עָרֵל
ʻârêl · H6189 · Hebrew · 35 occurrences
Meanings
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uncircumcised person
Literally: foreskinned; hence: a class of people who have not been circumcised and therefore still have their foreskin; regarded as unclean and not to be associated with
ExamplesGenesis 17:14 “But as for an uncircumcised male, one who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Exodus 12:48 “But if a stranger resides with you and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it.
Joshua 5:7 So their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way.
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forbidden
Literally: uncircumcised; hence: state in which agricultural products have been set apart for God and therefore should not be eaten
ExamplesLeviticus 19:23 ‘Now when you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten.
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unskilled to listen
Literally: (one's) ear is uncircumcised; hence: state in which humans are incapable of listening to others
ExamplesJeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the LORD has become for them a rebuke; They take no delight in it.
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unskilled to speak
Literally: uncircumcised of lips; hence: state in which humans have difficulty putting their thoughts into words
ExamplesExodus 6:12 But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am unskilled in speech?”
Exodus 6:30 But Moses said before the LORD, “Behold, I am unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”
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unyielding heart
Literally: uncircumcised of heart; hence: state in which humans are unwilling to obey
ExamplesJeremiah 9:26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all those inhabiting the desert who trim the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
Ezekiel 44:7 when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, My house, when you offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they broke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations.
Ezekiel 44:9 ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary.
How it’s used In 7 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- אֵלֶּהthese 3
Named alongside itApposition
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- חָלָלslain, wounded 2
- חָלַלto profane, to begin 1
What it doesIt is the subject
5 occurrences in 3 groups
- בּוֹאto come, to go in, to bring 3
- אָכַלto eat, to devour 1
- שָׁכַבto lie 1
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 2
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
7 occurrences in 5 groups
- אֲנִיI 2
- הֶםtheir 2
- בַּיִתhouse, household 1
- גּוֹיnation, people 1
- אֹזֶןear 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- אֵתwith 3
- מִןfrom 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
7 occurrences in 5 groups
- תָּוֶךְmiddle 3
- בַּתdaughter 1
- יָדhand, power 1
- מָוֶתdeath 1
- מַצָּבgarrison 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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἀπερίτμητος aperítmētos · G564 · stubborn, completely unyielding
- Greek ἀπερίτμητος renders Hebrew עָרֵל across both literal physical sense and figurative/metaphorical applications (e.g. 'uncircumcised heart/ear'), establishing direct translation equivalence for the concept of ritual/covenant non-participation or spiritual obstinacy.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Classes001001003001
- עָרֵל designates the uncircumcised as a distinct class of person, repeatedly set apart from the circumcised in the regulations governing Passover and covenant membership.
- Holy002001001033
- The word is tied to the covenant of circumcision, as when an uncircumcised male is said to have broken God's covenant and is cut off from his people.
- Unable002001001065
- The word is used figuratively of Moses' uncircumcised lips, an idiom for being unable to speak with the skill or eloquence Pharaoh would heed.
- Unwilling002001002031
- The word can be used figuratively of an uncircumcised heart or ear, an idiom for stubborn unwillingness to listen or obey, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which use the literal and speech-related senses.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6189. arel עָרֵל35 adjective having foreskin, i.e. uncircumcised; — ׳ע Exo 12:48 Exo…
עָרֵל35 adjective having foreskin, i.e. uncircumcised; — ׳ע Exo 12:48 Exo 12:5t.; construct עֶ֫רֶל Eze 44:9 (twice in verse); עֲרַל Exo 6:12, Exo 6:30; feminine עֲרִלָה Jer 6:10; plural עֲרִלִים Lev 19:23 Lev 19:20t.; construct עַרְלֵי Jer 9:25 Jer 9:2t.; — uncircumcised person Exo 12:48; Jos 5:7 (P), Philistines Jdg 14:3; Jdg 15:18; 1Sa 14:6; 1Sa 17:26, 1Sa 17:36; 1Sa 31:4; 2Sa 1:20; 1Ch 10:4; of other nations Isa 52:1; Jer 9:25; especially as slain Eze 28:10; Eze 31:18; Eze 32:19 Eze 32:9t. 32; in Eze 32:27 read מֵעוֺלָם so Hi and most (see on meaning Toy31, 18); זָכָר עָרֵל uncircumcised male Gen 17:14 (P); ׳ע בָּשָׂר Eze 44:7, Eze 44:9 uncircumcised of flesh; figurative of fruit trees Lev 19:23 (compare [עָרַל] above); ׳ע שְׂפָתַיִם figurative of incapacity to speak Exo 6:12, Exo 6:30; of character, ׳ע לב Jer 9:25; Eze 44:7, Eze 44:9, compare הֶעָרֵל לֵבָבָם Lev 26:41 (P), אָזְנָם עֲרֵלָה Jer 6:10 their ear is uncircumcised (unreceptive).
עָרוֺם עָרֹם, עֵרֹם, see עור f
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 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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