What does בָּבֶל (bavel) mean in the Bible?
e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire".
Hebrew · H894
בָּבֶל
Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire
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בָּבֶל H894
Pronunciation bavel
What does בָּבֶל (bavel) mean in the Bible?
בָּבֶל (bavel) is a Hebrew word meaning "Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire".
Full entry for בָּבֶל (H894) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H894?
The BSB source-word alignment has 262 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of Babylon (137), to Babylon (44), Babylon (33), from Babylon (11), in Babylon (9).
Where does בָּבֶל (bavel) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 10:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (169), 2 Kings (32), Ezekiel (20), Isaiah (13).
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 of Babylon 137× 2 Kings 17:30, 2 Kings 20:12, 2 Kings 20:18, 2 Kings 24:1
to Babylon 44× 2 Kings 20:17, 2 Kings 24:15, 2 Kings 24:16, 2 Kings 25:7
Babylon 33× 2 Chronicles 36:20, Isaiah 21:9, Isaiah 48:20, Jeremiah 50:1
from Babylon 11× 2 Kings 20:14, Ezra 1:11, Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:9
in Babylon 9× Genesis 10:10, 2 Kings 25:28, 2 Chronicles 36:7, Jeremiah 29:3
. . . 7× Ezra 2:1, Jeremiah 27:8, Jeremiah 29:3, Jeremiah 39:6
of Babylon’s 4× Jeremiah 50:46, Ezekiel 30:24, Ezekiel 30:25
against Babylon 2× Isaiah 13:1, Isaiah 48:14
and Babylon 2× Psalms 87:4, Isaiah 13:19
Babylon’s 2× Jeremiah 29:10, Jeremiah 51:58
over Babylon 2× 2 Kings 25:8, Jeremiah 52:12
[comes from] Babylon 1× Jeremiah 51:54
[in] Babylon 1× Jeremiah 29:28
[where] 1× Jeremiah 52:11
are in Babylon 1× Jeremiah 29:22
away to Babylon 1× Jeremiah 39:9
Babel 1× Genesis 11:9
because of Babylon 1× Jeremiah 51:49
O Babylon 1× Jeremiah 50:24
people from Babylon 1× 2 Kings 17:24
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 10:10 בָּבֶ֔ל to in Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular Genesis 11:9 בָּבֶ֔ל to Babel Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 17:24 מִבָּבֶ֡ל to people from Babylon Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 17:30 בָבֶ֗ל to of Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 20:12 בָּבֶ֛ל to of Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 20:14 מִבָּבֶֽל׃ to from Babylon Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 20:17 בָּבֶ֑לָה to to Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular 2 Kings 20:18 בָּבֶֽל׃ to of Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 24:1 בָּבֶ֑ל to of Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular 2 Kings 24:7 בָּבֶ֗ל to of Babylon Noun - proper - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 10:10
Aligned rows 262
Books represented 14
Genesis 2 2 Kings 32 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 9 Ezra 6 Nehemiah 2 Esther 1 Psalms 3 Isaiah 13 Jeremiah 169 Ezekiel 20 Daniel 1 Micah 1 Zechariah 2
Source forms
בָּבֶ֖ל 39x bā·ḇel 2 Kings 24:10, 2 Kings 24:11, 2 Kings 25:6, 2 Kings 25:8
בָּבֶ֔ל 37x bā·ḇel Genesis 10:10, Genesis 11:9, 2 Kings 24:12, 2 Kings 25:11
בָּבֶל֙ 19x bā·ḇel 2 Kings 25:23, Nehemiah 13:6, Jeremiah 21:4, Jeremiah 21:10
בָּבֶֽל׃ 19x bā·ḇel 2 Kings 20:18, Esther 2:6, Isaiah 39:7, Jeremiah 24:1
בָּבֶ֛ל 15x bā·ḇel 2 Kings 20:12, 2 Kings 24:16, 2 Kings 24:17, Isaiah 39:1
בָּבֶ֑ל 14x bā·ḇel 2 Kings 24:1, 2 Kings 25:8, 2 Kings 25:22, 2 Chronicles 36:6
בָּבֶֽלָה׃ 13x bā·ḇe·lāh 2 Kings 24:15, 2 Kings 24:16, 2 Kings 25:13, 2 Chronicles 33:11
בָּבֶ֜ל 10x bā·ḇel 2 Kings 25:1, 2 Kings 25:27, Jeremiah 34:3, Jeremiah 39:6
Parsing patterns
Noun - proper - feminine singular 202x Genesis 10:10, Genesis 11:9, 2 Kings 17:30, 2 Kings 20:12
Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular 28x 2 Kings 20:17, 2 Kings 24:15, 2 Kings 24:16, 2 Kings 25:13
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular 12x 2 Kings 17:24, 2 Kings 20:14, Ezra 1:11, Ezra 7:6
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular 8x 1 Chronicles 9:1, 2 Chronicles 36:7, Ezra 2:1, Isaiah 14:22
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular 6x 2 Kings 25:28, 2 Chronicles 36:7, Isaiah 48:14, Jeremiah 29:22
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular 4x Psalms 87:4, Jeremiah 20:6, Jeremiah 32:5, Jeremiah 34:3
Preposition | Noun - feminine singular construct 1x Jeremiah 52:31
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular 1x Jeremiah 27:16
Evidence Summary
Canonical Anchor
Hebrew word. Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire
Source Gloss
Babel (i.e. Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire
Extended definition
Babel, Babylon.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
The imperial power to which Judah would be exiled.
Showing 1 selected witness from 262 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
בָּבֶל is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Its explicit mention confirms the historical reality of exile within God’s redemptive plan. Micah 4:9-13
Canonical Themes
Canonical Anchor
Cross-Language Connections
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
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