Lexicons, see PS1274) originally diaphragm, midriff; Arabic , including midriff-fat, RSSemitic i. 360); — ׳ח absolute Lev 3:16 40t.; construct Gen 45:18 Gen 45:21t.; suffix חֶלְבּוֺ Lev 3:9 Lev 3:6t.; חֶלְבָּהּ Lev 4:31, Lev 4:35, חֶלְבָּם Num 18:17, חֶלְבָּ֫מוֺ Psa 17:10, חֶלְבְּהֶ֫ן Lev 8:16, Lev 8:25 (read plural noun חלביהן Samaritan Di); plural הַחֲלָבִים Lev 8:26 Lev 8:7t.; construct חֶלְבֵי Lev 6:5 Lev 6:4t.; suffix חֶלְבֵהֶן Gen 4:4 (חלביהן Samaritan Di, compare Lev 8:16, Lev 8:25 above); —
1 fat of human body Jdg 3:22 (covering intestines); גִּבּוֺרִים׳ח 2Sa 1:22 as smearing warrior's shield; of grossness of wicked בְּחֶלְבּוֺ מָּנָיו כִּסָּה Job 15:27; fat (of midriff) figurative of unreceptive heart ׳ח סָֽגְרוּ Psa 17:10, see also Psa 73:7 (read עֲוֺנָמוֺ מֵחֵלֶב for ᵑ6 ᵐ5 עֵינֵמוֺ מחלב Hi Ew Ol De Che Bae and others); לִבָּם כַּח ׳טָפַשׁ Psa 119:70 i.e. their heart is as unresponsive as the midriff-fat near it.
2 fat of beasts:
a. as rich food (poetry) Deu 32:14 and in simile Psa 63:6 (|| דֶּשֶׁן); so ᵑ0 Eze 34:3 (but read הֶחָלָב, see חָלָב), Eze 39:19 (ᵑ6 Co בשׂר).
b. especially as offered in sacrifice, singular, to ׳י Exo 23:18 (JE), 1Sa 2:15-16, Exo 29:13 (twice in verse); Exo 29:22 (3 t. in verse); Lev 3:3 (twice in verse); Lev 3:4, Lev 3:9 (3 t. in verse); Lev 3:10, Lev 3:14 (twice in verse); Lev 3:15 23t. Leviticus; Num 18:17 (all P), Lev 17:6 (H), 1Sa 15:22; Isa 1:11; Isa 43:24; Eze 44:7, Eze 44:15; see Isa 34:6 (twice in verse); Isa 34:7 of fat of Edomites slaughtered by ׳י's sword (under figure of lambs, rams, and bulls); as eaten by (strange) gods Deu 32:38 (poetry), not to be eaten by men Lev 3:17; Lev 7:23-24, (twice in verse); Lev 7:25 (all P); also plural, fat parts or pieces Gen 4:4 (J) Lev 6:5 Lev 6:8t. Leviticus; 1Ki 8:64 (twice in verse); 2Ch 7:7 (twice in verse); 2Ch 29:35; 2Ch 35:14.
3 choicest, best part of products of land Gen 45:18 (E), specifically of oil Num 18:12 and wine Num 18:12; of corn and oil Num 18:29; Num 18:30; Num 18:32; also (poetry) ׳ח חִטָּה כִּלְיוֺת Deu 32:14 kidney-fat of wheat (i.e. the very choicest, compare Isa 34:6), ׳ח חִטָּה Psalm 81:17, ׳ח חִטִּים Psa 147:14.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 2 entries

Good9 occurrences Names of People0 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0