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 Zechariah — 57 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.
Zechariah
- Zechariah 1:1 אֶל prep In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
- Zechariah 1:3 אֲלֵ/הֶ֗ם אֵלַ֔/י אֲלֵי/כֶ֔ם prep + sfx pers 3mp prep + sfx pers 1cs prep + sfx pers 2mp Therefore tell them: Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: 'Return to me,' says Yahweh of Hosts, 'and I will return to you,' says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Zechariah 1:4 אֲלֵי/הֶם֩ אֵלַ֖/י prep + sfx pers 3mp prep + sfx pers 1cs Don't you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;' but they did not hear, nor listen to me, says Yahweh.
- Zechariah 1:7 אֶל prep On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,
- Zechariah 1:9 אֵלַ֗/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Then I asked, 'My lord, what are these?'" The angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."
- Zechariah 1:14 אֵלַ֗/י prep + sfx pers 1cs So the angel who talked with me said to me, "Proclaim, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: "I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
- Zechariah 1:19 אֶל אֵלַ֔/י prep prep + sfx pers 1cs I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
- Zechariah 1:21 אֶל prep Then I asked, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."
- Zechariah 2:2 אֵלַ֗/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length."
- Zechariah 2:4 אֵלָ֔/ו אֶל prep + sfx pers 3ms prep and said to him, "Run, speak to this young man, saying, 'Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle in it.
- Zechariah 2:8 אֶל prep For thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.
- Zechariah 2:11 אֶל אֵלָֽיִ/ךְ prep prep + sfx pers 2fs Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Hosts has sent me to you.
- Zechariah 3:2 אֶל prep Yahweh said to Satan, "Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn't this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?"
- Zechariah 3:4 אֶל אֵלָ֗י/ו prep prep + sfx pers 3ms He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, "Take the filthy garments off of him." To him he said, "Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich clothing."
- Zechariah 3:10 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep In that day,' says Yahweh of hosts, 'you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.'"
- Zechariah 4:2 אֵלַ֔/י prep + sfx pers 1cs He said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I have seen, and, behold, a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are on the top of it;
- Zechariah 4:4 אֶל prep I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?"
- Zechariah 4:5 אֵלַ֔/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Then the angel who talked with me answered me, "Don't you know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord."
- Zechariah 4:6 אֵלַ/י֙ אֶל prep + sfx pers 1cs prep Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, "This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Zechariah 4:8 אֵלַ֥/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
- Zechariah 4:9 אֲלֵי/כֶֽם prep + sfx pers 2mp "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it; and you will know that Yahweh of Hosts has sent me to you.
- Zechariah 4:11 אֵלָ֑י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms Then I asked him, "What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on the left side of it?"
- Zechariah 4:12 אֵלָ֑י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms I asked him the second time, "What are these two olive-branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that pour the golden oil out of themselves?"
- Zechariah 4:13 אֵלַ/י֙ prep + sfx pers 1cs He answered me, "Don't you know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord."
- Zechariah 5:2 אֵלַ֔/י prep + sfx pers 1cs He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits."
- Zechariah 5:3 אֵלַ֔/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
- Zechariah 5:4 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep I will cause it to go out," says Yahweh of Hosts, "and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the midst of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones."
- Zechariah 5:5 אֵלַ֔/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Then the angel who talked with me came forward, and said to me, "Lift up now your eyes, and see what is this that is appearing."
- Zechariah 5:8 אֶל אֶל prep prep He said, "This is Wickedness;" and he threw her down into the midst of the ephah basket; and he threw the weight of lead on its mouth.
- Zechariah 5:10 אֶל prep Then said I to the angel who talked with me, "Where are these carrying the ephah basket?"
- Zechariah 5:11 אֵלַ֔/י prep + sfx pers 1cs He said to me, "To build her a house in the land of Shinar. When it is prepared, she will be set there in her own place."
- Zechariah 6:4 אֶל prep Then I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"
- Zechariah 6:5 אֵלָ֑/י prep + sfx pers 1cs The angel answered me, "These are the four winds of the sky, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
- Zechariah 6:6 אֶל אֶל אֶל prep prep prep The one with the black horses goes out toward the north country; and the white went out after them; and the dappled went forth toward the south country."
- Zechariah 6:8 אֵלַ֖/י אֶל prep + sfx pers 1cs prep Then he called to me, and spoke to me, saying, "Behold, those who go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country."
- Zechariah 6:9 אֵלַ֥/י prep + sfx pers 1cs The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
- Zechariah 6:12 אֵלָי/ו֙ prep + sfx pers 3ms and speak to him, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Yahweh;
- Zechariah 6:15 אֲלֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + sfx pers 2mp Those who are far off shall come and build in the temple of Yahweh; and you shall know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen, if you will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your God."'"
- Zechariah 7:1 אֶל prep It happened in the fourth year of king Darius that the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
- Zechariah 7:3 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep and to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of Hosts, and to the prophets, saying, "Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?"
- Zechariah 7:4 אֵלַ֥/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Then the word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me, saying,
- Zechariah 7:5 אֶל וְ/אֶל prep conj + prep "Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
- Zechariah 7:8 אֶל prep The word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying,
- Zechariah 8:3 אֶל prep Thus says Yahweh: "I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called 'The City of Truth;' and the mountain of Yahweh of Hosts, 'The Holy Mountain.'"
- Zechariah 8:18 אֵלַ֥/י prep + sfx pers 1cs The word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me.
- Zechariah 8:21 אֶל prep and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of Hosts. I will go also.'
- Zechariah 10:10 וְ/אֶל conj + prep I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, And gather them out of Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; And there won't be room enough for them.
- Zechariah 11:12 אֲלֵי/הֶ֗ם prep + sfx pers 3mp I said to them, "If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them." So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
- Zechariah 11:13 אֵלַ֗/י אֶל אֶל prep + sfx pers 1cs prep prep Yahweh said to me, "Throw it to the potter, the handsome price that I was valued at by them!" I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter, in the house of Yahweh.
- Zechariah 11:15 אֵלָ֑/י prep + sfx pers 1cs Yahweh said to me, "Take for yourself yet again the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
- Zechariah 12:10 אֵלַ֖/י prep + sfx pers 1cs I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.
- Zechariah 13:3 אֵ֠לָי/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms It will happen that, when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will tell him, 'You must die, because you speak lies in the name of Yahweh;' and his father and his mother who bore him will stab him when he prophesies.
- Zechariah 13:6 אֵלָ֔י/ו prep + sfx pers 3ms One will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'
- Zechariah 14:2 אֶֽל prep For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
- Zechariah 14:5 אֶל prep You shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with you.
- Zechariah 14:8 אֶל אֶל prep prep It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter will it be.
- Zechariah 14:17 אֶל prep It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn't go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of Hosts, on them there will be no rain.
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.
