מוּל
mûwl · H4135 · Hebrew · 34 occurrences
Meanings
-
to circumcise, circumcision
Action by which someone removes the foreskin of the penis, + preferably with a flint knife, as a sign of the covenant between YHWH and Abraham's descendants; considered an outward change for the good that should be accompanied by an inward change in attitude as well
ExamplesGenesis 17:10 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.
Genesis 17:11 “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Genesis 17:12 “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, including a slave who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.
-
Literally: to remove the foreskin of the heart; hence: action by which someone changes his/her attitude towards YHWH, as if by removing something that covers the heart like a foreskin, and so become willing to obey the terms of the covenant and serve YHWH wholeheartedly (to circumcise (one's heart) > to (re)commit oneself (to following God))
ExamplesDeuteronomy 10:16 “So circumcise your heart, and do not stiffen your neck any longer.
Deuteronomy 30:6 “Moreover, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.
Jeremiah 4:4 “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your hearts, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will spread like fire And burn with no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”
-
to cause to be circumcised
Exact meaning unknown; probably: to kill an uncircumcised enemy, and remove his foreskin as proof
ExamplesPsalm 118:10 All nations surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.
Psalm 118:11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.
Psalm 118:12 They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished like a fire of thorn bushes; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.
How it’s used In 6 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
32 occurrences in 20 groups
- זָכָרmale, man 5
- Not stated: I 3
- Not stated: you (more than one) 3
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (23) 23
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
11 occurrences in 7 groups
- הֶםthem 5
- לֵבָבheart, mind 2
- בֵּןson 1
- בָּשָׂרflesh 1
- יִצְחָקIsaac 1
- עׇרְלָהforeskin 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
18 occurrences in 16 groups
- בin/on/with+ שֵׁםname 3
- לto/for+ כֶםyou 3
- Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15
With adverbsAdverbs
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- לֹאnot 3
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- לto/for 3
- עַלon, upon, over, against 2
- בin/on/with 1
- כlike/as 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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- περιτέμνω peritémnō · G4059 · to circumcise, circumcision
- Greek περιτέμνω is the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew מוּל in its primary sense 'to circumcise,' representing direct translation equivalence for this ritual/covenantal act across both testaments.
Semantic domains 7 entries
- Non-Whole002003001021
- מוּל is the standard verb for circumcision, cutting away the foreskin, as in Genesis 17:10-14's repeated command that "every male among you shall be circumcised," placing it among terms of physical cutting or removal creating incompleteness.
- Willing002001002028
- This entry carries no independent "Willing" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence of מוּל/מָלַל concerns circumcision, being cut off, or being cut down (e.g. Genesis 17:10-14), not willingness. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Dead002001001018
- The word's gloss also includes 'destroy, cut down,' extending the cutting sense of circumcision to a more violent cutting off associated with death (e.g. Psalm 118:10-12's enemies "cut off").
- Dry002001001021
- This entry carries no independent "Dry" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns circumcision or being cut down/off, not dryness. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Insignificant002001002015
- This entry carries no independent "Insignificant" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns circumcision or being cut down/off, not insignificance. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Stance002001001061
- מוּל describes circumcision, the ritual cutting of the flesh, illustrated at Genesis 17:10-14 ("every male among you shall be circumcised... in the flesh of your foreskin").
- Speak002004001009008
- This entry carries no independent "Speak" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns circumcision or being cut down, not speech. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4135. mul II. [מוּל] verb circumcise (Late Hebrew id.; מוּל ᵑ7 **but only seemingly in…
II. [מוּל] verb circumcise (Late Hebrew id.; מוּל ᵑ7 **but only seemingly in the dubious passages (see III. [מָלַל] and Commentaries) Job 14:2; Job 18:16; Job 24:24 [MS Levy], Psa 37:2; Psa 90:6. cut off (grass, etc.: only for III. מָלַל, q. v. ); compare Late Hebrew מָהַל, Aramaic מְהַל, according to Thes NöZMG xi. 1886, 741 Baib. xii. 1887, 626 see also מהלabove); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singularמָל Jos 5:4 Jos 5:2t.; 2 masculine singular מַלְתָּה Exo 12:44; Exo 12:3masculine plural מָ֫לוּ Jos 5:5, Jos 5:7; Jos 5:2masculine plural מַלְתֶּם Deu 10:16; Imperfect וַיָּ֫֫מָל Gen 17:23 Gen 17:2t.; Imperative מֹל Jos 5:2; Passive participle מוּל Jer 9:24; plural מֻלִים Jos 5:5; — circumcise, with accusative ערלה בשׂר (flesh of foreskin) Gen 17:23 (P), accusativepers. Gen 21:4; Exo 12:44 (P), Jos 5:2-3,(J), Jos 5:4; Jos 5:5; Jos 5:7; Jos 5:7 (D); figurative לבב ערלת (foreskin of the heart) Deu 10:16; לבב Deu 30:6; pass, בערלה מוּל Jer 9:24; מֻלִים Jos 5:5 (D).
Niph`al Perfect3masculine singular נִמּוֺל (Ges§ 72, R. 9) Gen 17:26; Gen 17:3masculine plural נִמֹּ֫לוּ Gen 17:27; Gen 17:2masculine plural וֹּנְמִלְתֶּם (consecutive) Gen 17:11 (for וּנְמַלֹּתֶם √ מלל Ew§ 234; e. Ges§ 67, R.11; but Bö1146B for וּנְמוֺלֹתֶם); Imperfect יִמּוֺל Gen 17:12 Gen 17:3t.; 3 masculine plural וַיִּמֹּ֫לוּ Gen 34:24; Imperative הִמֹּ֑לוּ Jer 4:4; Infinitive הִמּוֺל Gen 17:10 Gen 17:5t.; הִמֹּל Gen 34:15; suffix הִמֹּ֫לוֺ Gen 17:24-25, Participle plural נִמֹּלִים Gen 34:22; — be circumcised, of ערלה בשׂר Gen 17:14, Gen 17:24, Gen 17:25; Lev 12:3; elsewhere of person Gen 17:10 (twice in verse); Gen 17:12-13, (twice in verse); Gen 17:26-27, Gen 34:15, Gen 34:17, Gen 34:22, Gen 34:24; Exo 12:48 (P), Jos 5:8 (J): reflexive לי ׳הִמֹּלוּ Jer 4:4 circumcise yourselves to Yahweh (and take away the foreskin of your heart).
Hiph`il Imperfect3masculine plural י ׳בשׁם אֲמִילִ֑ם כי Psa 118:10; Psa 118:11; Psa 118:12 in the name of ׳י, yea I will make them to be circumcised (enemies, by force of arms; but De cut to pieces (from מוּל = מָלַל), Che mow, Bae annihilate (?), ᵐ5 Aq ἠμυνάμην, Symm διέθρυψα, Jerome ultus sum eas).
Hithpa`el Imperfect3masculine plural יִתְמֹלָ֑לוּ Psa 58:8 be cut off, of arrows, i.e. made blunt.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
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
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