אָלָה
ʼâlâh · H422 · Hebrew · 8 occurrences
Meanings
-
to utter a curse or bind with a curse
The action by which someone invokes the name of a deity to punish a wrong-doer, or causes someone else to do so, in covenants, in cases where the guilty person is uncertain, or to prevent wrongful action
ExamplesJudges 17:2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and also spoke it in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.”
1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.
Hosea 10:4 They speak mere words, With worthless oaths they make covenants; And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
-
to curse
To consign someone or something to death, damage, or destruction, usually by invoking a deity if the agent is human, as punishment or out of contempt, anger, or hostility, its effectiveness partly depending on the authority of the speaker
ExamplesHosea 4:2 There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
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
7 occurrences in 6 groups
- Not stated (infinitive) 2
- שָׁאוּלSaul 1
- אַתָּהyou 1
- הוּhis 1
- וֹhim 1
- Not stated in the clause 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- עַםpeople 1
- שָׁוְאfalsehood, vanity 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 3 groups
- בin/on/with+ בַּיִתhouse, household 1
- לto/for+ אָמַרto say 1
- לto/for+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- פָּרַץto burst 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- נָשָׁאto lend 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 2
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.
Near synonyms 3 words
- קָלַל qâlal · H7043 · light, fast, swift
- Both words share a sense of cursing and can function as near-synonyms in cursing contexts. קָלַל (qâlal, H7043) has a much broader range (lightness, treating as trivial, and so on), but its sense of curse overlaps with אָלָה (ʼâlâh, H422).
- אָרַר ʼârar · H779 · to curse, to place a curse, to bring on a curse
- Both words belong to a reasonably narrow area of cursing, and both list 'curse' as a core sense. They are Hebrew verbs of cursing with overlapping semantic territory, though the target term has a broader range that also includes 'adjure' and 'swear'.
- קָבַב qâbab · H6895 · to curse
- Both the target term and קבב (qâbab, H6895) genuinely denote cursing actions and share a narrow, specific semantic field of cursing. The target term has a broader semantic range (adjure, swear, curse) while קבב appears more focused on cursing, but they represent distinct Hebrew roots with overlapping cursing senses — legitimate near-synonyms in the domain of cursing, not merely a coincidental pairing.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἀρά ará · G685 · curse
- Greek ἀρά specifically denotes the imprecation or curse itself as a speech-act lifted to divine authority, directly rendering Hebrew אָלָה's curse/oath sense in LXX contexts where the solemn invocation of divine sanction (whether self-imprecatory oath or pronounced curse) is in view.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Curse002003002008
- אָלָה describes pronouncing a curse or binding oath, as the curse Micah's mother spoke over her stolen silver (Judges 17:2).
- Shout002004001009005
- The word can describe an oath declared aloud publicly, as Saul's binding oath spoken over the people (1 Samuel 14:24).
- Test002004002012
- The verb is used of putting a person under a binding oath of testimony, as the oath of innocence taken before the altar of the LORD (1 Kings 8:31).
Word family 6 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H422. alah II. אָלָה verb swear, curse (compare I. אלה ? so Thes LagOr ii. 3) — Qal…
II. אָלָה verb swear, curse (compare I. אלה ? so Thes LagOr ii. 3) —
Qal Perfect 1Ki 8:31 ( = 2Ch 6:22 all Vrss Th Bö Bä Kp reading וְאָלָה); אָלִית Jdg 17:2; Infinitive absolute אָלֹה Hos 4:2; אָלוֺת Hos 10:4.
1 swear, take oath before God 1Ki 8:31 ( = 2Ch 6:22); in covenants Hos 4:2; Hos 10:4 (falsely).
2 curse Jdg 17:2.
Hiph`il Imperfect וַיּאֶֹל 1Sa 14:24; Infinitive לְהַאֲלֹתוֺ 1Ki 8:31 2Ch 6:22 adjure, put under oath.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
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
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.