עָלַם
ʻâlam · H5956 · Hebrew · 28 occurrences
Meanings
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to go into hiding
Meaning unsure; probably: action by which humans look for a place where they cannot be found
ExamplesNahum 3:11 You too will become drunk, You will be hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
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hypocrite
Literally: hiding (people); hence, probably: people who are dishonest and untransparent
ExamplesPsalm 26:4 I do not sit with deceitful people, Nor will I go with pretenders.
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to turn a deaf ear
Literally: to hide (one's) ear; hence: action by which deities act as if they do not hear
ExamplesLamentations 3:56 You have heard my voice, “Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief, From my cry for help.”
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to be hidden, to be unknown
Literally: to be hidden (from someone); hence: state in which humans have no knowledge of certain things
ExamplesLeviticus 4:13 ‘Now if the entire congregation of Israel does wrong unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;
Leviticus 5:2 ‘Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean cattle, or a carcass of unclean swarming things, though it is hidden from him and he is unclean, then he will be guilty.
Leviticus 5:3 ‘Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort his uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty.
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to hide, to conceal, to obscure
Literally: to hide (from someone); hence: causative action by which humans or deities keep (other) humans ignorant of certain things
Examples2 Kings 4:27 But she came to the man of God at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has concealed it from me and has not informed me.”
Job 42:3 ‘Who is this who conceals advice without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.
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Literally: to hide (one's) eyes; hence: action by which humans or deities act as if they do not see (to close (one's) eyes (to something))
ExamplesLeviticus 20:4 ‘If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his children to Molech, so as not to put him to death,
1 Samuel 12:3 “Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.”
Proverbs 28:27 One who gives to the poor will never lack anything, But one who shuts his eyes will have many curses.
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to melt
Literally: to hide oneself; hence: process by which ice becomes liquid as a result of a rise in temperature
ExamplesJob 6:16 Which are darkened because of ice, And into which the snow melts.
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to hide away, to ignore, to remain indifferent
Literally: to hide onself; hence: action by which humans or deities seem to express their unwillingness to engage in a certain activity, as if going into hiding instead of acting
ExamplesDeuteronomy 22:1 “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and avoid them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman.
Deuteronomy 22:3 “You shall also do this with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with any lost property of your countryman, which has been lost by him and you have found. You are not allowed to avoid them.
Deuteronomy 22:4 “You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the road, and avoid them; you shall certainly help him raise them up.
How it’s used In 9 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
23 occurrences in 10 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 6
- Not stated: he, she or it 5
- Not stated (participle) 3
- Other words · 7 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
7 occurrences in 3 groups
- עַיִןeye, sight 5
- אֹזֶןear 1
- עֵצָהcounsel, advice, plan 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
19 occurrences in 17 groups
- מִןfrom+ עַיִןeye, sight 3
- מִןfrom+ וֹhim 3
- Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16
With adverbsAdverbs
5 occurrences in 3 groups
- לֹאnot 2
- אַלnot, do not 2
- בְּלִיwithout, not 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- נוּour 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- זֶהthis 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- רַבmany, great 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- עַלon, upon, over, against 2
- עִםwith 2
- לto/for 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 7 words
- צָפַן tsâphan · H6845 · to lurk, to lie in wait, to ambush
- Both words denote hiding or concealing with overlapping senses (secret, hidden, concealment). Both can describe hiding oneself or objects, keeping secrets and causing something to be unknown.
- חָבָא châbâʼ · H2244 · to freeze, to hide oneself
- The target lexeme and חָבָא both denote concealment or hiding actions — verbs of concealing — and are genuine same-language near-synonyms.
- סָתַר çâthar · H5641 · to be hidden, to hide oneself
- Both words denote concealing or hiding (סָתַר (çâthar, H5641) “conceal, hide”; עָלַם (ʻâlam, H5956) “hide, secret”).
- סָתַם çâtham · H5640 · to stop up, to shut out, to close
- The target lexeme and the candidate lexeme both describe concealment or hiding, making something unknown or inaccessible, and are near-synonyms in that sense.
- טָמַן ṭâman · H2934 · to hide oneself, to hide
- טָמַן (“hide, lay privily, in secret”) and עָלַם (ʻâlam, H5956) (“hide [self], secret [thing]”) both describe hiding or concealing, making something unknown or hidden.
- חָבָה châbâh · H2247 · to hide oneself
- עָלַם (ʻâlam, H5956) has a broader range, also extending to blindness, ignorance, or unwillingness, while חָבָה has hiding as its primary meaning; they overlap directly in the core sense of concealment.
