What does אֱלִיל (ʾĕlîl) mean in the Bible?
אֱלִיל (ʾĕlîl): Idol fundamentally denotes worthlessness or insufficiency, not merely false worship but ontological emptiness.
Hebrew · H457
אֱלִיל
Good for nothing , by analogy vain or vanity ; specifically an idol
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אֱלִיל H457
Pronunciation ʾĕlîl
What does אֱלִיל (ʾĕlîl) mean in the Bible?
אֱלִיל (ʾĕlîl): Idol fundamentally denotes worthlessness or insufficiency, not merely false worship but ontological emptiness.
Full entry for אֱלִיל (H457) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H457?
The BSB source-word alignment has 19 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include idols (5), . . . (2), are idols (2), The idols (2), and its idols (1).
Where does אֱלִיל (ʾĕlîl) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 19:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (10), Leviticus (2), Psalms (2), 1 Chronicles (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 idols 5× Leviticus 19:4, Leviticus 26:1, Isaiah 2:8, Isaiah 19:3
. . . 2× Isaiah 2:20, Isaiah 31:7
are idols 2× 1 Chronicles 16:26, Psalms 96:5
The idols 2× Isaiah 19:1, Isaiah 31:7
and its idols 1× Isaiah 10:11
and the idols 1× Isaiah 2:18
in idols 1× Psalms 97:7
the idolatrous 1× Isaiah 10:10
their idols 1× Isaiah 2:20
to the images 1× Ezekiel 30:13
to the worthless 1× Zechariah 11:17
worthless 1× Job 13:4
Show sample aligned rows
Leviticus 19:4 הָ֣אֱלִילִ֔ים to idols Article | Noun - masculine plural Leviticus 26:1 אֱלִילִ֗ם to idols Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 16:26 אֱלִילִ֔ים to are idols Noun - masculine plural Job 13:4 אֱלִ֣ל to worthless Adjective - masculine singular Psalms 96:5 אֱלִילִ֑ים to are idols Noun - masculine plural Psalms 97:7 בָּאֱלִילִ֑ים to in idols Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural Isaiah 2:8 אֱלִילִ֑ים to idols Noun - masculine plural Isaiah 2:18 וְהָאֱלִילִ֖ים to and the idols Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural Isaiah 2:20 אֱלִילֵ֣י to their idols Noun - masculine plural construct Isaiah 2:20 אֱלִילֵ֣י to . . . Noun - masculine plural construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Leviticus 19:4
Aligned rows 19
Books represented 8
Leviticus 2 1 Chronicles 1 Job 1 Psalms 2 Isaiah 10 Ezekiel 1 Habakkuk 1 Zechariah 1
Source forms
אֱלִילֵ֣י 3x ’ĕ·lî·lê Isaiah 2:20, Isaiah 31:7
אֱלִילִ֑ים 2x ’ĕ·lî·lîm Psalms 96:5, Isaiah 2:8
אֱלִילֵ֤י 1x ’ĕ·lî·lê Isaiah 19:1
אֱלִילִ֔ים 1x ’ĕ·lî·lîm 1 Chronicles 16:26
אֱלִילִים֙ 1x ’ĕ·lî·lîm Ezekiel 30:13
אֱלִילִ֥ים 1x ’ĕ·lî·lîm Habakkuk 2:18
אֱלִילִ֗ם 1x ’ĕ·lî·lim Leviticus 26:1
אֱלִ֣ל 1x ’ĕ·lil Job 13:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine plural 6x Leviticus 26:1, 1 Chronicles 16:26, Psalms 96:5, Isaiah 2:8
Noun - masculine plural construct 4x Isaiah 2:20, Isaiah 19:1, Isaiah 31:7
Article | Noun - masculine plural 2x Leviticus 19:4, Isaiah 19:3
Adjective - masculine singular 1x Job 13:4
Article | Adjective - masculine singular 1x Zechariah 11:17
Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 10:10
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct 1x Isaiah 31:7
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural 1x Isaiah 2:18
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Idol fundamentally denotes worthlessness or insufficiency, not merely false worship but ontological emptiness.
Source Gloss
good for nothing , by analogy vain or vanity ; specifically an idol
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Idol fundamentally denotes worthlessness or insufficiency, not merely false worship but ontological emptiness.
good for nothing, by analogy vain or vanity; specifically an idol BDB: insufficiency Usage: idol, no value, thing of nought.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Worthless or powerless deity.
Worthless or empty things used as objects of worship.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 20 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אֱלִיל is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Egypt’s spiritual foundation collapses before the true God. Isaiah 19:1-4
The term emphasizes the futility and emptiness of the objects Judah worships, contrasting sharply with the living God. Isaiah 2:6-9
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