אֶל
to
also: toward, unto 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.
- Particle
- A short function word — article, negation, interrogative, the sign of the direct object, and the like.
Every verse where H413 appears in the Book of Job — 65 distinct verses. 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.
Job
- Job 1:7 אֶל prep Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
- Job 1:8 אֶל prep Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil."
- Job 1:12 אֶל אֵלָ֔י/ו prep prep + sfx pers 3ms Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don't put forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh.
- Job 1:14 אֶל prep that there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them,
- Job 2:2 אֶל prep Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
- Job 2:3 אֶל אֶל prep prep Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause."
- Job 2:5 אֶל וְ/אֶל אֶל prep conj + prep prep But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face."
- Job 2:6 אֶל prep Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life."
- Job 2:10 אֵלֶ֗י/הָ prep + sfx pers 3fs But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job didn't sin with his lips.
- Job 2:13 אֵלָי/ו֙ prep + sfx pers 3ms So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
- Job 3:22 אֱלֵי prep Who rejoice exceedingly, Are glad, when they can find the grave?
- Job 4:2 אֵלֶ֣י/ךָ prep + sfx pers 2ms "If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
- Job 4:5 אֵלֶ֣י/ךָ prep + sfx pers 2ms But now it is come to you, and you faint; It touches you, and you are troubled.
- Job 4:12 וְ֭/אֵלַ/י conj + prep + sfx pers 1cs "Now a thing was secretly brought to me, My ear received a whisper of it.
- Job 5:1 וְ/אֶל conj + prep "Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
- Job 5:5 וְ/אֶֽל conj + prep Whose harvest the hungry eats up, And take it even out of the thorns; The snare gapes for their substance.
- Job 5:8 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep "But as for me, I would seek God, To God would I commit my cause;
- Job 5:26 אֱלֵי prep You shall come to your grave in a full age, Like a shock of grain comes in its season.
- Job 7:17 אֵלָ֣י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms What is man, that you should magnify him, That you should set your mind on him,
- Job 8:5 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep If you want to seek God diligently, Make your supplication to the Almighty.
- Job 9:4 אֵ֝לָ֗י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms God who is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: Who has hardened himself against him, and prospered?
- Job 9:12 אֵ֝לָ֗י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms Behold, he snatches away; who can hinder him? Who will ask him, 'What are you doing?'
- Job 10:2 אֶל prep I will tell God, 'Do not condemn me, Show me why you contend with me.
- Job 10:9 וְֽ/אֶל conj + prep Remember, I beg you, that you have fashioned me as clay. Will you bring me into dust again?
- Job 10:21 אֶל prep Before I go where I shall not return from, To the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
- Job 11:13 אֵלָ֣י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms "If you set your heart aright, Stretch out your hands toward him.
- Job 13:3 אֶל אֶל prep prep "Surely I would speak to the Almighty. I desire to reason with God.
- Job 13:15 אֶל prep Behold, he will kill me; I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before him.
- Job 15:8 אֵלֶ֣י/ךָ prep + sfx pers 2ms Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
- Job 15:13 אֶל prep That you turn your spirit against God, And let such words go out of your mouth?
- Job 15:22 אֱלֵי prep He doesn't believe that he shall return out of darkness, He is waited for by the sword.
- Job 15:25 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep Because he has stretched out his hand against God, And behaves himself proudly against the Almighty;
- Job 15:26 אֵלָ֣י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms He runs at him with a stiff neck, With the thick shields of his bucklers;
- Job 16:11 אֶ֣ל prep God delivers me to the ungodly, And casts me into the hands of the wicked.
- Job 16:20 אֶל prep My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God,
- Job 18:18 אֶל prep He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.
- Job 21:5 אֵלַ֥/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Look at me, and be astonished. Lay your hand on your mouth.
- Job 21:19 אֵלָ֣י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms You say, 'God lays up his iniquity for his children.' Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
- Job 22:26 אֶל prep For then shall you delight yourself in the Almighty, And shall lift up your face to God.
- Job 22:27 אֵ֭לָי/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows.
- Job 29:19 אֱלֵי prep My root is spread out to the waters, The dew lies all night on my branch;
- Job 29:24 אֲ֭לֵ/הֶם prep + sfx pers 3mp I smiled on them when they had no confidence. They didn't reject the light of my face.
