What does פְּסִיל (pesel) mean in the Bible?
פְּסִיל (pesel): Idol carved from stone or wood; emphasizes physical craftsmanship and tangible form over spiritual reality
Hebrew · H6456
פְּסִיל
An idol
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פְּסִיל H6456
Pronunciation pesel
What does פְּסִיל (pesel) mean in the Bible?
פְּסִיל (pesel): Idol carved from stone or wood; emphasizes physical craftsmanship and tangible form over spiritual reality
Full entry for פְּסִיל (H6456) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6456?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the idols (6), the carved idols (2), the images (2), their idols (2), and idols (1).
Where does פְּסִיל (pesel) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Deuteronomy 7:5. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Chronicles (5), Isaiah (4), Jeremiah (4), Deuteronomy (3).
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 idols 6× Deuteronomy 12:3, Judges 3:19, Judges 3:26, 2 Chronicles 33:22
the carved idols 2× 2 Chronicles 34:3, 2 Chronicles 34:4
the images 2× Deuteronomy 7:25, Isaiah 21:9
their idols 2× Deuteronomy 7:5, 2 Kings 17:41
and idols 1× 2 Chronicles 33:19
her carved images 1× Micah 1:7
her idols 1× Jeremiah 51:52
idols 1× Isaiah 30:22
of graven images 1× Jeremiah 50:38
the carved images 1× Micah 5:13
to carved images 1× Hosea 11:2
to idols 1× Isaiah 42:8
whose images [surpassed] 1× Isaiah 10:10
with their carved images 1× Jeremiah 8:19
with their idols 1× Psalms 78:58
Show sample aligned rows
Deuteronomy 7:5 וּפְסִילֵיהֶ֖ם to their idols Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural Deuteronomy 7:25 פְּסִילֵ֥י to the images Noun - masculine plural construct Deuteronomy 12:3 וּפְסִילֵ֥י to the idols Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct Judges 3:19 הַפְּסִילִים֙ to the idols Article | Noun - masculine plural Judges 3:26 הַפְּסִילִ֔ים to the idols Article | Noun - masculine plural 2 Kings 17:41 פְּסִֽילֵיהֶ֖ם to their idols Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural 2 Chronicles 33:19 וְהַפְּסִלִ֔ים to and idols Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural 2 Chronicles 33:22 הַפְּסִילִ֗ים to the idols Article | Noun - masculine plural 2 Chronicles 34:3 וְהַפְּסִלִ֖ים to the carved idols Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural 2 Chronicles 34:4 וְהַפְּסִלִ֤ים to the carved idols Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Deuteronomy 7:5
Aligned rows 23
Books represented 9
Deuteronomy 3 Judges 2 2 Kings 1 2 Chronicles 5 Psalms 1 Isaiah 4 Jeremiah 4 Hosea 1 Micah 2
Source forms
פְּסִילֵ֥י 2x pə·sî·lê Deuteronomy 7:25, Isaiah 21:9
פְּסִילֵ֣י 2x pə·sî·lê Isaiah 30:22, Jeremiah 51:47
בִּפְסִלֵיהֶ֖ם 1x bip̄·si·lê·hem Jeremiah 8:19
הַפְּסִילִים֙ 1x hap·pə·sî·lîm Judges 3:19
הַפְּסִילִ֔ים 1x hap·pə·sî·lîm Judges 3:26
הַפְּסִילִ֗ים 1x hap·pə·sî·lîm 2 Chronicles 33:22
וּ֝בִפְסִילֵיהֶ֗ם 1x ū·ḇip̄·sî·lê·hem Psalms 78:58
וְהַפְּסִלִ֔ים 1x wə·hap·pə·si·lîm 2 Chronicles 33:19
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural 4x 2 Chronicles 33:19, 2 Chronicles 34:3, 2 Chronicles 34:4, 2 Chronicles 34:7
Noun - masculine plural construct 4x Deuteronomy 7:25, Isaiah 21:9, Isaiah 30:22, Jeremiah 51:47
Article | Noun - masculine plural 3x Judges 3:19, Judges 3:26, 2 Chronicles 33:22
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural 2x Deuteronomy 7:5, Isaiah 10:10
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular 2x Jeremiah 51:52, Micah 1:7
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct 1x Deuteronomy 12:3
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural 1x Psalms 78:58
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine plural 1x Hosea 11:2
Evidence Summary
Creation
Hebrew word. Idol carved from stone or wood; emphasizes physical craftsmanship and tangible form over spiritual reality
Source Gloss
an idol
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Idol carved from stone or wood; emphasizes physical craftsmanship and tangible form over spiritual reality
an idol Usage: carved (graven) image, quarry.
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.
Old Testament Witnesses
Carved image used in worship.
Showing 1 selected witness from 24 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
פְּסִיל is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The shattering of idols exposes the impotence of Babylon’s religion. Isaiah 21:1-10
Canonical Themes
Creation
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