מָלֵא
to fill
‘to fill’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Piel verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- Adjective
- A word that describes or qualifies a noun.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘be full’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem. Here: ‘fill’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be filled’
- Pual
- The passive counterpart of the Piel. Here: ‘filled’
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself).
Form
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
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
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms 53 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural 25 times (10%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 20 times (8%)
- Verb, Piel, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 18 times (7%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular 18 times (7%)
- Verb, Piel, Infinitive Construct 13 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct 13 times (5%)
- Verb, Niphal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 10 times (4%)
- Verb, Piel, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 9 times (4%)
+45 more forms (124 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 250 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Page 2 of 2 — showing verses 201–242 of 242 distinct verses where H4390 appears, across 32 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Jeremiah 21 verses
- Jeremiah 51:5 מָלְאָ֣ה Qal pf 3fs For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Yahweh of Hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
- Jeremiah 51:11 מִלְא֣וּ Qal impv 2mp Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance of his temple.
- Jeremiah 51:14 מִלֵּאתִ֤י/ךְ Piel pf 1cs + sfx pers 2fs Yahweh of Hosts has sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you.
- Jeremiah 51:34 מִלָּ֥א Piel pf 3ms Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has, like a monster, swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; he has cast me out.
Lamentations 1 verse
Ezekiel 23 verses
- Ezekiel 3:3 תְמַלֵּ֔א Piel impf 2ms He said to me, Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
- Ezekiel 5:2 כִּ/מְלֹ֖את prep + Qal inf.cs A third part shall you burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third part, and strike with the sword round about it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
- Ezekiel 7:19 יְמַלֵּ֑אוּ Piel impf 3mp They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Yahweh: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity.
- Ezekiel 7:23 מָֽלְאָה֙ מָלְאָ֥ה Qal pf 3fs Qal pf 3fs Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.
- Ezekiel 8:17 מָלְא֨וּ Qal pf 3cp Then he said to me, Have you seen [this], son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and, behold, they put the branch to their nose.
- Ezekiel 9:7 וּ/מַלְא֧וּ conj + Piel impv 2mp He said to them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go you forth. They went forth, and struck in the city.
- Ezekiel 9:9 וַ/תִּמָּלֵ֤א מָלְאָ֣ה conj + Niphal wimpf 3fs Qal pf 3fs Then said he to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of wrestling [of judgment]: for they say, Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh doesn't see.
- Ezekiel 10:2 וּ/מַלֵּ֨א conj + Piel impv 2ms He spoke to the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling [wheels], even under the cherub, and fill both your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. He went in as I watched.
- Ezekiel 10:3 מָלֵ֔א Qal pf 3ms Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
- Ezekiel 10:4 וַ/יִּמָּלֵ֤א מָֽלְאָ֔ה conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Qal pf 3fs The glory of Yahweh mounted up from the cherub, [and stood] over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Yahweh's glory.
- Ezekiel 11:6 וּ/מִלֵּאתֶ֥ם conj + Piel pf 2mp You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled the streets of it with the slain.
- Ezekiel 23:33 תִּמָּלֵ֑אִי Niphal impf 2fs You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of your sister Samaria.
- Ezekiel 24:4 מַלֵּֽא Piel impv 2ms gather the pieces of it into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
- Ezekiel 26:2 אִמָּלְאָ֖ה Niphal coh 1cs Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken: the gate of the peoples; she is turned to me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste:
- Ezekiel 27:25 וַ/תִּמָּלְאִ֧י conj + Niphal wimpf 2fs The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise: and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.
- Ezekiel 28:16 מָל֧וּ Qal pf 3cp By the abundance of your traffic they filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned: therefore I have cast you as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
- Ezekiel 30:11 וּ/מָלְא֥וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
- Ezekiel 32:5 וּ/מִלֵּאתִ֥י conj + Piel wpf 1cs I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.
- Ezekiel 32:6 יִמָּלְא֥וּ/ן Niphal impf 3mp + sfx n I will also water with your blood the land in which you swim, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of you.
- Ezekiel 35:8 וּ/מִלֵּאתִ֥י conj + Piel wpf 1cs I will fill its mountains with its slain: in your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses shall they fall who are slain with the sword.