- Job 30:20 אֵ֭לֶי/ךָ prep + sfx pers 2ms I cry to you, and you do not answer me. I stand up, and you gaze at me.
- Job 30:22 אֶל prep You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it. You dissolve me in the storm.
- Job 31:23 אֵ֭לַ/י prep + sfx pers 1cs For calamity from God is a terror to me, By reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
- Job 32:14 אֵלַ֣/י prep + sfx pers 1cs For he has not directed his words against me; Neither will I answer him with your speeches.
- Job 32:21 וְ/אֶל conj + prep Please don't let me respect any man's person, Neither will I give flattering titles to any man.
- Job 33:13 אֵלָ֣י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms Why do you strive against him, Because he doesn't give account of any of his matters?
- Job 33:26 אֶל prep He prays to God, and he is favorable to him, So that he sees his face with joy: He restores to man his righteousness.
- Job 34:14 אֵלָ֣י/ו אֵלָ֥י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms prep + sfx pers 3ms If he set his heart on himself, If he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath;
- Job 34:18 אֶל prep Who says to a king, 'Vile!' Or to nobles, 'Wicked!'
- Job 34:23 אֶל prep For he doesn't need to consider a man further, That he should go before God in judgment.
- Job 34:31 אֶל prep "For has any said to God, 'I am guilty, but I will not offend any more.
- Job 36:21 אֶל prep Take heed, don't regard iniquity; For this you have chosen rather than affliction.
- Job 38:20 אֶל prep That you should take it to the bound of it, That you should discern the paths to the house of it?
- Job 38:22 אֶל prep Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, Or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
- Job 38:41 אֶל prep Who provides for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry to God, And wander for lack of food?
- Job 39:11 אֵלָ֣י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor?
- Job 40:23 אֶל prep Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn't tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
- Job 41:3 אֵ֭לֶי/ךָ אֵלֶ֣י/ךָ prep + sfx pers 2ms prep + sfx pers 2ms Will he make many petitions to you? Or will he speak soft words to you?
- Job 41:9 אֶל prep Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
- Job 42:7 אֶל אֶל אֵלַ֛/י prep prep prep + sfx pers 1cs It was so, that after Yahweh had spoken these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you, and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.
- Job 42:8 אֶל אֵלַ֛/י prep prep + sfx pers 1cs Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has."
- Job 42:9 אֲלֵי/הֶ֖ם prep + sfx pers 3mp So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did what Yahweh commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job.
- Job 42:11 אֵ֠לָי/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him, and consoled him concerning all the evil that Yahweh had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of money, and everyone a ring of gold.
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” is the headline sense of the Hebrew preposition אל (ʼêl). Beyond “to” it also covers “toward” and “unto” — see its full sense range. With 4,204 verses in 38 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. First canonically at Genesis 1:9, it enters the text early. It clusters with אליהועיני under a shared root. See the sense tree, 4,204-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H413 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 →
- 4,204
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 4,204 distinct verses.
- 38 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 38 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4
- by frequency
- Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 4,204 occurrences in the concordance →
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 4,204 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 2,341 verses · 56%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1,300 verses · 31%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 563 verses · 13%
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: Because 2×, For 2×, In 2×
- American Standard Version: In 3×, To 3×, Unto 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: To 2,001×, Me 343×, You 214×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: To 2,791×, Him 374×, Me 349×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H413 across 38 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 32 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H413 across 39 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 26 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 H413 across 4,199 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 172 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 1,299 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H413 across 5,255 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 133 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
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.
