What does בָּדַל (badal) mean in the Bible?
בָּדַל (badal): To divide by making a distinction; carries covenantal weight in separating Israel as holy from nations.
Hebrew · H914
בָּדַל
To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.)
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בָּדַל H914
Pronunciation badal
What does בָּדַל (badal) mean in the Bible?
בָּדַל (badal): To divide by making a distinction; carries covenantal weight in separating Israel as holy from nations.
Full entry for בָּדַל (H914) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H914?
The BSB source-word alignment has 42 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include separate (2), set apart (2), who had separated themselves (2), You must distinguish (2), . . . (1).
Where does בָּדַל (badal) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (8), Ezra (6), Deuteronomy (5), Genesis (5).
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 separate 2× Genesis 1:6, Ezra 10:11
set apart 2× Deuteronomy 10:8, 1 Chronicles 25:1
who had separated themselves 2× Ezra 6:21, Nehemiah 10:28
You must distinguish 2× Leviticus 10:10, Leviticus 11:47
. . . 1× Isaiah 56:3
and I have set you apart 1× Leviticus 20:26
and separated 1× Genesis 1:7
and single him out 1× Deuteronomy 29:21
and to separate 1× Genesis 1:18
and would himself be expelled 1× Ezra 10:8
apart 1× Leviticus 20:25
defected 1× 1 Chronicles 12:8
dismissed 1× 2 Chronicles 25:10
distinction 1× Ezekiel 22:26
dividing [ the bird ] completely 1× Leviticus 1:17
has separated you 1× Numbers 16:9
has set you apart 1× Leviticus 20:24
have built barriers 1× Isaiah 59:2
have set them apart 1× 1 Kings 8:53
In this way you shall separate 1× Numbers 8:14
kept themselves separate 1× Ezra 9:1
selected 1× Ezra 10:16
Separate yourselves 1× Numbers 16:21
separated 1× Genesis 1:4
separated themselves 1× Nehemiah 9:2
set aside 1× Deuteronomy 4:41
severing it 1× Leviticus 5:8
Then I set apart 1× Ezra 8:24
then you are to set apart 1× Deuteronomy 19:2
they excluded 1× Nehemiah 13:3
to distinguish 1× Genesis 1:14
to separate 1× Ezekiel 42:20
were set apart 1× 1 Chronicles 23:13
will be employed 1× Ezekiel 39:14
will separate 1× Exodus 26:33
will utterly exclude me 1× Isaiah 56:3
You are therefore to distinguish 1× Leviticus 20:25
you to set apart 1× Deuteronomy 19:7
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 1:4 וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל to separated Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 1:6 מַבְדִּ֔יל to separate Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular Genesis 1:7 וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל to and separated Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 1:14 לְהַבְדִּ֕יל to to distinguish Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct Genesis 1:18 וּֽלֲהַבְדִּ֔יל to and to separate Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct Exodus 26:33 וְהִבְדִּילָ֤ה to will separate Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular Leviticus 1:17 יַבְדִּיל֒ to dividing [ the bird ] completely Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:8 יַבְדִּֽיל׃ to severing it Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 10:10 וּֽלֲהַבְדִּ֔יל to You must distinguish Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct Leviticus 11:47 לְהַבְדִּ֕יל to You must distinguish Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 1:4
Aligned rows 42
Books represented 12
Genesis 5 Exodus 1 Leviticus 8 Numbers 3 Deuteronomy 5 1 Kings 1 1 Chronicles 3 2 Chronicles 1 Ezra 6 Nehemiah 3 Isaiah 3 Ezekiel 3
Source forms
לְהַבְדִּ֕יל 3x lə·haḇ·dîl Genesis 1:14, Leviticus 11:47, Ezekiel 42:20
הִבְדַּ֥לְתִּי 2x hiḇ·dal·tî Leviticus 20:24, Leviticus 20:25
וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל 2x way·yaḇ·dêl Genesis 1:4, 1 Chronicles 25:1
וּֽלֲהַבְדִּ֔יל 2x ū·lă·haḇ·dîl Genesis 1:18, Leviticus 10:10
הִבְדִּיל֩ 1x hiḇ·dîl Numbers 16:9
הִבְדִּ֤יל 1x hiḇ·dîl Deuteronomy 10:8
הִבְדִּ֔ילוּ 1x hiḇ·dî·lū Ezekiel 22:26
הַבְדֵּ֧ל 1x haḇ·dêl Isaiah 56:3
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 3x Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:7, 1 Chronicles 25:1
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct 3x Genesis 1:14, Leviticus 11:47, Ezekiel 42:20
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 3x Leviticus 1:17, Leviticus 5:8, Deuteronomy 4:41
Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular 2x Ezra 6:21, Nehemiah 10:28
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 2x Ezra 10:16, Nehemiah 9:2
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct 2x Genesis 1:18, Leviticus 10:10
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular 2x Deuteronomy 19:2, Deuteronomy 19:7
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - first person common singular 2x Leviticus 20:24, Leviticus 20:25
Hebrew word. To divide by making a distinction; carries covenantal weight in separating Israel as holy from nations.
Strong's H914
Lexical occurrences 42 verses Word forms 2 forms 18 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Nehemiah 13:1-3 Source Gloss
to divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
To divide by making a distinction; carries covenantal weight in separating Israel as holy from nations.
to divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.) BDB: be divided Usage: (make, put) difference, divide (asunder), (make) separate (self, -ation), sever (out), × utterly.
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 18
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 14×
Imperfect Deut 4:41 · Lev 1:17 · Lev 5:8 · Deut 19:2 · Deut 19:7 · Ezek 39:14 6×
Perfect Deut 10:8 · Num 16:9 · Lev 20:24 · Lev 20:25 · Ezek 22:26 5×
Participle active Gen 1:6 · Isa 59:2 2×
Infinitive absolute Isa 56:3 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 4×
Perfect 1Chr 12:9 · Ezra 9:1 2×
Imperfect Ezra 10:8 1×
Sequential imperfect Num 16:21 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
To divide or distinguish for sacred purpose.
Showing 1 selected witness from 42 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
בָּדַל is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Separation reflects covenant holiness and the safeguarding of spiritual identity. Nehemiah 13:1-3
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