What does אׇכְלָה (ʾokĕlāh) mean in the Bible?
אׇכְלָה (ʾokĕlāh): Food as consumable sustenance; ranges from literal nourishment to metaphorical consumption, judgment, and divine provision.
Hebrew · H402
אׇכְלָה
Food
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אׇכְלָה H402
Pronunciation ʾokĕlāh
What does אׇכְלָה (ʾokĕlāh) mean in the Bible?
אׇכְלָה (ʾokĕlāh): Food as consumable sustenance; ranges from literal nourishment to metaphorical consumption, judgment, and divine provision.
Full entry for אׇכְלָה (H402) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H402?
The BSB source-word alignment has 18 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include as food (4), food (4), for food (2), for fuel (2), food for you (1).
Where does אׇכְלָה (ʾokĕlāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (10), Genesis (4), Leviticus (2), Exodus (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It as food 4× Genesis 6:21, Ezekiel 23:37, Ezekiel 29:5, Ezekiel 39:4
food 4× Genesis 9:3, Ezekiel 34:5, Ezekiel 34:8, Ezekiel 34:10
for food 2× Genesis 1:29, Genesis 1:30
for fuel 2× Ezekiel 15:4, Ezekiel 15:6
food for you 1× Leviticus 25:6
fuel 1× Ezekiel 21:32
may eat 1× Leviticus 11:39
to devour 1× Ezekiel 35:12
to devour her 1× Jeremiah 12:9
to eat 1× Exodus 16:15
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 1:29 לְאָכְלָֽה׃ to for food Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 1:30 לְאָכְלָ֑ה to for food Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 6:21 לְאָכְלָֽה׃ to as food Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 9:3 לְאָכְלָ֑ה to food Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Exodus 16:15 לְאָכְלָֽה׃ to to eat Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Leviticus 11:39 לְאָכְלָ֑ה to may eat Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Leviticus 25:6 לְאָכְלָ֔ה to food for you Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Jeremiah 12:9 לְאָכְלָֽה׃ to to devour her Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Ezekiel 15:4 לְאָכְלָ֑ה to for fuel Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Ezekiel 15:6 לְאָכְלָ֑ה to for fuel Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 1:29
Aligned rows 18
Books represented 5
Genesis 4 Exodus 1 Leviticus 2 Jeremiah 1 Ezekiel 10
Source forms
לְאָכְלָֽה׃ 8x lə·’āḵ·lāh Genesis 1:29, Genesis 6:21, Exodus 16:15, Jeremiah 12:9
לְאָכְלָ֑ה 5x lə·’āḵ·lāh Genesis 1:30, Genesis 9:3, Leviticus 11:39, Ezekiel 15:4
לְאָכְלָ֔ה 2x lə·’āḵ·lāh Leviticus 25:6, Ezekiel 21:32
לְאָכְלָ֛ה 1x lə·’āḵ·lāh Ezekiel 34:5
לְאָכְלָ֜ה 1x lə·’āḵ·lāh Ezekiel 34:8
לְאָכְלָֽה׃ס 1x lə·’āḵ·lāh Ezekiel 34:10
Parsing patterns
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular 18x Genesis 1:29, Genesis 1:30, Genesis 6:21, Genesis 9:3
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Food as consumable sustenance; ranges from literal nourishment to metaphorical consumption, judgment, and divine provision.
Source Gloss
food
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Food as consumable sustenance; ranges from literal nourishment to metaphorical consumption, judgment, and divine provision.
food Usage: consume, devour, eat, food, meat.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
vegetation and plants designated as food for human consumption
carcass of unclean animal treated as food with ritual implications
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 18 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אׇכְלָה 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