- 1. of motion to or unto a person or place Gn 2:19, 22; 3,19; 8:9; 14:22; 16;9 etc., after every kind of verb expressing motion (בּוֹא, הָלַךְ, יָצָא, etc.) So with נָתַן to give (though ל is here more common) Gn 21:14; 35:4 Dt 13:2 +; מָכַר to sell Gn 37:36, etc. Metaph. Je 2:19 וְלֹאפַחְדָּתִי אֵלַיִךְ and that my fear (cometh) not unto thee (cf. Jb 31:23).—Peculiarly Gn 6:16 אֶל אַמָּה unto the length of a cubit, etc. And metaph. in the phrase אֶל־(אֱלֵי־)גִּיל unto exultation †Ho 9:1 Jb 3:22. Once, exceptionally (si vera l.) = even: Jb 5:5 וְאֶל־מִצִּנִּים יִקָּחֵהוּ and even out of thorns he taketh it. Sometimes pregnant, as Is 66:17 Je 41:7 זָנָה אֶל commit whoredom (by going) to Nu 25:1 Ez 16:26, 28, 29; דָּרַשׁ אֶל seek (by resorting) to one (sc. for oracles) Dt 18:11 Is 8:19; 11:10 +; חָבַר אֶל join together (& come) unto Gn 14:3; הִשְׁכִּים אֶל rise early (and go) to 19:27; 24:11 הִבְרִיךְ אֶל made to kneel down at; 47:18 תַּם אֶל i.e. has been made over to; פָּחַד אֶל to come in fear to Hos 3:5 Mi 7:17. Opp. is מִן, as מִן־הַקָּצֶה אֶל־הַקָּצֶה from end to end Ex 26:28; מִפֶּה אֶל־פֶּה Ezr 9:11 (syn. 2 K 21:16 פֶּה לָפֶה). And of time (rare) מֵעֵת אֶל־עֵת †1 Ch 9:25; מִיּוֹם אֶל־יוֹם †Nu 30:15 (P) 1 Ch 16:23 (in the ‖ ψ 96:2 מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם). e.g. Genesis 2:19
- 2. Where the limit is actually entered, into, Gn 6:18 and thou shalt enter into the ark 7:1; 19:3; 41:21; 42:17; & so after verbs of throwing, casting, putting 37:22 (הִשְׁלִיךְ) 39:20 וַיִּתְּנֵהוּ אֶל־בֵּית הַסֹּהַר put him into the prison house, Ex 28:30 (Lv 8:8) Dt 23:25; so after קָבַר to bury Gn 23:19; 25:9; 49:29; שָׂחַט to squeeze 40:11; מָחָה to blot out Nu 5:23, etc.; metaph. Gn 6:6 was pained into or unto his heart, שָׂם אֶל־לֵב, הֵשִׁיב to place, bring into (= lay to) heart Dt 4:39 2 S 19:20 al. In connexion with a number or multitude into which something enters, in among: 1 S 10:22 behold he had hid himself אֶל־הַכֵּלִים in among the baggage, Je 4:3 sow not אֶל־קֹצִים in among thorns. e.g. Genesis 6:18
- 3. Of direction towards anything: (a) of physical acts or states, as Gn 30:40 נָתַן פְּנֵי הַצֹּאן אֶל, 39:7 נָשָׂא עֵינָיו אֶל, Ex 25:20, Nu 6:26 נָשָׂא פָנָיו אֶל (2 K 9:32 differently), 24:1 שָׁת פָּנָיו אֶל, Jos 8:18 ψ 28:2 1 K 8:29, 30 (to pray towards) v 38; pregn. חָרַד אֶל to tremble (turning) to Gn 42:28, תָּמַהּ אֶל to wonder (turning) towards Gn 43:33; Is 13:8, פָּחַד אֶל Je 36:16: without a vb. פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים face to face Gn 32:31 +; פֶּה אֶל־פֶּה Nu 12:8; כִּי־אֵינֶנּוּ אֵלַי Gn 31:5 the face of Laban, that he is not toward me; עֵינֵי י׳ אֶל־פ׳ the eyes of י׳ are towards … ψ 34:16 (cf. 33:18). (b) with