What does נְבֵלָה (nĕbēlāh) mean in the Bible?
נְבֵלָה (nĕbēlāh): A corpse viewed as something flabby and worthless; figuratively applied to idols as spiritually lifeless objects.
Hebrew · H5038
נְבֵלָה
A flabby thing, i.e. a carcase or carrion (human or bestial, often collectively); figuratively, an idol
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נְבֵלָה H5038
Pronunciation nĕbēlāh
What does נְבֵלָה (nĕbēlāh) mean in the Bible?
נְבֵלָה (nĕbēlāh): A corpse viewed as something flabby and worthless; figuratively applied to idols as spiritually lifeless objects.
Full entry for נְבֵלָה (H5038) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5038?
The BSB source-word alignment has 48 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the body (6), their carcasses (5), and his body (3), anything found dead (3), the corpses (3).
Where does נְבֵלָה (nĕbēlāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 5:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (19), 1 Kings (10), Jeremiah (8), Deuteronomy (4).
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 the body 6× Deuteronomy 21:23, 1 Kings 13:25, 1 Kings 13:28, 1 Kings 13:29
their carcasses 5× Leviticus 11:8, Leviticus 11:11, Leviticus 11:24, Leviticus 11:27
and his body 3× 1 Kings 13:24, Jeremiah 26:23, Jeremiah 36:30
anything found dead 3× Leviticus 17:15, Leviticus 22:8, Ezekiel 4:14
the corpses 3× Psalms 79:2, Jeremiah 7:33, Jeremiah 9:22
. . . 2× Leviticus 5:2
[it] 2× 1 Kings 13:24, 1 Kings 13:28
a carcass 2× Leviticus 11:28, Leviticus 11:37
one of their carcasses 2× Leviticus 11:25, Leviticus 11:35
the carcass 2× Leviticus 11:39, Leviticus 11:40
a carcass in it 1× Leviticus 11:36
and a carcass 1× Leviticus 11:38
and the corpses 1× Isaiah 5:25
and their corpses 1× Jeremiah 16:4
body 1× 2 Kings 9:37
carcass 1× Deuteronomy 14:21
found dead 1× Ezekiel 44:31
from the carcass 1× Leviticus 11:40
it 1× 1 Kings 13:25
its carcass 1× Deuteronomy 14:8
of an animal found dead 1× Leviticus 7:24
that they take down the body 1× Joshua 8:29
their bodies 1× Isaiah 26:19
Their corpses 1× Jeremiah 34:20
whether the carcass 1× Leviticus 5:2
with the carcasses 1× Jeremiah 16:18
your body 1× 1 Kings 13:22
Your corpses 1× Deuteronomy 28:26
Show sample aligned rows
Leviticus 5:2 בְנִבְלַ֨ת to whether the carcass Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct Leviticus 5:2 בְּנִבְלַ֖ת to . . . Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct Leviticus 5:2 בְּנִבְלַת֙ to . . . Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct Leviticus 7:24 נְבֵלָה֙ to of an animal found dead Noun - feminine singular Leviticus 11:8 וּבְנִבְלָתָ֖ם to their carcasses Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural Leviticus 11:11 נִבְלָתָ֖ם to their carcasses Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural Leviticus 11:24 בְּנִבְלָתָ֖ם to their carcasses Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural Leviticus 11:25 מִנִּבְלָתָ֑ם to one of their carcasses Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural Leviticus 11:27 בְּנִבְלָתָ֖ם to their carcasses Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural Leviticus 11:28 נִבְלָתָ֔ם to a carcass Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Leviticus 5:2
Aligned rows 48
Books represented 9
Leviticus 19 Deuteronomy 4 Joshua 1 1 Kings 10 2 Kings 1 Psalms 1 Isaiah 2 Jeremiah 8 Ezekiel 2
Source forms
בְּנִבְלָתָ֖ם 3x bə·niḇ·lā·ṯām Leviticus 11:24, Leviticus 11:27, Leviticus 11:36
נְבֵלָה֙ 3x nə·ḇê·lāh Leviticus 7:24, Leviticus 17:15, Ezekiel 44:31
נִבְלָתָם֙ 3x niḇ·lā·ṯām Jeremiah 16:4, Jeremiah 19:7, Jeremiah 34:20
הַנְּבֵלָ֑ה 2x han·nə·ḇê·lāh 1 Kings 13:25, 1 Kings 13:28
וּבְנִבְלָתָ֖ם 2x ū·ḇə·niḇ·lā·ṯām Leviticus 11:8, Deuteronomy 14:8
נִבְלַ֣ת 2x niḇ·laṯ 2 Kings 9:37, Jeremiah 9:22
נִבְלָתוֹ֙ 2x niḇ·lā·ṯōw 1 Kings 13:24, 1 Kings 13:28
בְנִבְלַ֨ת 1x ḇə·niḇ·laṯ Leviticus 5:2
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural 6x Leviticus 11:11, Leviticus 11:28, Isaiah 5:25, Jeremiah 16:4
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular 6x Deuteronomy 21:23, Joshua 8:29, 1 Kings 13:24, 1 Kings 13:28
Article | Noun - feminine singular 5x 1 Kings 13:24, 1 Kings 13:25, 1 Kings 13:28
Noun - feminine singular 5x Leviticus 7:24, Leviticus 17:15, Leviticus 22:8, Deuteronomy 14:21
Noun - feminine singular construct 5x 1 Kings 13:29, 2 Kings 9:37, Psalms 79:2, Jeremiah 7:33
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct 4x Leviticus 5:2, Jeremiah 16:18
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural 4x Leviticus 11:25, Leviticus 11:35, Leviticus 11:37, Leviticus 11:38
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural 3x Leviticus 11:24, Leviticus 11:27, Leviticus 11:36
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. A corpse viewed as something flabby and worthless; figuratively applied to idols as spiritually lifeless objects.
Source Gloss
a flabby thing, i.e. a carcase or carrion (human or bestial, often collectively); figuratively, an idol
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
A corpse viewed as something flabby and worthless; figuratively applied to idols as spiritually lifeless objects.
a flabby thing, i.e. a carcase or carrion (human or bestial, often collectively); figuratively, an idol BDB: carcass Usage: (dead) body, (dead) carcase, dead of itself, which died, (beast) that (which) dieth of itself.
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.
Biblical Witnesses
Dead animal body that causes ritual impurity through contact
Beast that dies naturally, whose flesh conveys uncleanness to those who handle it
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 48 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