בֶ֫לַע
swallowing
‘swallowing’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 time (50%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 1 time (50%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 2 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H1105 appears — 2 distinct verses across 2 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Psalms 1 verse
Jeremiah 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew noun בלע centers on the idea of “swallowing.” A scarce word — 2 verses in all of the Hebrew Bible. The word gravitates to Psalms (50%), then Jeremiah. Debuting at Psalms 52:4, it then recurs through the corpus. The lexicon spreads it across several senses; see its full sense range. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1105 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 2
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 2 distinct verses.
- 2 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 2 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4,807
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4,807 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 2 occurrences in the concordance →
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 2 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1 verse · 50%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1 verse · 50%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: All devouring 1×, He hath swallowed up 1×
- American Standard Version†: All devouring 1×, He hath swallowed up 1×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Devours 1×, He swallowed 1×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Destruction 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1105 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1105 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1105 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1105 across 1† tagged occurrence — most commonly:
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 3 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
בלע I
- 1. בֶּלַע Gn 36:32 = 1 Ch 1:43; בָּ֑לַע Gn 36:33 = 1 Ch 1:44 a king of Edom, ב׳ בן בעור (cf. בִּלְעָם & Di Gn 36:32). e.g. Genesis 36:32
- 2. בֶּלַע 1st son of Benjamin Gn 46:21; Nu 26:38, 40; 1 Ch 7:6, 7; 8:1, 3 (בָּ֑לַע). e.g. Genesis 46:21
- 3. בֶּלַע a Reubenite 1 Ch 5:8. e.g. 1 Chronicles 5:8
בלע II loc. city = צֹעַר q.v. Gn 14
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.pr.loc. city = צֹעַר q.v. Gn 14:2, 8.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from בלע (bâlaʻ) (H1104) — to swallow up.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
בָּלַע
- , v. בלל) to absorb, opp. פלט; to swallow, consume. Y. Shek. VI, 49ᶜ bot.… שהאור בּוֹלֵעַ בּוֹלַעַת … בּוֹלְעִין the flame absorbs a portion of the oil, and so do the wood and the kettle. Ḥull. 110ᵇ the liver when boiled with other meat פולטת ואינה ב׳ gives out (blood) but absorbs nothing from the other pieces. Y. Sabb. XIV, 14ᵈ top; Tosef. Sabb. XII (XIII), 9 but he may sip vinegar ובוֹלֵעַ and swallow it (opp. פלט to spit it out). Y. Ter. VIII, 45ᵇ bot. הלעוס כבָלוּעַ what is chewed is to be considered as swallowed. Ḥull. 71ᵃ טומאה בְלוּעָה an unclean object (food) that has been swallowed.—Snh. 110ᵃ הַבְּלוּעִין those (of the band of Korah) that were swallowed up. Kel. IX, 6, v. דָּֽרְבָן; a. fr.
- to be swallowed; with בין, to be absorbed, disappear. Sot. 36ᵇ; Tanḥ. Vayigg. 4; Yalk. Gen. 150 (interpret. the name Bela, Gen. XLVI, 21) שנ׳ בין האומות for he (Joseph) has disappeared among gentiles. Gen. R. s. 94; Yalk. l. c. שנבלע ממני he disappeared to me. e.g. Genesis 46:21
- to cause swallowing, to make absorb. Ex. R. s. 33 הִבְלַעְתָּ לקרה thou mad’st (the earth) swallow Korah. Ber. 24ᵇ מַבְלִיעוֹ בטליתו he hides the spittle in his cloak; Y. Sabb. VII, 10ᵇ top. Ḥull. 113ᵃ מַבְ׳ דם באברים causes the blood to remain in the meat (prevents it from flowing out).—Trnsf. to sell something in connection with other things, in a lump, in the bargain. Bekh. 31ᵇ מבליעו וכ׳ he sells it (the meat) in the bargain with the hide &c. B. Mets. 64ᵃ; B. Kam. 118ᵇ one who robs his neighbor וה׳ לו בחשבון and makes up for it implicitly on settling his accounts. V. הַבְלָעָה.
- to be swallowed up; to mingle with, v. supra Nif.—Part. מוּבְלַע. Ber. 31ᵇ מ׳ בין אנשים mixing with people, expl. לא ארוך וכ׳ neither very tall &c. (of average qualities). Erub. IV, 6 מ׳ ביניהן his property is enclosed between theirs (reaches into the limits of each). Y. ib. IV, 21ᵈ bot. עיירות המוּבְלָעוֹת inland-towns, opp. border-towns. Y. B. Bath. VII, 15ᶜᵈ מוּבְלָעִין בה fields which are enclosed by others belonging to the same estate.
- to be swallowed up, to disappear. Midr. Till. to Ps. XIX, beg. מִתְבַּלֵּעַ מן וכ׳ he disappears from the world (forfeits his life).
בְּלַע
- Targ. Ex. VII, 12; a. fr.—Ḥull. 111ᵃ כי היכי דפליט הדר ב׳ as it gives out, so does it again absorb; a. fr.—Part. pass. בְּלִיעַ, בְּלִיעָא. Ib. בליעא דמא filled with blood.—Snh. 110ᵃ בלועי דקרח, v. בְּלִיעֵי.— Trnsf. to receive blows (cmp. סָפַג). Men. 7ᵃ קולפי טאבי בַּלְעִי וכ׳ I received many blows at the hands of Ab. over &c. Arakh. 22ᵃ. Ber. 56ᵃ.—Targ. II, Esth. III, 7 בְּלִיעָן אינון בידי they are swallowed up (bound to be destroyed) by my hand. e.g. Esther 3:7
- , as h. Hif. Ḥull. 67ᵇ אַבְלַע לי let me swallow them (put them in my mouth). Men. 17ᵃ, v. infra. B. Mets. 64ᵃ וא׳ ליה בחשבון, v. preced. Hif.
- = as h. Nif.
- 1. to be swallowed up, to disappear. Targ. Y. Gen. XLVI, 21 אתב׳ מניה he was swallowed up (disappeared) from his side; v. preced. Targ. Josh. VI, 5 יתבלע וכ׳ shall sink into the ground beneath it; a. e.—Y. R. Hash. II, 58ᵃ bot. איתב׳ מן קומוי (the moon) disappeared from his sight.
- 2. to be given to eat; trnsf. to be taught. Ber. 24ᵇ הא מילתא אִבְלְעָא לי בי וכ׳ v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) this I have been taught in the school of R. &c.; (Men. 17ᵃ הא מילתא אבלע לי וכ׳ this has R. Ḥ. taught me).
בֶּלַע
- (preced.)
- 1. absorption, natural loss, leakage. B. Mets. III, 8 (40ᵃ) לוג ומחצה ב׳ a Log and a half is a reasonable leakage (absorbed by new vessels); a. e.
- 2. pr. n. m. (b. h.) Bela; v. בָּלַע a. בְּלִיעָה.
- 3. בֶּלַע or בַּלַּע (cmp. בְּלִי) a nothing, a mote. Tanḥ. Vayak. 7 (ref. to כְּבַלַּע Num. IV, 20) כב׳ הזה שהוא נופל בעין; (Num. R. s. 5 מן העין) as much as a mote which enters one’s eye. e.g. Numbers 4:20
בַּלָּע
- swallower, glutton. Num. R. s. 14; v. בְּלִיעָה. Snh. 105ᵃ, v. בִּלְעָם.
בְּלַע ²
- ch. m. (cmp. בֶּלַע) the thing swallowed, choking fit. Y. Ab. Zar. II, 40ᵈ אהן בלעה שרי in a choking attack it is allowed (to apply remedies on the Sabbath) Ib. הוה ליה בלע had a choking fit; Koh. R. to X, 5 הוה ליה חד בלעא. Ib. לאפקא בִלְעֵיה to get out what he had swallowed.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 2 distinct written forms H1105 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| בָ֗לַע | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Psalms 52:4 | 1 |
| בִּלְע/וֹ֙ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Jeremiah 51:44 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1105, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 2 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1 verse that also exists in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 2 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