words such as אָמַר to say to Gn 3:1 + often, דִּבֶּר 8:15 + often, קָרָא 19:5, הִחְפַּלֵּל 20:17 etc., שָׁמַע to hearken to 16:11, הִלֵּל to praise to 12:15 (cf. Ez 13:19 חִלֵּל אֶל to profane to), הִזְכִּיר 40:14. (c) with words expressing the direction of the mind, as קִוָּה to wait ψ 27:14 +; יִחַל to hope Is 51:5; נָשָׂא נֶפֶשׁ אֶל to lift up the soul (i.e. set the desire) towards Dt 24:15 ψ 25:1; שָׂם לֵב אֶל, שָׁת to set the heart (mind) to Ex 9:21 al.; לָמַד אֶל to accustom oneself to Je 10:2; חָרַד אֶל to shew thought for 2 K 4:13; Gn 43:30; Dt 28:32 and thy eyes כָּלוֹת אֲלֵיהֶם failing (with longing) towards them, La 4:17; Is 63:15 2 S 3:8 1 K 14:13 ψ 40:6; alone, as predic., directed or disposed towards, Gn 3:16; 4:7 2 K 6:11 who of ours is towards (i.e. favours) the king of Syria? Ho 3:3 וְגַם־אֲנִי אֵלָֽיִךְ׃ Ez 36:9 Ho 2:17 Je 15:1 (אֵין נַפְשִׁי אֶל). e.g. Genesis 30:40
- 4. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against: Gn 4:8 וַיָּקָם ק׳ אֶל־הֶבֶל and Cain rose up against Abel (so 1 S 24:8) 22:12 Ex 14:5 Nu 32:14; with נִקְבַּץ Jos 10:6, הָלַךְ Ju 1:10; 20:30; with בָּא of calamity, etc., coming to or upon any one Gn 42:21 Ju 9:57 1 S 2:34 1 K 14:10 +; Is 2:4; 3:8 their tongue and doings are אֶל־י׳ 32:6 (לְדַבֵּר אֶל) Ho 7:15 (cf. Na 1:9) 12:5 וַיָּשַׂר אֶל־מַלְאָךְ and he strove against the angel. Here also belongs in partic. the phrace הִנְנִי אֶל … Behold I am against (thee, you etc.) †Na 2:14; 3:5 Je 21:13 (23:30–32 על) 50:31; 51:25 Ez 13:8, 20; 21:8; 29:10; 30:22; 34:10; 35:3; 38:3; 39:1 (5:8; 26:3; 28:22; 29:3 על: on 36:9 v. supr.) e.g. Genesis 4:8
- 5. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to, as Lv 18:18 thou shalt not take אִשָּׁה אֶל אֲחוֹתָהּ a woman to, in addition to, her sister, Jos 13:22 (‖ Nu 31:8 על; 1 S 14:34 to eat אֶל־הַדָּם together with the blood (v 32 & generally עַל); 1 K 10:7 הוֹסִיף אֶל (generally עַל); Je 25:26; Ez 7:26 שְׁמוּעָה אֶל שְׁמוּעָה (‖ על); 44:7; La 3:41 let us lift up לְבָבֵנוּ אֶל־כַּפָּ֑יִם our hearts together with the hands (cf. إِلَى, Qor 4:2; WAG ii. § 51 c). 6. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of: thus הִתְאַבֵּל to mourn concerning 1 S 15:35; הִנָּחֵם to repent as regards 2 S 24:16; דָּרַשׁ to inquire 1 K 14:5; הִתְפַּלֵּל to pray with regard to 1 S 1:27 2 K 19:20 Is 37:21; צָעַק to cry 2 K 8:3 (v 5 על); נֶעֱצַב be pained 1 S 20:34; נִחַם to comfort 2 S 10:2; more gen. 1 K 16:13; 21:22; אֶל־נֶפֶשׁ on account of, for the sake of, one’s life 1 K 19:3 2 K 7:7 (Gn 19:17 על). (עַל is more common in this sense.) And specially with verbs of saying, narrating, telling, etc. with regard to, as אָמַר Gn 20:2 Is 29:22; 37:33 +; דִּבֶּר 2 S 7:19 Je 40:16b; סִפֵּר ψ 2:7; 69:27; צִוָּה Is 23:11; שָׁמַע Ez 19:4; הַשְּׁמוּעָה אֶל the report regarding … 1 S 4:19. (Not freq., except in the case of אָמַר.) 7. Of rule or standard, according to (rare): אֶל־פִּי … according to the command of, Jos 15:13; 17:4: 21:3 (generally עַל־פִּי); אֶל־נָכוֹן according to what is fixed = of a certainty †1 S 23:23; 26:4 (v. Dr): perhaps ψ 5:1; 80:1 (45:1 עַל). 8. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs expressing or implying motion (cf. 1, Gn 24:11), as Jos 11:5 and they came and encamped together אֶל־מֵי מֵרוֹם at the waters of Merom, 1 S 5:4 cut off (and fallen) on to the threshold, 2 S 2:23 al. and smote him אֶל־הַחֹמֶשׁ in or on the belly, Dt 33:28 Ex 29:12 Lv 4:7; but also in other cases, as Jos 5:3 and he circucmcised the Israelites אֶל against, at the hill of the foreskins, 22:11 have built an altar אֶל־גְּלִילוֹת הַיַּרְדֵּן by the districts of Jordan, Ju 12:6 2 S 3:32, 14:30 & 18:4 אֶל־יַד at the side of (elsewhere לְיַד, עַל יַד), 1 K 13:20 as they were sitting אֶל־הַשֻּׁלְחָן at the table, 2 K 11:14 אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ by the king, Je 41:12 and found him by the great waters, etc., 46:10 אֶל־נְהַר פְּרָת by the Euphrates, Ez 3:15; 11:11; 17:8; 31:7; 40:18; 43:3; 47:7; 48:12. 9. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to: thus אֶל־אַחֲרֵי 2 S 5:23 2 K 9:18, 19 סֹב אֶל־אַחֲרַי turn to behind me, Zc 6:6 (where אֶל is pleon., prob. due to clerical error; note יצא אל before & after); אֶל־בֵּין in between Ez 31:10, 14; אֵל־בֵּינוֹת similarly Ez 10:2; אֶל־מִבֵּית לְ׳ to (the part) within (v. sub בַּיִת), in within Lv 16:15, 2 K 11:15 ‖ have her forth in within the ranks; אֶל־מוּל v. מוּל; אֶל־מִנֶּגֶב לְ׳ unto the south of Jos 15:3; אֶל־מִחוּץ לְ׳ to the outside of Lv 4:12, 21 +; אֶל־נֹכַח to the front of Nu 19:4; אֶל־תַּחַת Ju 6:19 1 K 8:6 al. (v. sub תַּחַת). e.g. Leviticus 18:18
- 1. —In Gn 20:13 אֶל־כָּל־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר נָבוֹא שָׁמָּה אִמְרִי־לִי וג׳; Nu 33:54 אֶל־אֲשֶׁר וג׳; Pr 17:8 (cf. Dt 16:6);—אֶל appears to be used by a species of attraction; the idea of motion involved in the relative clause influencing illogically the beginning of the sentence and causing אֶל to be used instead of בְּ. In Ez 31:14 אֵלֵיהֶם, as pointed, can only be from אַיִל iii or iv (q.v.); if the word be taken as the pron. with suff. (Hi Ke), אֲלֵיהֶם must be read. e.g. Genesis 20:13
