What does מְלֹא (mĕlōʾ) mean in the Bible?
Fullness describes what fills something or the measure that a container or hand holds. Psalm 24 names the earth and its fullness as belonging to the Lord, along with the world and its inhabitants.
Hebrew · H4393
מְלֹא
Fullness describes what fills something or the measure that a container or hand holds. Psalm 24 names the earth and its fullness as belonging to the Lord, along with the world and its inhabitants.
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מְלֹאH4393
Pronunciationmĕlōʾ
What does מְלֹא (mĕlōʾ) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for מְלֹא (H4393) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4393?
The BSB source-word alignment has 38 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and everything in it (5), . . . (4), and all that fills it (4), full (3), a handful (2).
Where does מְלֹא (mĕlōʾ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 48:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (5), Isaiah (5), Psalms (5), Leviticus (4).
What This Word Actually Means
Fullness describes what fills something or the measure that a container or hand holds. Psalm 24 names the earth and its fullness as belonging to the Lord, along with the world and its inhabitants. Isaiah hears that the earth is full of God's glory. Yet the widow speaking to Elijah has only a handful of flour, and Ecclesiastes prefers one handful with tranquility to two handfuls with restless toil.
The word therefore does not always mean abundant personal possessions or a promise of more. Identify what is full, what it contains and what the passage says about it. God's claim upon creation differs from a measured amount of food or a wisdom comparison about labor. Teaching should make room for the widow's genuine scarcity and the value of quietness without treating either poverty or abundance as a complete measure of a person's faith.
How the Bible Uses It
Creation's fullness, the earth filled with glory, measured food and the comparison of handfuls show different uses. Possession, amount and the passage's evaluation must remain attached to their own subjects.
- Ps.24.1
The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
The earth, its fullness, the world and its inhabitants belong to the Lord; the following verse grounds this claim in His founding of the earth.
- 1Kgs.17.12
But she replied, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
The widow reports only a handful of flour and a little oil while fearing death for herself and her son, so the measured amount expresses genuine scarcity.
- Eccl.4.6
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
One handful with tranquility is preferred to two with toil and pursuit of wind, keeping the evaluation on the manner of life rather than maximum quantity.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itand everything in it5×Deuteronomy 33:16, Jeremiah 8:16, Ezekiel 19:7, Ezekiel 30:12
. . .4×Exodus 16:32, Exodus 16:33, Leviticus 2:2, 2 Kings 4:39
and all that fills it4×1 Chronicles 16:32, Psalms 96:11, Psalms 98:7, Isaiah 34:1
full3×Leviticus 16:12, Numbers 22:18, Numbers 24:13
a handful2×Leviticus 5:12, 1 Kings 17:12
and its fullness2×Psalms 89:11, Jeremiah 47:2
and the fullness thereof2×Psalms 24:1, Psalms 50:12
a band1×Isaiah 31:4
a multitude1×Genesis 48:19
and all that is in it1×Isaiah 42:10
and everyone in it1×Micah 1:2
and two handfuls1×Leviticus 16:12
and with one1×2 Samuel 8:2
flat1×1 Samuel 28:20
handfuls1×Exodus 9:8
is full1×Isaiah 6:3
It was the full length of1×Ezekiel 41:8
of all that filled it1×Ezekiel 32:15
of everything in it1×Ezekiel 12:19
one handful1×Ecclesiastes 4:6
than two handfuls1×Ecclesiastes 4:6
vvv1×Judges 6:38
will cover1×Isaiah 8:8
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 48:19מְלֹֽא־toa multitudeNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 9:8מְלֹ֣אtohandfulsNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 16:32מְלֹ֤אto. . .Noun - masculine singular constructExodus 16:33מְלֹֽא־to. . .Noun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 2:2מְלֹ֣אto. . .Noun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 5:12מְל֨וֹאtoa handfulNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 16:12מְלֹֽא־tofullNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 16:12וּמְלֹ֣אtoand two handfulsConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular constructNumbers 22:18מְלֹ֥אtofullNoun - masculine singular constructNumbers 24:13מְלֹ֣אtofullNoun - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 48:19
Aligned rows38
Books represented18
Genesis1Exodus3Leviticus4Numbers2Deuteronomy1Judges11 Samuel12 Samuel11 Kings12 Kings11 Chronicles1Psalms5Ecclesiastes2Isaiah5Jeremiah2Ezekiel5Amos1Micah1
