מַעַל
maʻal · H4604 · Hebrew · 29 occurrences
Meanings
-
unfaithfulness
Action by which humans do something to (other) humans or deities that is not in line with the behavior that they committed themselves to
ExamplesLeviticus 5:15 “If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the LORD’S holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your assessment in silver by shekels, in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, as a guilt offering.
Leviticus 26:40 ‘But if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me—
Joshua 22:16 “This is what the whole congregation of the LORD says: ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day?
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
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
11 occurrences in 3 groups
- הוּhis 5
- הֶםtheir 4
- גּוֹלָהexile 2
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
9 occurrences in 4 groups
- מָעַלto commit a violation 7
- זֶהthis 3
- הָלַךְto go, to walk 1
- אַףalso, even, how much more 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- שָׁאַרto remain 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- מָסַרto choose 1
- מָעַלto commit a violation 1
- נָשָׂאto lift up, to carry, to bear 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- מָהwhat?, why? 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
10 occurrences in 2 groups
- בin/on/with 14
- עַלon, upon, over, against 4
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 2 words
- מְשׁוּבָה mᵉshûwbâh · H4878 · defection, apostasy, backsliding
- Both terms denote acts of unfaithfulness or disloyalty — one "transgression, trespass," the other "backsliding, turning away" — overlapping within the sense of covenant violation or religious infidelity.
- שָׁוְא shâvᵉʼ · H7723 · falsehood, deceit, deceitfulness
- Both words belong to the field of falsehood and deception.
In the other Testament 1 word
- παράπτωμα paráptōma · G3900 · transgression, sin
- Greek παράπτωμα denotes the broader concept of any transgressive slip or deviation (whether unintentional error or wilful trespass), whereas Hebrew מַעַל specifically emphasizes treacherous breach of covenant trust or sacrilege against sacred obligations.
Semantic domains 6 entries
- Unfaithful002001002027
- מַעַל describes unfaithfulness or treacherous betrayal, illustrated at Leviticus 5:15 ("if a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally") and Leviticus 26:40 ("their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me").
- Spatial Referents003002005
- This domain is shared with the identically-spelled homograph מַעַל, "above" (מַעַל (maʻal, H4605)); מַעַל's own sampled citations here illustrate the unfaithfulness sense rather than a spatial one.
- Great002001002012
- This domain is likewise inherited from the shared spelling with מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) rather than independently attested by the "unfaithfulness/trespass" citations sampled for this lexeme.
- Intense002001003011
- This domain is also inherited from the shared spelling with מַעַל (maʻal, H4605); the sampled unfaithfulness citations do not independently illustrate an intensifying sense.
- Old002001001041
- This domain is inherited from the shared spelling with מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) rather than independently attested by this lexeme's own sampled citations.
- Time002002002010
- This domain is likewise inherited from the shared spelling with מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) rather than independently attested by the sampled citations.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4604. maal I. מַ֫עַל noun masculineEzr 9:2 unfaithful, treacherous act (Late Hebrew…
I. מַ֫עַל noun masculineEzr 9:2 unfaithful, treacherous act (Late Hebrew מְעִילָה); — ׳מ Lev 5:15-16t.; מָ֑עַל Num 5:12 Num 5:2t.; suffix מַעֲלוֺ Eze 17:20 Eze 17:4t.; מַעֲלָם Eze 39:26 Eze 39:3t.; —
1 ag. man: מעל נשׁאר Job 21:34 faithlessness remains (compare Num 5:12, Num 5:27; Pro 16:10 under מָעַל).
2 elsewhere ag. God, with בְּ, Jos 22:22 (P); without בְּ, 1Ch 9:1; 2Ch 29:19; 2Ch 33:19; Ezr 9:2, Ezr 9:4; Ezr 10:6. — מַעַל elsewhere only with מָעַל q. v. (
1; all cited).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 6 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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