- 2. —There is a tendency in Hebrew, especially manifest in S K Je Ez, to use אֶל in the sense of עַל; sometimes אֶל being used exceptionally in a phrase or construction which regularly, and in acc. with analogy, has עַל; sometimes, the two preps. interchanging, apparently without discrimination, in the same or parallel sentences. Thus (a) Jos 5:14 וַיִּפֹּל אֶל־פָּנָיו; 1 S 13:13 הֵכִין י׳ אֶת־מַמְלַכְתְּךָ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל; 14:34 (v. sub 5); 17:3 עֹמְדִים אֶל־הָהָר (contr. עַל Dt 11:29); 19:16 2 S 6:3; 20:23 (contr. 8:16) 1 K 13:29 18:46 (contr. 2 K 3:15 על) Je 35:15 Ez 7:18. (b) Ju 6:37 and upon (עַל) all the earth let there be dryness, v 39 let there be dryness on (אֶל) the fleece; 1 S 14:10 come up עָלֵינוּ, v 12 come up אֵלֵינוּ; 16:23 & 16; 16:13 & 18:10 צָלַח אֶל, 10:6 al. צָלַח עַל; 25:17 evil is determined אֶל־אֲדֹנֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל־בֵּיתוֹ; v 25; 27:10; 2 S 2:9 וַיַּמְלִכֵהוּ אֶל … וְאֶל … וְאֶל … וְעַל … וְעַל … וְעֶל; 3:29 יָחֻלוּ עַל … וְאֶל …; 2 K 8:3 & 5; 9:6 & 3; Je 19:15; 25:2; 26:15 ye lay innocent blood עֲלֵיכֶם וְאֶל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת; 27:19; 28:8; 33:14; 34:7; 36:31; 37:13, 14 Ez 2:6; 18:6, 11 & 15; 21:12 etc. ψ 79:6 (Je 10:25) על twice). It is prob. that this interchange, at least in many cases, is not original, but due to transcribers. Conversely, though not with the same frequency, עַל occurs where analogy would lead us to expect אֶל, or even in juxtaposition with אֶל, as 1 S 1:10 הִתְפַּלֵּל עַל to pray to (v 26 אֶל); v 13; 25:25 אֶל … עַל; 1 K 20:43 וַיֵּלֶךְ עַל־בֵּיתוֹ (21:4 אֶל); Is 22:15 Je 11:2; 23:35; 31:12(11). Cf. DrSm i. 13(×2); ii. 8, 7; 15, 4. e.g. Joshua 5:14
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
(nearly always followed by Makkeph), poet. אֱלֵי (cf. עֲלֵי, עֲדֵי), but only in Job (†3:22; 5:26; 15:22; 29:19), with suff. אֵלַי, אֵלֶיךָ, אֵלַיִךְ, etc. אֵלֵינוּ, אֲלֵיכֶם & (5 textual) אֲלֵכֶם, אֲלֵיהֶם & אֲלֵהֶם (both very often), once אֵלֵימוֹ ψ 2:5, אֲלֵיהֶן, once אֲלֵהֶן Ex 1:19 (Ar. إِلَى ), prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: primitive particle
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.
אַל־
- a prefix, = עַל; e.g. אַלְתּוּסְבְּרָאוֹת (= על האוצרות) appointed over treasures, v. אַ־.
אַל
- (b. h.) not, no (according to Talmud a milder form of prohibition than לֹא; v. Y. Pes. VI, 33ᵇ). Aboth I, 3.—אל תקרי (abbr. א"ת), v. אֶלָּא. Taan. 11ᵃ א׳ יראה וכ׳ shall not live to see &c.; a. v. fr.
אֶל
- אול to turn) prep. to, toward. — Pl., with prefix מ a. suffix of pers. pron., of itself, of my (his &c.) own accord, on my (his &c.) authority. Yoma 5ᵇ לא מֵאֵלַי not on my own authority. Orlah I, 2 העולה מֵאֵלָיו growing spontaneously.—Y. Peah VII, 20ᵇ bot. its sacred character מֵאֵלָיו למדו they did derive from itself (i.e. from the wording of the law itself).—Hence מִמֵּילָא, v. מֵילָא.
אֵל
- v. אלל) God. Shebu. 35ᵃ divine names which dare not be erased are El &c. Taan. 6ᵇ bot.; a. fr.