Source forms
מְלֹ֣א5xmə·lōExodus 9:8, Leviticus 2:2, Numbers 24:13, 2 Kings 4:39
מְלֹ֥א4xmə·lōNumbers 22:18, Ecclesiastes 4:6, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 8:8
וּמְלֹאָ֔הּ3xū·mə·lō·’āhDeuteronomy 33:16, Isaiah 34:1, Ezekiel 19:7
מְלֹֽא־3xmə·lō-Genesis 48:19, Exodus 16:33, Leviticus 16:12
וּמְלֹאָֽהּ׃2xū·mə·lō·’āhPsalms 50:12, Amos 6:8
וּמְלוֹאָ֔הּ2xū·mə·lō·w·’āhJeremiah 8:16, Jeremiah 47:2
מְלֹ֤א2xmə·lōExodus 16:32, 1 Kings 17:12
מִמְּלֹאָ֔הּ2xmim·mə·lō·’āhEzekiel 12:19, Ezekiel 32:15
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct18xGenesis 48:19, Exodus 9:8, Exodus 16:32, Exodus 16:33
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular11xDeuteronomy 33:16, Psalms 24:1, Psalms 50:12, Psalms 89:11
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular4x1 Chronicles 16:32, Psalms 96:11, Psalms 98:7, Isaiah 42:10
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct2xLeviticus 16:12, 2 Samuel 8:2
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular2xEzekiel 12:19, Ezekiel 32:15
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct1xEcclesiastes 4:6
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Take material need seriously rather than blaming scarcity on insufficient fullness of faith.
- Discuss responsible use of resources without promising individualized abundance or prescribing a financial decision.
Avoid claiming...
- Every use of fullness promises greater material wealth to faithful readers.
- A larger quantity always indicates a wiser or more blessed life.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Abundance or completeness—what fills a container, space, or period; also what satisfies or completes.
Source Gloss
fulness (literally or figuratively)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Abundance or completeness—what fills a container, space, or period; also what satisfies or completes.
fulness (literally or figuratively) BDB: fulness Usage: × all along, × all that is (there-) in, fill, (× that whereof...was) full, fulness, (hand-) full, multitude.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
מְלֹא is built from this root:
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Fullness is a relational description: something is full of something, or a measure contains a stated amount. Psalm 24's earth and inhabitants belong to the Lord, while Isaiah's earth is full of His glory in a vision that exposes the prophet's unclean lips. Neither statement promises that every household will possess abundant money or food. The widow's handful of flour is small enough that she fears the final meal, and the following promise of provision is a particular word given within Elijah's account.
Ecclesiastes compares two ways of holding resources and laboring, preferring tranquility to restless increase. Let each text make its own claim. Recognize real need, resist a quantity-based ranking of devotion, and avoid transforming God's ownership of the world into a leader's unrestricted claim on another person's possessions.
Anchor passage
Ps.24.1
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 24:1-3 names the earth and all its inhabitants as the Lord's, grounding ownership in His founding work before asking who may stand in His holy place.
- Isaiah 6:1-5 places the earth's fullness of glory within holy praise and Isaiah's confession, rather than a prediction of personal material abundance.
- First Kings 17:10-14 preserves the widow's scarce flour and oil before Elijah states a particular promise of provision in that account.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4-8 contrasts tranquility with envious and endless toil, preventing the number of handfuls from becoming the sole measure of a good life.
- Exodus 16:32-34 commands a measured omer of manna to be preserved so later generations can see the wilderness food, joining quantity to remembrance.
- Psalm 50:10-14 names God's ownership of creatures and the world's fullness while questioning the notion that offerings supply a hungry God's needs.
The licensed Hebrew evidence includes fullness and amounts such as a handful or a filled measure. The subject and contents explain the expression; a measure that is full can still contain only a small amount relative to a person's need.
From Old to New Testament
First Corinthians 10:24-28 explicitly quotes the earth and its fullness belonging to the Lord within instructions about market food and another person's conscience. This Greek quotation recalls Psalm 24 without making the Hebrew noun a new identity. Paul's actual concern for others guides the use of the ownership statement rather than an unrestricted entitlement to consume or seize anything.