What does מוּל (mûl) mean in the Bible?
מוּל (mûl): Circumcision as covenant sign; cutting embodies divine obligation to remove spiritual obstruction and mark belonging to God's people.
Hebrew · H4135
מוּל
To cut short, i.e. curtail (specifically the prepuce, i.e. to circumcise ); by implication, to blunt ; figuratively, to destroy
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מוּל H4135
Pronunciation mûl
What does מוּל (mûl) mean in the Bible?
מוּל (mûl): Circumcision as covenant sign; cutting embodies divine obligation to remove spiritual obstruction and mark belonging to God's people.
Full entry for מוּל (H4135) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4135?
The BSB source-word alignment has 37 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include circumcised (5), I cut them off (3), must be circumcised (3), . . . (2), had been circumcised (2).
Where does מוּל (mûl) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 17:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (17), Joshua (8), Psalms (5), Deuteronomy (2).
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 circumcised 5× Genesis 17:14, Genesis 34:15, Joshua 5:5, Joshua 5:7
I cut them off 3× Psalms 118:10, Psalms 118:11, Psalms 118:12
must be circumcised 3× Genesis 17:10, Genesis 17:12, Exodus 12:48
. . . 2× Genesis 17:13, Genesis 34:22
had been circumcised 2× Joshua 5:5, Joshua 5:8
- 1× Genesis 17:25
after you have circumcised him 1× Exodus 12:44
and circumcise 1× Joshua 5:2
and circumcised 1× Joshua 5:3
and he circumcised them 1× Genesis 17:23
are circumcised 1× Genesis 34:22
be blunted 1× Psalms 58:7
been circumcised 1× Joshua 5:7
Circumcise 1× Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise yourselves 1× Jeremiah 4:4
circumcised him 1× Genesis 21:4
circumcised them 1× Joshua 5:4
is to be circumcised 1× Leviticus 12:3
it fades 1× Psalms 90:6
they must be circumcised 1× Genesis 17:13
to be circumcised 1× Genesis 34:17
was circumcised 1× Genesis 34:24
were circumcised 1× Genesis 17:26
were circumcised with him 1× Genesis 17:27
when he was circumcised 1× Genesis 17:24
will circumcise 1× Deuteronomy 30:6
You are to circumcise 1× Genesis 17:11
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 17:10 הִמּ֥וֹל to must be circumcised Verb - Nifal - Infinitive absolute Genesis 17:11 וּנְמַלְתֶּ֕ם to You are to circumcise Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural Genesis 17:12 יִמּ֥וֹל to must be circumcised Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 17:13 הִמּ֧וֹל׀ to they must be circumcised Verb - Nifal - Infinitive absolute Genesis 17:13 יִמּ֛וֹל to . . . Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 17:14 יִמּוֹל֙ to circumcised Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 17:23 וַיָּ֜מָל to and he circumcised them Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 17:24 בְּהִמֹּל֖וֹ to when he was circumcised Preposition-b | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular Genesis 17:25 בְּהִ֨מֹּל֔וֹ to - Preposition-b | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular Genesis 17:26 נִמּ֖וֹל to were circumcised Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 17:10
Aligned rows 37
Books represented 7
Genesis 17 Exodus 2 Leviticus 1 Deuteronomy 2 Joshua 8 Psalms 5 Jeremiah 2
Source forms
אֲמִילַֽם׃ 3x ’ă·mî·lam Psalms 118:10, Psalms 118:11, Psalms 118:12
לְהִמּ֑וֹל 2x lə·him·mō·wl Genesis 34:17, Joshua 5:8
מָ֣ל 2x māl Joshua 5:4, Joshua 5:7
בְּהִמּ֥וֹל 1x bə·him·mō·wl Genesis 34:22
בְּהִמֹּל֖וֹ 1x bə·him·mō·lōw Genesis 17:24
בְּהִ֨מֹּל֔וֹ 1x bə·him·mō·lōw Genesis 17:25
הִמּ֥וֹל 1x him·mō·wl Genesis 17:10
הִמּ֧וֹל 1x him·mō·wl Exodus 12:48
Parsing patterns
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 4x Genesis 17:12, Genesis 17:13, Genesis 17:14, Leviticus 12:3
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 3x Genesis 17:23, Genesis 21:4, Joshua 5:3
Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct 3x Genesis 34:15, Genesis 34:17, Joshua 5:8
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine plural 3x Psalms 118:10, Psalms 118:11, Psalms 118:12
Verb - Nifal - Infinitive absolute 3x Genesis 17:10, Genesis 17:13, Exodus 12:48
Preposition-b | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular 2x Genesis 17:24, Genesis 17:25
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural 2x Joshua 5:5, Joshua 5:7
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 2x Joshua 5:4, Joshua 5:7
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Circumcision as covenant sign; cutting embodies divine obligation to remove spiritual obstruction and mark belonging to God's people.
Strong's H4135
Lexical occurrences 36 verses Word forms 4 forms 20 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Genesis 17:9-14 Source Gloss
to cut short, i.e. curtail (specifically the prepuce, i.e. to circumcise ); by implication, to blunt ; figuratively, to destroy
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Circumcision as covenant sign; cutting embodies divine obligation to remove spiritual obstruction and mark belonging to God's people.
to cut short, i.e. curtail (specifically the prepuce, i.e. to circumcise); by implication, to blunt; figuratively, to destroy BDB: circumcise Usage: circumcise(-ing), selves), cut down (in pieces), destroy, × must needs.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 20
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 11×
Imperfect Gen 17:12 · Gen 17:13 · Gen 17:14 · Lev 12:3 4×
Infinitive absolute Exod 12:48 · Gen 17:10 · Gen 17:13 3×
Perfect Gen 17:26 · Gen 17:27 2×
Participle active Gen 34:22 1×
Sequential imperfect Jer 4:4 1×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 6×
Perfect Josh 5:4 · Josh 5:7 · Josh 5:5 4×
Sequential imperfect Josh 5:2 1×
Participle passive Josh 5:5 1×
Hithpael reflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others 1×
Imperfect Ps 58:8 1×
Poel 1×
Imperfect Ps 90:6 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Covenant obligation to circumcise male descendants as sign of Abraham's covenant
Narrative fulfillment of covenant command, Abraham circumcises household members
Zipporah circumcises her son to avert God's judgment against Moses
Figurative usage calling for inner spiritual circumcision of the heart
External circumcision contrasted with internal spiritual condition and covenant faithfulness
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 36 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מוּל is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
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