אָלָה
ʼâlâh · H423 · Hebrew · 34 occurrences
Meanings
-
oath, curse
Action by which the name of a deity is invoked and asked to punish a wrong-doer; contexts in which this may happen include: (1) covenants and agreements, where the deity is asked to punish those who do not obey the terms of the agreement, (2) cases where a supposedly wrongful act has been committed, but where there is not enough certainty about the identity of the person who is responsible, and (3) in order to prevent people from committing a wrongful action, knowing that the deity's punishment will be upon them if they do so
ExamplesGenesis 24:41 then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
Genesis 26:28 They said, “We have seen plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, ‘An oath must now be taken by us,’ that is, by you and us. So let us make a covenant with you,
Deuteronomy 30:7 “And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
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a curse
The action by which someone or something is consigned to death, damage, or destruction, usually by invoking the name of a deity if the agent is human, done as punishment, out of contempt, anger, or hostility, with its effectiveness partly depending on the authority of the one pronouncing it
ExamplesJob 31:30 “No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.
Psalm 10:7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
Psalm 59:12 On account of the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips, May they even be caught in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they tell.
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curse
Object of a curse uttered by other people because of the wrongful acts that one has committed
ExamplesNumbers 5:21 (then the priest shall have the woman swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), “may the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people by the LORD’S making your thigh shriveled and your belly swollen;
Numbers 5:27 ‘When he has made her drink the water, then it will come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness, and her belly will swell up and her thigh will shrivel, and the woman will become a curse among her people.
Jeremiah 29:18 ‘I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them,
How it’s used In 10 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
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- Not stated in the clause 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 2 groups
- בin/on/with+ בַּיִתhouse, household 1
- לto/for+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
6 occurrences in 3 groups
- יmy 3
- הוּhis 2
- בְּרִיתcovenant, treaty 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
10 occurrences in 6 groups
- כָּתַבto write down, to write, to inscribe 3
- זֹאתthis 2
- אֵלֶּהthese 2
- יָצָאto go out 1
- כָּרַתto cut off, to make (a covenant) 1
- בָּזָהto despise 1
Named alongside itApposition
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- כָּתַבto write down, to write, to inscribe 1
- רַעevil, bad 1
What it doesIt is the subject
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
- אָכַלto eat, to devour 1
- נָתַךְto pour 1
- רָבַץto lie down 1
What is done to itIt is the object
8 occurrences in 6 groups
- בָּזָהto despise 3
- כָּרַתto cut off, to make (a covenant) 1
- כָּתַבto write down, to write, to inscribe 1
- נָשָׁאto lend 1
- נָתַןto give, to put, to set 1
- שָׁמַעto hear, to listen, to obey 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- זֹאתthis 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
13 occurrences in 4 groups
- בin/on/with 6
- לto/for 6
- מִןfrom 5
- כlike/as 2
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- דָּבָרword, thing, matter 1
- פָּנִיםface, presence, before 1
- קוֹלvoice, sound 1
- שְׁבוּעָהoath 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.
Near synonyms 1 word
- מְאֵרָה mᵉʼêrâh · H3994 · curse
- Both words denote curses. The target term also includes 'oath' and 'swearing' alongside 'curse', so it may have a broader or slightly different scope (a curse as an oath, as against a pure curse), but the core sense of cursing is shared.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἀρά ará · G685 · curse
- Greek ἀρά functions as the direct translational equivalent of Hebrew אָלָה in LXX contexts denoting curse/imprecation, both terms covering the semantic range from solemn oath to pronounced malediction.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Vow002004001009013
- אָלָה names a formal oath, as the oath binding Abraham's servant regarding Isaac's marriage.
- Curse002003002008
- The word can also denote a curse, particularly the curse invoked upon one who swears falsely.
Word family 6 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H423. alah אָלָה noun feminine oath Gen 26:28 +; suffix אָלָתוֺ אָלָתִי, Gen 24:11 + (4…
אָלָה noun feminine oath Gen 26:28 +; suffix אָלָתוֺ אָלָתִי, Gen 24:11 + (4 t.); plural אָלוֺת Deu 29:20 + (4 t).
1 oath in testimony Lev 5:1; Num 5:21 (twice in verse) (P) Pro 29:23; באלה בא come into an oath Neh 10:30; באלה הביא bring into an oath Eze 17:13; אלה נשׂא 1Ki 8:31 ( = 2Ch 6:22).
2 oath of convenant Gen 24:41 (twice in verse); Gen 26:28 (J) Deu 29:11; Deu 29:13; אלה בזה despise an oath Eze 16:59; Eze 17:16, Eze 17:18, Eze 17:19.
3 curse (a) from God Num 5:23 (P) Deu 29:18; Deu 29:19; Deu 29:20; Deu 30:7; 2Ch 34:24; Isa 24:6; Jer 23:10; Dan 9:11; Zec 5:3; (b) from men Job 31:30; Psa 10:7; Psa 59:13.
4 execration in the phrase לאלה היה become an execration Num 5:27 (P) Jer 29:18; Jer 42:18; Jer 44:12.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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