אָכַל
to eat
also: devour, burn up, feed fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘eat’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be eaten by man Ex 12’
- Qal Passive
- An archaic passive of the Qal, preserved in a few forms.
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘cause to eat’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem.
Form
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
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).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
32 verses where H398 appears in the Qal stem in the Book of 1 Kings. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
1 Kings
- 1 Kings 1:25 אֹכְלִ֥ים Qal ptcp.act mp For he is gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and say, [Long] live king Adonijah.
- 1 Kings 1:41 לֶ/אֱכֹ֑ל prep + Qal inf.cs Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
- 1 Kings 2:7 בְּ/אֹכְלֵ֣י prep + Qal ptcp.act mp cs But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
- 1 Kings 4:20 אֹכְלִ֥ים Qal ptcp.act mp Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
- 1 Kings 13:8 אֹ֤כַל Qal impf 1cs The man of God said to the king, If you will give me half your house, I will not go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
- 1 Kings 13:9 תֹ֥אכַל Qal impf 2ms for so was it charged me by the word of Yahweh, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.
- 1 Kings 13:15 וֶ/אֱכֹ֖ל conj + Qal impv 2ms Then he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
- 1 Kings 13:16 אֹ֣כַל Qal impf 1cs He said, I may not return with you, nor go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place:
- 1 Kings 13:17 תֹאכַ֣ל Qal impf 2ms for it was said to me by the word of Yahweh, You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.
- 1 Kings 13:18 וְ/יֹ֥אכַל conj + Qal impf 3ms He said to him, I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. [But] he lied to him.
- 1 Kings 13:19 וַ/יֹּ֥אכַל conj + Qal wimpf 3ms So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
- 1 Kings 13:22 וַ/תֹּ֤אכַל תֹּ֥אכַל conj + Qal wimpf 2ms Qal juss 2ms but came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, Eat no bread, and drink no water; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.
- 1 Kings 13:23 אָכְל֥/וֹ Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the donkey, [to wit], for the prophet whom he had brought back.
- 1 Kings 13:28 אָכַ֤ל Qal pf 3ms He went and found his body cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body: the lion had not eaten the body, nor torn the donkey.
- 1 Kings 14:11 יֹאכְל֣וּ יֹאכְל֖וּ Qal impf 3mp Qal impf 3mp Him who dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat: for Yahweh has spoken it.
- 1 Kings 16:4 יֹֽאכְל֖וּ יֹאכְל֖וּ Qal impf 3mp Qal impf 3mp Him who dies of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him who dies of his in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
- 1 Kings 17:12 וַ/אֲכַלְנֻ֖/הוּ conj + Qal pf 1cp + sfx pers 3ms She said, As Yahweh your God lives, I don't have a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the jar: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
- 1 Kings 17:15 וַ/תֹּ֧אכַל conj + Qal wimpf 3fs She went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, ate [many] days.
- 1 Kings 18:19 אֹכְלֵ֖י Qal ptcp.act mp cs Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.
- 1 Kings 18:38 וַ/תֹּ֤אכַל conj + Qal wimpf 3fs Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
- 1 Kings 18:41 אֱכֹ֣ל Qal impv 2ms Elijah said to Ahab, Get you up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.
- 1 Kings 18:42 לֶ/אֱכֹ֣ל prep + Qal inf.cs So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.
- 1 Kings 19:5 אֱכֽוֹל Qal impv 2ms He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat.
- 1 Kings 19:6 וַ/יֹּ֣אכַל conj + Qal wimpf 3ms He looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drink, and laid him down again.
- 1 Kings 19:7 אֱכֹ֑ל Qal impv 2ms The angel of Yahweh came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.
- 1 Kings 19:8 וַ/יֹּ֣אכַל conj + Qal wimpf 3ms He arose, and ate and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the Mount of God.
- 1 Kings 19:21 וַ/יֹּאכֵ֑לוּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
- 1 Kings 21:4 אָ֥כַל Qal pf 3ms Ahab came into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. He laid him down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
- 1 Kings 21:5 אֹכֵ֥ל Qal ptcp.act ms But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sad, that you eat no bread?