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 184 distinct written forms H413 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֶל | Preposition | Amos 2:7 | 3,369 |
| וְ/אֶל | Preposition | Daniel 8:9 | 277 |
| אֶֽל | Preposition | Deuteronomy 31:20 | 139 |
| אֵלַ֔/י | Preposition | Daniel 8:14 | 87 |
| אֵלָי/ו֙ | Preposition | Daniel 8:7 | 77 |
| אֵלַ֥/י | Preposition | Deuteronomy 2:2 | 73 |
| אֵלָ֔י/ו | Preposition | Deuteronomy 28:25 | 73 |
| אֵלָ֗י/ו | Preposition | Deuteronomy 26:3 | 62 |
| אֵלַ֖/י | Preposition | Daniel 8:1 | 56 |
| אֵלָ֖י/ו | Preposition | Daniel 8:6 | 55 |
| אֵלָ֑/י | Preposition | Deuteronomy 2:1 | 46 |
| אֵלַ֗/י | Preposition | Amos 7:8 | 44 |
| אֵלֶ֔י/ךָ | Preposition | Daniel 10:20 | 42 |
| אֵלֶ֖י/ךָ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 5:27 | 40 |
| אֵלַ/י֙ | Preposition | Amos 7:15 | 39 |
| אֲלֵ/הֶ֔ם | Preposition | Exodus 5:21 | 36 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶ֔ם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 18:18 | 36 |
| אֵלָ֜י/ו | Preposition | Deuteronomy 31:7 | 34 |
| אֵלָֽ/י | Preposition | Deuteronomy 5:22 | 33 |
| אֵלָ֑י/ו | Preposition | Deuteronomy 4:7 | 30 |
| וְ/אֶֽל | Preposition | Deuteronomy 23:24 | 29 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶ֗ם | Preposition | Ezekiel 12:23 | 24 |
| אֵלֶֽי/ךָ | Preposition | Exodus 6:29 | 24 |
| אֵלַ֛/י | Preposition | Deuteronomy 3:26 | 23 |
| אֲלֵ/הֶ֑ם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 29:2 | 22 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶ֖ם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 28:32 | 22 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶם֙ | Preposition | Ezekiel 3:6 | 22 |
| אֵלֶ֑י/ךָ | Preposition | Daniel 10:11 | 21 |
| אֵלָ֛י/ו | Preposition | Esther 7:7 | 21 |
| אֵלָֽי/ו | Preposition | Deuteronomy 4:7 | 21 |
| אֲלֵ/הֶ֗ם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 5:1 | 20 |
| אֲלֵ/הֶם֙ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 20:3 | 20 |
| אֵלֶ֨י/ךָ֙ | Preposition | Daniel 10:11 | 20 |
| אֵלֶ֣י/ךָ | Preposition | 2 Samuel 14:32 | 19 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶֽם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 21:18 | 18 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶ֜ם | Preposition | Ezekiel 9:7 | 17 |
| אֵלֶ֗י/ךָ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 5:31 | 16 |
| אֵלֶ֔י/הָ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 22:14 | 15 |
| אֵלָ֣י/ו | Preposition | 2 Chronicles 35:21 | 14 |
| אֲלֵי/הֶ֑ם | Preposition | Esther 3:4 | 13 |
| אֲלֵי/כֶ֔ם | Preposition | Ezekiel 13:8 | 13 |
| אֵלֶ֨י/הָ֙ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 21:13 | 13 |
| אֵלֶ֖י/הָ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 20:10 | 12 |
| אֵלַ֜/י | Preposition | Exodus 11:8 | 12 |
| אֲלֵי/כֶ֑ם | Preposition | Exodus 3:13 | 11 |
| אֲלֵי/כֶֽם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 1:45 | 11 |
| אֵלֶ֛י/ךָ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 13:1 | 11 |
| אֵלַ֣/י | Preposition | Deuteronomy 9:13 | 11 |
| אֲלֵי/כֶ֖ם | Preposition | Deuteronomy 1:43 | 10 |
| אֶ֖ל | Preposition | Ezekiel 9:3 | 10 |
| אֵלֶ֥י/ךָ | Preposition | 2 Kings 9:5 | 9 |
| אֵלָ֥י/ו | Preposition | Exodus 36:3 | 9 |
| אֲלֵ/הֶ֜ם | Preposition | Exodus 16:3 | 8 |
| אֵ֠לָי/ו | Preposition | 1 Samuel 19:4 | 8 |
| אֵלֵ֖י/נוּ | Preposition | Deuteronomy 1:6 | 8 |
| אֲלֵ/הֶ֖ם | Preposition | Ecclesiastes 8:14 | 7 |
| אֵלֵ֔י/נוּ | Preposition | Genesis 19:5 | 7 |
| אֵלֶ֜י/ךָ | Preposition | Exodus 27:20 | 7 |
| אֵלֶֽי/הָ | Preposition | Genesis 20:6 | 7 |
| וְ/אֶ֖ל | Preposition | Daniel 9:6 | 7 |
The 60 most common forms are shown; 124 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H413, 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.
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 → 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
Most of the 4,204 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:9
- Exodus 1:9
- Leviticus 1:1
- Numbers 1:1
- Deuteronomy 1:1
- Joshua 1:1
- Judges 1:1
- Ruth 1:7
- 1 Samuel 1:14
- 2 Samuel 1:2
- 1 Kings 1:11
- 2 Kings 1:2
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.