- כָּסָה kâçâh · H3680 · to cover, to be covered, to cover oneself
- כָּסָה (‘conceal, cover, hide’) and the target lexeme (‘hide, secret’) genuinely occupy overlapping semantic space around concealment, and are near-synonyms in the sense of hiding or concealing.
Semantic domains 7 entries
- Hide002002001010
- עָלַם describes being hidden or concealed, as in Leviticus 5:2's "it is hidden from him" and the repeated formula across Leviticus 4-5 of a matter that "escapes the notice" of someone.
- False002001003007
- This domain reflects the word's "dissembler" sense — one who conceals the truth — part of its broader range beyond the citations shown here.
- Non-Hear002004001004
- This domain reflects a shading of the word's concealment sense connected to something not being reported or heard of, part of its broader range beyond the citations shown here.
- Non-Know002004002008
- The Levitical formula's own wording — a matter that "escapes the notice" and remains unknown until later discovered — directly ties this word to an unknown, unrecognized state.
- Non-See002004001006
- This domain reflects the word's "blind" gloss, an inability to perceive, part of its broader range beyond the citations shown here.
- Soft002001001057
- This domain reflects a further shading within the word's broad range, part of its usage beyond the citations shown here.
- Unwilling002001002031
- This domain reflects the word's connection to willful concealment, an unwillingness to disclose, part of its broader range beyond the citations shown here.
Word family 9 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5956. alam I. [עָלַם] verb conceal (Late Hebrew id., derived species); — Qal Participle…
I. [עָלַם] verb conceal (Late Hebrew id., derived species); —
Qal Participle pass עֲלֻמֵנוּ Psa 90:8 as substantive our secret, i.e. hidden sin (|| עֲוֺנֹת).
Niph`al Perfect be concealed, of wisdom, 3 feminine singular מֵעֵינֵי נֶעֶלְמָה Job 28:21; of a fact or condition, נֶעְלַם2Ch 9:2, ׳וְנ consecutive Lev 5:2-3, Lev 5:4 (all with מִן person), ׳וְנ מֵעֵינֵי Lev 4:13; Num 5:13 (all P); Participle
1 נֶעְלָם concealed, with הָיָה in periphrastic conjugation 1Ki 10:3 (מִן person); absolute כָּלנֶֿעְלָם Ecc 12:14.
2 feminine singular נַעֲלָמָה תְּהִי Nah 3:11 mayest thou become obscured (as to the senses; figurative for swoon), but very doubtful, read perhaps נעלפה ? [Dr].
3 plural נַעֲלָמִים Psa 26:4 those who conceal themselves, i.e. their thoughts; dissemblers (|| שָׁוְא מְתֵי).
Hiph`il Perfect3masculine singular הֶעְלִים 2Ki 4:27; 2Ki 4:3plural הֶעְלִימוּ Eze 22:26; Imperfect2masculine singular תַּעְלִים Psa 10:1,תַּעְלֵם Lam 3:56; Lam 3:3masculine plural יַעְלִימוּ Lev 20:4, etc.; Infinitive absolute הַעְלֵם Lev 20:4; Participle מַעְלִים Job 42:3; Pro 28:27; — conceal, hide, with מִן person 2Ki 4:27 (|| לִי הִגִּיד לֹא); usually hide the eyes from (מִן), i.e. disregard Isa 1:15; Eze 22:26, יַע ׳הַעְלֵם ׳וגו Lev 20:4, מִן omitted Pro 28:27; hide the eyes by (ב) a bribe 1Sa 12:3 (i.e. pervert justice, but see עַיִן
3d); hide (cover) the ear Lam 3:56 (turn a deaf ear); hide (obscure) counsel (עֵצָה) Job 42:3; ׳תַּע לָמָה Psa 10:1 why dost thou [׳י] hide, that is, thine eyes (so most), or practise concealment (= hide thyself)?
Hithpa`el Perfect2masculine singular consecutive מֵהֶם וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ Deu 22:1, Deu 22:4 and thou hide thyself completely from them (utterly neglect to aid), so Infinitive construct (מֵהֶם omitted) לְהִתְעַלֵּם Deu 22:3; so also Imperfect with תִּתְעַלַּם מִן, Psa 55:2, תִּתְעַלָּ֑ם Isa 58:7; once literal יִתְעַלֶּםשָֿׁ֑לֶג Job 6:16 wherein snow hides itself.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 7 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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