- 1 Kings 21:7 אֱכָל Qal impv 2ms Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry: I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
- 1 Kings 21:23 יֹאכְל֥וּ Qal impf 3mp Of Jezebel also spoke Yahweh, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
- 1 Kings 21:24 יֹאכְל֖וּ יֹאכְל֖וּ Qal impf 3mp Qal impf 3mp Him who dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
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.
“to eat” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb אכל (ʼâkal). Different stems carry different senses — BDB groups them under 4 stems, among them Qal and Niphal. With 703 verses in 38 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 2:16. From the same root come אכילה, אכל and אכל. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H398 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 →
- 703
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 703 distinct verses.
- 38 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 38 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #57
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 57 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 703 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Leviticus 81 verses 12%
- Deuteronomy 71 verses 10%
- Genesis 54 verses 8%
By section of the Old Testament
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 703 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 317 verses · 45%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 274 verses · 39%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 112 verses · 16%
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).
- King James Version: Eat 128×, Shall eat 38×, Ye shall eat 30×
- American Standard Version: Eat 105×, Ye shall eat 28×, Shall eat 26×
- Berean Standard Bible: Eat 166×, Ate 21×, Consumed 20×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Eat 175×, Will eat 39×, You shall eat 36×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H398 across 809 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 164 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H398 across 808 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 204 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H398 across 784 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 155 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 25 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H398 across 946 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 134 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
15 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Pual (the passive of Piel).
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 15 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.
Qal
