מַעַל
maʻal · H4605 · Hebrew · 140 occurrences
Meanings
-
upwards, above
A reference to a position above a person or object
ExamplesGenesis 6:16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
Genesis 7:20 The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.
Genesis 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
-
greater
Literally: above; hence: state or process by which humans have or achieve a relatively high status
ExamplesDeuteronomy 28:13 “And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will only be above, and not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God which I am commanding you today, to follow them carefully,
Deuteronomy 28:43 “The stranger who is among you will rise above you higher and higher, and you will go down lower and lower.
1 Chronicles 14:2 And David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted, for the sake of His people Israel.
-
more, increasingly
Literally: above; hence: state in which an event has an relatively high level of intensity
Examples1 Chronicles 22:5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and glorious throughout the lands. Therefore I now will make preparations for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
1 Chronicles 23:17 The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
1 Chronicles 29:3 “In addition, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple,
-
Literally: upwards; hence: state in which humans have a relatively advanced age (upwards (in years))
ExamplesExodus 30:14 “Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD.
Exodus 38:26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), assessed to each one who passed over to those who were counted, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.
Leviticus 27:7 ‘If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your assessment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels.
-
Literally: upwards; hence: process by which time moves on from a particular point (onward (in time))
Examples1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
1 Samuel 30:25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
Haggai 2:15 ‘But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,
How it’s used In 3 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
5 occurrences in 5 groups
- חֳלִיdisease 1
- כֹתֶרֶתcapital 1
- מוּסָבsurrounding 1
- קֶרֶןhorn 1
- אֹרַחpath, way 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
41 occurrences in 3 groups
- מִןfrom 27
- לto/for 16
- עַדto, as far as, until 4
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
42 occurrences in 1 groups
- בֵּןson 42
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.
Contrasting words 1 word
- מַטָּה maṭṭâh · H4295 · beneath, down, lower (in status)
- The direct lexical opposite of מַעַל, denoting a position below or downward as opposed to above.
In the other Testament 3 words
- ἄνω ánō · G507 · up, above, upwards
- Greek ἄνω (ánō, G507) serves as the standard LXX rendering for Hebrew מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) in spatial contexts denoting upward direction or elevated position, sharing the core semantic range of 'above/upward' across both languages.
- ἐπάνω epánō · G1883 · above, over, on
- Greek ἐπάνω (epánō, G1883) serves as the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) in spatial-locative contexts, both denoting upward position or movement ('above,' 'over,' 'upon'), with the Greek term functioning as the direct translational equivalent across the semantic range of vertical elevation and superiority.
- ἄνωθεν ánōthen · G509 · from above, from the top of, again
- מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) מַעַל denotes physical or metaphorical elevation/superiority with broad spatial and intensive senses ('above, upward, exceeding'); ἄνωθεν (ánōthen, G509) ἄνωθεν specifically emphasizes source or origin from above (spatial or temporal 'from the beginning'), with secondary sense of renewal ('anew')—the Greek term foregrounds directionality and origin where the Hebrew term is more positionally neutral.
Semantic domains 6 entries
- Unfaithful002001002027
- This entry carries no independent "Unfaithful" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence of מַעְלָה concerns spatial or directional "above/upward" (e.g. Genesis 6:16, 7:20, Exodus 20:4), not unfaithfulness. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Spatial Referents003002005
- מַעְלָה marks a spatial reference point of "above" or "upward," illustrated at Genesis 7:20 ("the water prevailed fifteen cubits higher") and Exodus 25:20 ("the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward").
- Great002001002012
- This entry carries no independent "Great" sense of its own distinct from ordinary spatial height; every genuine tagged occurrence of מַעְלָה (e.g. Genesis 6:16, 7:20, Exodus 20:4, 25:20) concerns physical "above/upward" position, and the extension to rank or superiority is not independently attested by a citation of its own here; the domain is bundle-shared with the lexeme's core spatial sense.
- Intense002001003011
- This entry carries no independent "Intense" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns spatial "above/upward," not intensity. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Old002001001041
- This entry carries no independent "Old" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns spatial or directional "above," not age. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Time002002002010
- This entry carries no independent "Time" sense of its own; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns spatial "above/upward," not time. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
Word family 21 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4605. maal מַ֫עַל140 substantive, higher part, only in adverb and preposition phrases,…
מַ֫עַל140 substantive, higher part, only in
adverb and
preposition phrases, above, upwards (Phoenician מעל, see below מַ֫טּה p. 641: abbreviated from מַעֲלֶה; compare מַ֫עַן in לְמַ֫עַן from ׃עָנָה Köii. 116): —
1 מִמַּ֫עַל = above (see מִן 1c)
a. as adverb Amo 2:9 מִמֵּעַל מִּרְיוֺ וָאַשְׁמִיד his fruit above (opposed to מִתָּ֑חַת שָׁרָשָׁיו), Job 18:16; 1Ki 7:3, 1Ki 7:20, 1Ki 7:29; often in the phrase מִמַּעַל הַשָּׁמַמַיִם Deu 4:39; Deu 5:8 ( = Exo 20:4), Jos 2:11; 1Ki 8:23; Isa 45:8; Jer 4:28; compare מ ׳שְׁחָקִים Psa 78:23; Pro 8:28, מ ׳אֱלוֺהַּ Job 3:4; Job 31:2, מ ׳אֵל Job 31:28.
b. לְ מִמַּעַל, as preposition (מן
1c), on the top of, above, Gen 22:9 לָעֵצִים ממעל above the wood, Exo 28:27 = Exo 39:20, Lev 11:21 לְרַגְלָיו מִמַּעַל כְּרָעַיִם, Isa 6:2 לוֺ מִמַּעַל עֹמדים שְׁרָפִים, Isa 14:13; Jer 43:10; Eze 1:26; Dan 12:6-7, = on higher ground than, Jer 35:4; figurative Jer 52:32 (|| 2Ki 25:28 מֵעַל).
