Acting unfaithfully names a breach whose conduct and relationship the passage must establish. Leviticus connects deception, extortion and false claims about a neighbor's property with unfaithfulness against the Lord, then requires restitution to the owner.
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Full entry for מָעַל (H4603) · Open the biblical lexicon
Acting unfaithfully names a breach whose conduct and relationship the passage must establish. Leviticus connects deception, extortion and false claims about a neighbor's property with unfaithfulness against the Lord, then requires restitution to the owner.
The BSB source-word alignment has 35 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include acts (2), have been unfaithful (2), unfaithful (2), were unfaithful (2), . . . (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 5:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Chronicles (8), Ezekiel (7), Joshua (4), 1 Chronicles (3).
Acting unfaithfully names a breach whose conduct and relationship the passage must establish. Leviticus connects deception, extortion and false claims about a neighbor's property with unfaithfulness against the Lord, then requires restitution to the owner. Another instruction expressly includes unintentional harm involving holy things, preventing the range from becoming only deliberate hidden plotting.
Numbers also joins confession to repair of a wrong done to another person. Joshua's altar dispute supplies an essential caution: an accusation of breach is heard, the builders explain a witness purpose rather than sacrifice, and Phinehas concludes that they have not committed the alleged breach. Read actual conduct, charge and response rather than accepting every accusation as proven.
The verb cannot make questions disloyal, turn a leader's preferred practice into divine law or authorize present punishment through an ancient narrated judgment.
Property deception, unintentional holy-things harm, confession and restitution, Achan's narrated action, a resolved altar accusation and Uzziah's stated breach provide different contexts. Named conduct and established response govern the judgment.
“If someone sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him or stolen, or if he extorts his neighbor
Unfaithfulness against the Lord is specified through neighbor-directed deception or extortion, and verses 4-5 require return and restitution to the owner.
“If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the Lord’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.
The instruction explicitly includes unintentional wrongdoing concerning holy things and names restitution, so the verb does not always establish a covert malicious plan.
Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this breach of faith against Him. Consequently, you have delivered the Israelites from the hand of the Lord.”
After hearing the altar's witness purpose, Phinehas says the builders have not committed the alleged breach, preserving the investigation's corrective conclusion.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Treachery through hidden action; covenant-breaking unfaithfulness that conceals its true nature from the injured party
Treachery through hidden action; covenant-breaking unfaithfulness that conceals its true nature from the injured party
properly, to cover up; used only figuratively, to act covertly, i.e. treacherously BDB: act unfaithfully Usage: transgress, (commit, do a) trespass(-ing).
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 36 lexical occurrence verses.
מָעַל is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
A breach must be established through the actual conduct rather than the force of an accusation. Leviticus names deception and extortion against a neighbor and directs repair to the person wronged. Its holy-things instruction also includes unintentional wrongdoing, so a teacher should not invent a malicious motive whenever the verb appears. Numbers retains confession and restitution instead of reducing accountability to words alone.
Joshua's altar account makes listening especially important: the accusation is initially serious, but the builders explain that the altar is a witness rather than a rival sacrifice place, and the leaders accept that no alleged breach occurred. Achan's and Uzziah's accounts supply their own specifically named actions, not permission to punish present questioners or diagnose illness.
Teach established wrong and repair where stated, while preserving corrected accusations and leaving private guilt or modern sanctions unassigned.
Lev.6.2
The licensed Hebrew verb describes acting unfaithfully or treacherously. The passages name intentional property deception, unintentional harm and an accusation ultimately rejected, so the word alone cannot establish a hidden motive or make every claim of breach true. Read the supplied act and conclusion rather than a literal covering metaphor.
Acts 5:1-4 names a false account of sale proceeds while Peter explicitly acknowledges the property's earlier possession and the seller's disposal of the proceeds. Read that Greek deception scene beside Leviticus' actual property wrongs without saying every retained asset is unfaithfulness. The narrative supplies the lie; the Hebrew verb does not impose a present leader's claim to every possession or authorize a private punishment decision.