- Pf. אָכַל Ex 34:28 +; אָֽכְלָה Nu 21:28 +, etc. Impf. יֹאכַל Gn 49:27 +; וַיֹּא֫כַל Gn 25:34 +; וַיֹּאכַ֑ל Gn 3:6 +; יֹאכֵ֑ל Lv 21:22 +; אֹכַל Gn 24:33 +; וָֽאֹכַ֫ל 27:33; וְאֹכֵ֑ל Is 44:19; וָֽאֹכֵל Gn 3:12, 13; 3 pl. יֹאכְלוּ Gn 32:33 +; יֹאכֵ֑לוּ Dt 18:8 +; etc. (for יוֹכְלוּ Ez 42:5 rd. יוצלו, יאצלו 𝔊 Ew Co); sf. יֹאכְלֶנּוּ Lv 7:6 +; תֹּאכַלְכֶם Is 33:11, etc., prob. also תְּאָכְלֵהוּ Jb 20:26, either as secondary form fr. תֹּא׳ (Ew§ 253 Di) or text. error (Ges§ 68. 1) > Pi., Thes KöI, 389; or Poʿel, Ki De MV; Imv. אֱכוֹל 1 K 18:41 +, etc.; Inf. abs. אָכוֹל Gn 2:16 +; cstr. אֲכֹל Nu 26:10 + 2 textual; לֶאֱכֹל Gn 24:33 +; לְאָכְלָה Je 12:9; Pt. אֹכֵל (אוֹכֵל) Gn 39:6 +, אֹכֶלֶת Ex 24:17 +, etc.— e.g. Exodus 34:28
- 1. eat, human subject Gn 3:11, 18 + oft.; mostly c. acc. Ex 16:35 +; also sq. מִן־ (eat of,—some of,—or from) Ex 34:15 Ru 2:14 +; sq. בְּ (eat of or at) Ex 12:43 f; abs. Dt 2:6 +; as act of worship Gn 31:54 (cf. 46:1) Ex 18:12; 24:11; 34:15 Dt 12:7, 18; 14:23, 26 Ju 9:27 +; of priests Ex 29:32 Lv 10:13 +; cf. אָכַל אֶל־הֶהָרִים Ez 18:6, 11, 15; 22:9 + 33:25 עַל־הַדָּם Co עַל־הֶהָרִים; (but RSRel. Sem.. i. 324 N would emend first 4 by last); eat up, finish eating Gn 43:2 (c. כלה) 1 K 13:28 +; אָכַל לֶחֶם = take a meal Gn 43:25 Ex 2:20 1 S 20:24 Je 41:1 +; so א׳ alone Gn 43:16 1 S 20:5 +; א׳ לֶחֶם = eat, get food Gn 3:19 2 K 4:8 +; Am 7:12 (i.e. spend one’s life) cf. Ec 5:16; לֹא א׳ ל׳ i.e. fast 1 S 28:20; 30:12 Ezr 10:6 cf. Dn 10:3; fig. א׳ אֶת־בְּשָׂרוֹ Ec 4:5 (i.e. waste away); eat words Je 15:16 (i.e. eagerly receive); of adultery, Pr 30:20 אָֽכְלָה וּמָֽחֲתָה פִּ֑יהָ וְאָֽמְרָה לֹא־פָעַלְתִּי אָֽוֶן׃; eat (taste) good fortune, א׳ בַּטּוֹבָה Jb 21:25; לְפִי אָכְלוֹ according to his eating, i.e. acc. to his needs in eating Ex 12:4; 16:16, 18 also v 21; cf. Jb 20:21 & sub אָכְלָה; אָכַל הַפְּרִי 2 K 19:29 Am 9:14, of peaceful enjoyment of results of labour; fig. of receiving consequences of action, good or bad Pr 1:31; 18:21 Ho 10:13 cf. וַיֹּאכַל גַּם־אָכוֹל אֶת־כַּסְפֵּנוּ Gn 31:15 i.e. he has reaped all the benefit, cf. Ho 7:9; fig. of mourner, אֵפֶר כַּלֶּחֶם אָכָ֑לְתִּי ψ 102:10 (cf. 80:6 Hiph., & As. akâl al âkul, bikîtum kurmatî = food I ate not, weeping (was) my refreshment HptASKT 166 f. Obv. l, 21, 22 ZimBP 34, 42); of gods, partaking of sacrifices Dt 32:38; fig. = destroy Dt 7:16 (cf. Nu 14:9); cf. Je 10:25; 30:16; 50:7 Ho 7:7. e.g. Genesis 3:11
- 2. of beasts, birds, etc., eat, devour; Gn 37:20, 33; 40:17, 19 1 K 13:28; 14:11; 16:4; 21:23, 24 Ho 2:14 +; specif. of locusts Jo 1:4; 2:25 2 Ch 7:13 cf. Am 4:9; moth Jb 13:28; flies ψ 78:45; worms Dt 28:39; also Ez 19:3, 6 (of Isr. under fig. of lion), cf. Je 50:7, 17; 51:34; also Ho 13:8 (of י׳ under fig. of lion), Ez 22:25 (נֶפֶשׁ אָכָ֑לוּ, of false proph. under fig. of lion). e.g. Genesis 37:20
- 3. fig. of fire, devour, consume Lv 6:3 (sq. 2 acc. consume offering to ashes) Na 3:13 Is 5:24 (in sim.), partic. of fire fr. י׳ Lv 10:2; 16:25 Ju 9:15 f 1 K 18:38 2 K 1:10, 12, 14 2 Ch 7:1; cf. Am. 1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5; 5:6 +; Dt 5:22 of fire at Sinai; of י׳ as fire (in judgment) Dt 4:24 כִּי י׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵשׁ אֹכְלָה הוּא cf. Dt 9:3 Is 10:17 (‖ בּער) 30:27, 30; 33:14 (‖ מוֹקְדֵי עוֹלָם). e.g. Leviticus 6:3
