What does מַחֲלֶה (maḥăleh) mean in the Bible?
מַחֲלֶה (maḥăleh): Disease as divine judgment or test; often paired with healing to show God's sovereignty over life and death
Hebrew · H4245
מַחֲלֶה
Sickness
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מַחֲלֶה H4245
Pronunciation maḥăleh
What does מַחֲלֶה (maḥăleh) mean in the Bible?
מַחֲלֶה (maḥăleh): Disease as divine judgment or test; often paired with healing to show God's sovereignty over life and death
Full entry for מַחֲלֶה (H4245) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4245?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include sickness [may come] (2), a disease (1), his sickness (1), of the diseases (1), sickness (1).
Where does מַחֲלֶה (maḥăleh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 15:26. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Chronicles (2), Exodus (2), 1 Kings (1), Proverbs (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 sickness [may come] 2× 1 Kings 8:37, 2 Chronicles 6:28
a disease 1× 2 Chronicles 21:15
his sickness 1× Proverbs 18:14
of the diseases 1× Exodus 15:26
sickness 1× Exodus 23:25
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 15:26 הַמַּֽחֲלָ֞ה to of the diseases Article | Noun - feminine singular Exodus 23:25 מַחֲלָ֖ה to sickness Noun - feminine singular 1 Kings 8:37 מַחֲלָֽה׃ to sickness [may come] Noun - feminine singular 2 Chronicles 6:28 מַחֲלָֽה׃ to sickness [may come] Noun - feminine singular 2 Chronicles 21:15 בְּמַחֲלֵ֣ה to a disease Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Proverbs 18:14 מַחֲלֵ֑הוּ to his sickness Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Exodus 15:26
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 4
Exodus 2 1 Kings 1 2 Chronicles 2 Proverbs 1
Source forms
מַחֲלָֽה׃ 2x ma·ḥă·lāh 1 Kings 8:37, 2 Chronicles 6:28
בְּמַחֲלֵ֣ה 1x bə·ma·ḥă·lêh 2 Chronicles 21:15
הַמַּֽחֲלָ֞ה 1x ham·ma·ḥă·lāh Exodus 15:26
מַחֲלָ֖ה 1x ma·ḥă·lāh Exodus 23:25
מַחֲלֵ֑הוּ 1x ma·ḥă·lê·hū Proverbs 18:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular 3x Exodus 23:25, 1 Kings 8:37, 2 Chronicles 6:28
Article | Noun - feminine singular 1x Exodus 15:26
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 1x Proverbs 18:14
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct 1x 2 Chronicles 21:15
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Disease as divine judgment or test; often paired with healing to show God's sovereignty over life and death
Source Gloss
sickness
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Disease as divine judgment or test; often paired with healing to show God's sovereignty over life and death
sickness Usage: disease, infirmity, sickness.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Physical or emotional ailment that the spirit can endure or overcome
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
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