2 With ָ ה locative מָ֑עְלָה מַ֫עְלָה, upwards (opposed to מַ֫טָּה p. 641) :
a. figurative Deu 28:43 מָ֫עְלָה מַ֫עְלָה עֶלֶיךָ יַעֲלֶה upwards, upwards, i.e. higher and higher (opposed to מָֽטָה מַ֫טָּה).
b. וָמַ֫עְלָה (a) of direction in space, Jdg 1:36 וָמַ֫עְלָה מֵהַסֶּלַע from the rock and upwards (compare Bu), 1Ki 7:31 (corrupt: see Sta VB Benz), 1Sa 9:2 = 1Sa 10:23 וָמַ֫עְלָה מִשִּׁכְמוֺ from his shoulder and upwards: so ׳וּלְמ, Eze 1:27 וּלְמָ֑עְלָה מָתְנָיו מִמַּרְאֵה Eze 8:2; Eze 43:5. (b) of direction in time, or age: — (a) וָמָ֑עְלָה שָׁנָה עֶשְׂרִים מִבֶּן Exo 30:14; Num 1:3 Num 1:19t. P, וָמ חֹדֶשׁ חֹדֶשׁ ׳מִבֶּן Num 3:15, Num 3:22 Num 3:6t. P, simil. Num 4:3; Num 8:24 Num 8:7t. P; elsewhere only 1Ch 23:3, 1Ch 23:24; Ezr 3:8, and with וּלְמַעְלָה 1Ch 23:17; 2Ch 31:16-17, וָמ ֗֗֗ ׳לְמִבֶּן2Ch 25:5; and 2Ki 3:21 ׳וָמ חֲגֹרָה חֹגֵר מִכֹּל. (β) וָמ ההוא ׳מהיום from that day and onwards, 1Sa 16:13; 1Sa 30:25. (γ) וָמ הזִה היום ׳מן from this day and upwards (i.e. and back), Hag 2:15, Hag 2:18 **and onwards (as β) is more probably: see Now WeKl. Proph. ed. 8 {1898} Marti Dr.
c. לְמַ֫עְלָךְ upwards, more common than ׳מ alone (
a): (a) Exo 25:20 (= Exo 37:9) למ ׳כְנָפַיִם ֹמּרְשֵׂי Jdg 7:13 למ ׳ויהפכחו overthrew it upwards, i.e. turned it downside up, Isa 7:11 למ הַגְבֵּהַּ ׳אוֺ or make it (the request) high upwards, Isa 8:21 למ ׳וּפָנָה, Isa 37:31 (2Ki 19:30) ׳למ פרי ועשׂה (compare Amo 2:9, 1a), Eze 41:7 a β (v:a α bis ׳למ ׳למ = higher and higher), Psa 74:5; figurative למ רַק ׳וְהָיִיתָ Deu 28:13 (compare
a), Pro 15:24 למ חַיִּים ׳אֹרַח (opposed to ׃ מָֽטָּה שְׁאוֺל), compare Ecc 3:21; followed by a noun, Ezr 9:6 ׳למ רּאשׁ over the head, followed by מֵעַל (compare Aboth Ezr 2:1 מִן לְמַעְלָה) = above, 2Ch 34:4: see also
b a, b a. (b) metaphor = exceedingly, only in Chronicles: 1Ch 14:2; 1Ch 22:5 the house must be built to J. למ ׳לְהַגְדִּיל so as to shew greatness exceedingly, 1Ch 23:17 ר ׳וּבְנֵי למ ׳רָבוּ, 1Ch 29:3 (followed by ן מִ; = over and above ...), 1Ch 29:25; 2Ch 1:1 למ ׳וַיְגַדְּלֵהוּ, 2Ch 20:19; לְמַ֫עְלָה עַד, 2Ch 16:12; 2Ch 17:12; 2Ch 26:8.
d. מִלְמַ֫עְלָה (see מִן
9a), adverb, above (the more usual prose synonym of מִמַּעַל): Gen 6:16 ׳מ תְּכַלֶּנָּה אֶלאַֿמָּה Gen 7:20 Gen 7:15cubits ׳מ (i.e. above the mountain-tops), Exo 25:21 (Exo 40:20) מ הארון על אֶתהַֿכַּמֹּרֶת ׳וְנָתַתָּ֫ה upon the ark above, Exo 26:14 (Exo 36:19; Exo 40:19; Num 4:25) a covering of skins on the tent ׳מ above, Num 39:31; Num 4:6; 1Ki 7:11, 1Ki 7:25; 1Ki 8:7 (2Ch 4:4; 2Ch 5:8), Jer 31:37 מ שָׁמַיִם יִמַּדּוּ ׳אִם (compare 1a), Eze 1:11 מ ׳מְּרֻדוֺת separate above, Eze 1:22; Eze 1:26; Eze 10:19; Eze 11:22; Eze 37:8; from above, Jos 3:13, Jos 3:16 מ הַיֹּרְדִים ׳הַמַּיִם.
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.