- 4. of sword, devour, slay Dt 32:42 2 S 2:26; 11:25; 18:8 Ho 11:6 Je 2:30 12:12; cf. of devastation of land Is 1:7 Je 8:16. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:42
- 5. in genl. devour, consume, destroy (inanim. subj.) of drought Gn 31:40; of pestilence Ez 7:15; of forest 2 S 18:8; cf. Lv 26:38 וְאָֽכְלָה אֶתְכֶם אֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיכֶם; of הַבֹּשֶׁת Je 3:24 (v. בֹּשֶׁת). e.g. Genesis 31:40
- 6. fig. of oppression, devour the poor, etc. Pr 30:14 Hb 3:14 cf. ψ 14:4; of bitter enmity לֶאֱכֹל אֶת־בְּשָׂרִי ψ 27:2. (cf. Jb 19:22). e.g. Proverbs 30:14
Niphal
- Pf. וְנֶאֱכַל cons. Ex 22:5 Impf. יֵאָכֵל Gn 6:21 +; וַיֵּאָכֵ֫ל Nu 12:12 etc.; Inf. abs. הֵאָכֹל Lv 7:18; 19:7; Pt. f. נֶאֱכֶ֫לֶת Lv 11:47;— e.g. Exodus 22:5
- 1. be eaten by man Ex 12:46; 13:3, 7; 21:28; 29:34 Lv 6:9, 16, 19, 23; 7:6, 15, 16(×2), 18; 11:41; 19:6, 7, 23; 22:30 Nu 28:17 Ez 45:21; of custom, usage Gn 6:21 Ex 12:16 Dt 12:22 Jb 6:6; of permission to eat Lv 7:19; 11:13, 34, 47(×2); 17:13; c. neg. be uneatable Je 24:2, 3, 8; 29:17. e.g. Exodus 12:46
- 2. be devoured by fire, consumed Zp 1:18; 3:8 Zc 9:4 Ez 23:25. e.g. Zephaniah 1:18
- 3. be wasted, destroyed, of flesh Nu 12:12 Je 30:16. e.g. Numbers 12:12
Pual
- Pf. אֻכְּלוּ be consumed with fire Ne 2:3, 13 cf. Na 1:10 (fig.); so Pt. אֻכָּל (= מְאֻכָּל Ew§ 169 d) Ex 3:2; by sword Is 1:20 תְּאֻכְּלוּ. e.g. Nehemiah 2:3
Hiphil
- Pf. 2 ms. sf. הֶאֱכַלְתָּם ψ 80:6, וְהַאֲכַלְתִּ֫י Is 49:26; sf. וְהַאֲכַלְתִּיךָ cons. Is 58:14; הֶאֱכַלְתִּיךְ Ez 16:19; וְהַאֲכַלְתִּים cons. Je 19:9; Impf. sf. יַאֲכִלֵנוּ Nu 11:4, 18, etc.; 2 ms. js. תַּאֲכֵל Eze 3:3; 1 s. אוֹכִיל Ho 11:4(?); Imv. הַאֲכִילֵהוּ Pr 25:21. etc.; Inf. לִהָכִיל Ez 21:33 (but Co לההל); Pt. מַאֲכִיל Je 23:15, etc.;— e.g. Psalms 80:6
- 1. cause to eat, feed with, sq. 2 acc. subj. mostly י׳; Ex 16:32 Dt 8:3, 16 Ez 3:2 Je 19:9; abs. Ho 11:4; cf. Nu 11:4, 18; fig. Je 9:14; 23:15 Is 49:26; 58:14 Ez 16:19; also ψ 80:6 הֶאֱכַלְתָּם לֶחֶם דִּמְעָ֑ה (cf. 102:10 Qal supr.); sq. acc. pers. + מן ψ 81:17, but also subj. man Pr 25:21; 1 K 22:27 2 Ch 18:26 וְהַאֲכִלֻהוּ לֶהֶם לַ֫חַץ of prison fare; sq. acc. pers. only 2 Ch 28:15, cf. Ez 3:3. e.g. Exodus 16:32
- 2. cause to devour, obj. sword Ez 21:23 (but on text vid. Co). e.g. Ezekiel 21:23
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
vb. eat (Aramaic أَكَلَ, As. akâlu DlW, Aramaic אֲכַל, ܐܶܟܰܠ )—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
אָכַל
- √אך to rub,
- 1. to gnaw, eat, consume. Inf. in Y. freq. לוֹכַל = לֶאֱכוֹל. Ber. I, 1; a. v. fr.
- 2. trnsf. to absorb, occupy, take away. Y. Shebu. VII, 38ᵃ בשרבית אוֹכֶלֶת בו when interests gnaw on (absorb) the property. Y. Erub. IV, 21ᵈ bot. ד׳ אמות אוֹכְלוֹת וכ׳ four cubits entering into the area of Tiberias. Num. R. s. 4 כמה לוחות אוֹכְלוֹת how much space did the tablets occupy &c.? B. Bath. 14ᵃ (interchanging with איגרות, Var. אוגדות, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 5, 6).
