What does בַּל · עַל mean in the Bible?
בַּל · עַל: Negation rooted in absence or failure; carries protective sense when used as cautionary "lest" to prevent unwanted outcomes
Hebrew · H1077, H5921
בַּל
Properly, a failure ; by implication nothing ; usually (adverb) not at all; also lest · above , over , upon , or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
בַּל H1077 properly, a failure ; by implication nothing ; usually (adverb) not at all; also lest
עַל H5921 above , over , upon , or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
What does בַּל (bal-‘ālêkā) mean in the Bible?
בַּל · עַל: Negation rooted in absence or failure; carries protective sense when used as cautionary "lest" to prevent unwanted outcomes
Full entry for בַּל (H1077, H5921) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for H1077, H5921?
H1077, H5921 is connected to 5,853 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew phrase. Negation rooted in absence or failure; carries protective sense when used as cautionary "lest" to prevent unwanted outcomes
Source Gloss
properly, a failure ; by implication nothing ; usually (adverb) not at all; also lest
Extended definition
Negation rooted in absence or failure; carries protective sense when used as cautionary "lest" to prevent unwanted outcomes
lest, neither, no, none (that...), not (any), nothing.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Old Testament Witnesses
Psalms 16:1–4 בַּל־עָלֶיךָ
Not beyond you; apart from you; besides you; indicates that God is the source and boundary of all good
Word Origins
בַּל is built from this root:
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain