מוּל
front
‘front’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Preposition
- A relational word (e.g. “in,” “to,” “from”) governing a noun.
Every verse where H4136 appears in the Book of Micah — 1 distinct verse. 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.
Micah
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.
“front” is the headline sense of the Hebrew word מול (mûwl). The King James Version usually renders it “over against,” while modern versions prefer “front” (Berean Standard Bible) and “front of” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) — see the renderings breakdown. With 34 verses in 12 books, it is a moderately common word in the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Exodus 18:19. Carrying more than one sense, it rewards 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 H4136 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 →
- 34
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 34 distinct verses.
- 12 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 12 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #990
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 990 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 34 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Exodus 8 verses 24%
- Deuteronomy 6 verses 18%
- Joshua 5 verses 15%
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 34 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 19 verses · 56%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 12 verses · 35%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 3 verses · 9%
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 3 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†: Over against 18×, Toward 3×, Before 2×
- American Standard Version†: Over against 8×, Front 4×, Toward 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Front 14×, Opposite 3×, Facing 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Front of 19×, Opposite 7×, Before 3×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4136 across 32† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 7 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 4 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H4136 across 31† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 10 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 H4136 across 30† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 9 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 6 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4136 across 37† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 8 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
7 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.
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 7 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.
מול I m. king of Massa (prob., v. מַשָּׂא)
מול II
- 1. subst. only 1 K 7:5 (si vera l.: v. Sta ZAW 1883, 151) וּמוּל מֶחֱזָה אֶל־מֶחֱזָה and the front of (one) window was towards (the other) window, and Ne 12:38 לְמוֹאל = in the opposite direction (but read prob. לִשְׂמאוֹל, cf. לַיָּמִין v 31). e.g. 1 Kings 7:5
- 2. as prep., Dt 1:1; 2:19 מוּל בני עמון in front of the Ammonites, 3:29 (= 4:46; 34:6) מוּל בית פעור, 11:30 Jos 18:18; 19:46 מוּל יָפוֹ, 1 S 14:5(×2); fig. Ex 18:19 הֱיֵה אַתָּה לעם מול האלהים in front of God, i.e. representing God to them. With prefixes:— e.g. Deuteronomy 1:1
- a. אל־מול towards the front of, 1 S 17:30 וַיִּסֹּב מֵאֶצְלוֹ אֶל־מוּל אַחֵר to the front of another; on the front of, Ex 34:3 (pregn.) וְאַל־יִרְעוּ אל־מול ההר, Jos 8:33(×2); 9:1; 22:11 (v. WAW JPh. xiii. 117 ff.); spec. אֶל־מוּל פְּנֵי towards or on the forefront of, Ex 26:9 28:25 (‖ 39:18), v 37 Lv 8:9 Nu 8:2, 3 2 S 11:15 set ye Uriah אל־מול פני המלחמה. e.g. 1 Samuel 17:30
- b. מִמּוּל:—(a) from the front of, Mi 2:8 (text dub.: read prob. מֵעַל). (b) of position, off (v. מן 1 c) the front of, Lv 5:8 מִמּוּל עָרְפּוֹ off the front of its neck, i.e. close in front of it, Nu 22:5 והוא יושׁב מִמֻּלִי close in front of me, 2 S 5:23 (1 Ch 14:14) ובאת להם ממול בכאים come to them off the front of the mulberry-trees, 1 K 7:39 (2 Ch 4:10) מִמּוּל נֶגֶב; מִמּוּל פָּנָיו on the forefront of, Ex 28:27 (‖ 39:20). e.g. Micah 2:8
מול III circumcise (NH id.
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. מָל Jos 5:4 + 2 times; 2 ms. מַלְתָּה Ex 12:44; 3 mpl. מָ֫לוּ Jos 5:5, 7; 2 mpl. מַלְתֶּם Dt 10:16; Impf. וַיָּ֫מָל Gn 17:23 + 2 times; Imv. מֹל Jos 5:2; Pt. pass. מוּל Je 9:24; pl. מֻלִים Jos 5:5;—circumcise, c. acc. בשׂר ערלה (flesh of foreskin) Gn 17:23 (P), acc. pers. Gn 21:4 Ex 12:44 (P), Jos 5:2, 3 (J), v 4, 5, 7, 7 (D); fig. ערלת לבב (foreskin of the heart) Dt 10:16; לבב Dt 30:6; pass. מוּל בערלה Je 9:24; מֻלִים Jos 5:5 (D). e.g. Joshua 5:4
Niphal
- Pf. 3 ms. נִמּוֹל (Ges§ 72 ee) Gn 17:26; 3 mpl. נִמֹּ֫לוּ Gn 17:27; 2 mpl. וּנְמַלְתֶּם (consec.) Gn 17:11 (for וּנְמַלֹּתֶם √ מלל Ew§ 234. e. Ges§ 67, R. 11; but Bö1146 B for וּנְמוֹלֹתֶם); Impf. יִמּוֹל Gn 17:12 + 3 times; 3 mpl. וַיִּמֹּ֫לוּ Gn 34:24; Imv. הִמֹּ֑לוּ Je 4:4; Inf. הִמּוֹל Gn 17:10 + 5 times; הִמֹּל Gn 34:15; sf. הִמֹּ֫לוֹ Gn 17:24, 25; Pt. pl. נִמֹּלִים Gn 34:22;—be circumcised, of בשׂר ערלה Gn 17:14, 24, 25 Lv 12:3; elsewhere of pers. Gn 17:10(×2), 12, 13(×2), 26, 27; 34:15, 17, 22, 24; Ex 12:48 (P), Jos 5:8 (J): reflex. הִמֹּלוּ לי׳ Je 4:4 circumcise yourselves to Yahweh (and take away the foreskin of your heart). e.g. Genesis 17:26
Hiphil
- Impf. 1 s. בשׁם י׳ כי אֲמִילַ֑ם ψ 118:10, 11, 12 in the name of י׳, yea I will make them to be circumcised (enemies, by force of arms; but De cut to pieces (from מוּל = מָלַל), Che mow, Bae annihilate (?), 𝔊 Aq ἠμυνάμην, Symm διέθρυψα, Jer ultus sum eas). Hithpoʿl. Impf. 3 mpl. יִתְמֹלָ֑לוּ ψ 58:8 be cut off, of arrows, i.e. made blunt. e.g. Psalms 118:10
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
I. n.pr.m. king of Massa (prob., v. מַשָּׂא); לְמוּ׳ Pr 31:1, למוֹ׳ v 4.
I. (†Dt 1:1), מוֹאל (†Ne 12:38) subst. and prep. front, in front of (deriv. dub.; according to Ol § 223 c Sta§ 378 a, for מְאוֹל from אוּל to be in front: v. further Köii. 300 f. HptBAS i. 172):—
II. vb. circumcise (NH id.; 𝔗 מוּל cut off but only seemingly in the dub. passages (v. III. [מָלַל] and Comm.) Jb 14:2; 18:16; 24:24 [ms. Levy], ψ 37:2; 90:6. (grass, etc.: only for iii. מָלַל, q.v.); cf. NH מָהַל, Aramaic מְהַל, according to Thes NöZMG xl. 1886, 741 Baib. xli. 1887, 626 v. also מהל supr.);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from מול (mûwl) (H4135) — to circumcise.
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.
מוֹל
- Assyr. mâla,, v. Del. Proleg. p. 132)
- 1. border, front, in sight of. Ḥull. 19ᵇ (expl. ממול ערפו, Lev. V, 8, border of the neck, the space beginning with the back of the head, opposite the face, and ending with the end of the neck, opposite the throat) מ׳ הרואה את העורף the edge which sees the ʿoref (but not the ʿoref itself). Ib. וכ"ת עורף … מ׳ דידיה היכא if you will say, we know not where ʿoref itself is, how can we know where its border is?—Sifré Num. 59 עֲשֵׂה לה מ׳ פנים (Ms. 3, a. Yalk. ib. 719 מ׳ ופנים) give the candlestick an edge of the front (an edge and a front), i.e. a prominent central light towards which the lights on both sides are turned. Ib. 60 עָשָׂה לה מ׳ פנים. e.g. Leviticus 5:8
מוּל II
- v. preced.)
- 1. to make an edge, to hem or fringe. Tosef. Kel. B. Bath. V, 7 עד שעה שׁיָמוּל until he hems the girdle. Ib. ומָל מרוח אחת when he made a hem on one side (of the piece which he cut out of the middle of a piece of cloth).
- 2. to circumcise. Sabb. XIX, 4 אחד למול אחר וכ׳ one child which was to be circumcised after the Sabbath &c.; ושכח ומָל וכ׳ and by mistake he circumcised &c. Ib. 6 מל ולא פרע וכ׳ if he circumcised but failed to split the prepuce &c. Ib. 5 (137ᵃ) קטן … אין מוֹלִין Ms. M. (ed. מוהלין) a sick infant must not be circumcised. Pesik. R. s. 25 מי מל לשמי וכ׳ who circumcised a son in honor of my name, unless I gave him a son?; Lev. R. s. 27 מלל (corr. acc.); a. fr.—Part. pass. מוּל, pl. מוּלִים, מוּלִין. Yalk. Jer. 285.
- to be circumcised. Sabb. XIX, 5. Lev. R. s. 25; Gen. R. s. 46 ומהיכן יִמּוֹל on what part of the body should one be circumcised?—Y. Shebi. IV, end, 35ᶜ משיִמּוֹלוּ from the time they are circumcised. Gen. R. l. c. גזר הרופא שימולו the physician ordered that they must be circumcised; a. fr.—[Polel מוֹלֵל, v. מָלַל.]
מוּל
- Ithpol. אִתְמוֹלַל (v. מלל) to become brittle, fade. Targ. Job XIV, 2. Ib. XXIV, 24 Ms. (ed. יתקטפ׳). Targ. Ps. XC, 6; a. e.
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 12 distinct written forms H4136 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| מ֖וּל | Preposition | Deuteronomy 3:29 | 5 |
| מ֣וּל | Preposition | 1 Samuel 14:5 | 5 |
| מ֥וּל | Preposition | Exodus 28:25 | 5 |
| מִ/מּ֥וּל | Preposition | 1 Chronicles 14:14 | 5 |
| מ֚וּל | Preposition | Deuteronomy 2:19 | 4 |
| מוּל֙ | Preposition | 2 Samuel 11:15 | 4 |
| מִ/מּ֣וּל | Preposition | Exodus 28:27 | 3 |
| וּ/מ֧וּל | Preposition | 1 Kings 7:5 | 1 |
| לְ/מ֖וֹאל | Preposition | Nehemiah 12:38 | 1 |
| מ֨וֹל | Preposition | Deuteronomy 1:1 | 1 |
| מִ/מֻּלִֽ/י | Preposition | Numbers 22:5 | 1 |
| מוּל | Preposition | Joshua 18:18 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4136, 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
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 29 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 34 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
- Exodus 18:19
- Leviticus 5:8
- Numbers 8:2
- Deuteronomy 1:1
- Joshua 9:1
- 1 Samuel 14:5
- 2 Samuel 5:23
- 1 Kings 7:5
- 1 Chronicles 14:14
- 2 Chronicles 4:10
- Micah 2:8
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.