- 3. (euphem.) to sleep with. Keth. V, 9, differ. of opin. ib. 65ᵇ; Y. ib. 30ᵇ top a. bot.
- to be eaten &c. Zeb. I, 3; Ber. I, 1; a. fr.
- to consume, burn. Tam. I, 4 המְאוּכָּלוֹת הפנימיות (Talm. ed. המעו׳) the thoroughly lighted coals in the centre; Y. Yoma II, 39ᶜ
- to give to eat, cause to eat. Keth. V, 3 היבם אינו מַאֵכִיל וכ׳ the Yabam does not transfer the privilege of eating T’rumah to his sister-in-law. Kidd. 31ᵃ יש מאכיל וכ׳ one may feed his father on pheasants &c.; a. fr.
- 1. to be consumed, burnt up, digested. Ber. VIII, 7 עד כדי שיִתְאַכֵּל וכ׳ Ar. (ed. שיתע׳) until the food is digested (or absorbed) in his bowels. Tam. II, 1; a. e.
- 2. to be worn off, spent. Snh. VI, 12 Y. ed. נתא׳ הבשר (Mish. ib. VI, 6 נתע׳) when the flesh of the corpse was gone. Cant. R. to IV, 4 שלא נתא׳ אחת מהן none of them was worn off. Kidd. 59ᵃ נתא׳ המעות the money was spent; a. e.
אֲכַל
- 1. same.—Inf. מֵיכַל, מֵיכוּל. Targ. Gen. II, 16; a. fr.—Y. Ter. VIII, 46ᵃ כד אתון יֵיכלון when they came and were about eating; ib. (more corr.) אתון מיכל; a. fr.
- 2. with קרצי prop. to eat (the bread of) destruction, eat the informer’s bread, hence to inform against. Dan. III, 8; VI, 25.—Targ. Ps. XV, 3; a. fr.—Gitt. 56ᵃ איכול בהו קו׳; Lam. R. to IV, 2 איכול קרצהון I will inform against them. e.g. Daniel 3:8
- to give to eat, to support. Y. Ter. X, 47ᵇ bot. אוכלה ליה he gave it to him to eat. Gen. R. s. 48, end (read:) אוכלית אשקית לוי hast thou given (thy guest) to eat? to drink? do escort him, i.e. perform thy duties fully. Y. Kidd. I, 61ᵇ הוה מייכל לאבוי וכ׳ fed his father on &c.; a. fr.
- , אִתְאָכִיל to be eaten, consumed. Targ. Ps. LXVIII, 23; a. fr. Tanḥ. Emor, 6 ומה דהבא מִתְאֲכִיל וכ׳; Lev. R. s. 27 ומה זה וכ׳ what is this? do they eat gold &c.? Kidd. 59ᵃ קא מתאכלי were eaten up (spent). [אכלי Af. of כלי to cry, v. כלי.]
אֲכַל II
- (sec. r. of כול) to measure. Ned. 51ᵃ ליכיל לי מר please measure for me. Ruth R. introd. 2. הא … סאה תקום אכול (read סאתה קום) here is the bag and here the measure, get up and fill it; v. כּוּל.
אֹכֶל
- , v. אוֹכֶל
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 494 distinct written forms H398 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 434 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H398, 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.
Derived from this word
- אכילה ʼăkîylâh H396 food
- אכל ʼăkal H399 to eat
- אכל ʼôkel H400 food
- מאכל maʼăkâl H3978 food
- מאכלת maʼăkeleth H3979 knife
- מאכלת maʼăkôleth H3980 fuel
- מכלת makkôleth H4361 food
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 → Showing 4 of 9 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 670 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 703 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
- Genesis 2:16
- Exodus 2:20
- Leviticus 3:17
- Numbers 6:3
- Deuteronomy 2:6
- Joshua 5:11
- Judges 6:21
- Ruth 2:14
- 1 Samuel 1:7
- 2 Samuel 2:26
- 1 Kings 1:25
- 2 Kings 1:10
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.