- Ezekiel 43:5 מָלֵ֥א Qal pf 3ms The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house.
- Ezekiel 43:26 וּ/מִלְא֖וּ conj + Piel wpf 3cp Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.
- Ezekiel 44:4 מָלֵ֥א Qal pf 3ms Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and, behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh: and I fell on my face.
Daniel 2 verses
- Daniel 9:2 לְ/מַלֹּ֛אות prep + Piel inf.cs in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.
- Daniel 10:3 מְלֹ֕את Qal inf.cs I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Joel 2 verses
Micah 2 verses
- Micah 3:8 מָלֵ֤אתִי Qal pf 1cs But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Yahweh, And of judgment, and of might, To declare to Jacob his disobedience, And to Israel his sin.
- Micah 6:12 מָלְא֣וּ Qal pf 3cp Her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their speech.
Nahum 1 verse
Habakkuk 2 verses
Zephaniah 1 verse
Haggai 1 verse
Zechariah 3 verses
- Zechariah 8:5 יִמָּ֣לְא֔וּ Niphal impf 3mp The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets."
- Zechariah 9:13 מִלֵּ֣אתִי Piel pf 1cs For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim; And I will stir up your sons, Zion, Against your sons, Greece, And will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
- Zechariah 9:15 וּ/מָֽלְאוּ֙ conj + Qal pf 3cp Yahweh of Hosts will defend them; And they will destroy and overcome with sling-stones; And they will drink, and roar as through wine; And they will be filled like bowls, Like the corners of the altar.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew verb מלא centers on the idea of “to fill.” The verb spans 5 stems, from Qal to Niphal. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 242 verses — common. First canonically at Genesis 1:22, it enters the text early. Related forms include מלא, מלא and מלא. Dig into 242-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4390 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 →
- 242
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 242 distinct verses.
- 32 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 32 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #193
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 193 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 242 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 242 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 112 verses · 46%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 75 verses · 31%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 55 verses · 23%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Filled 21×, Fill 18×, Is full 16×
- American Standard Version†: Filled 24×, Fill 18×, Is full 15×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Filled 20×, Fill 19×, Is full of 12×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Fill 25×, Filled 24×, And 16×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4390 across 248† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 85 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 H4390 across 245† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 95 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 H4390 across 242† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 93 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.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4390 across 286† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 79 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) and Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal).
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.
מלא I be full, fill (NH id. (Pi. trans.)
Qal
- Pf. מ׳ Ex 40:34 +; sf. מְלָאוֹ Est 7:5; מָלֵאתָ Jb 36:17; מָלֵאתִי Mi 3:8 Je 6:11; מָלֵ֫תִי Jb 32:18; מָֽלְאוּ Gn 29:21 +; מָלוּ Ez 28:16 (מָלֵאתָ 𝔊 𝔖 Co); מָלֵ֑אוּ Is 1:15, etc.; Impf. 3 fs. sf. תִּמְלָאֵ֣מוֹ Ex 15:9; יִמְלְאוּ Gn 50:3 + 2 times; וַיִּמְלְאוּ Gn 25:24; 50:3; Imv. מִלְאוּ Gn 1:22 + 5 times; Inf. cstr. מְלאֹת (מְלֹאות) Lv 8:33 + 12 times; Pt. מָלֵא Je 23:24; מְלֵאִים Is 6:1; (cf. also sub מָלֵא adj.);— e.g. Exodus 40:34
- 1. be full, usually c. acc. material:
- a. lit. subj. houses Ex 8:17; 10:6 (both J) Ju 16:27 Is 13:21 2 Ch 5:13, cf. Ez 10:4 (del. Co); winepress Jo 4:13; threshing-floor Jo 2:24; vessel 2 K 4:6 Jb 21:24, etc.; Jb 20:22 מְלֹאות (cf. מְלֹא), i.e. fulness, abundance. e.g. Exodus 8:17
- b. fig., earth full of violence Gn 6:13, cf. Lv 19:29 (both P), Mi 6:12 Is 1:15 Je 23:10; 51:5 ψ 26:10 Ez 7:23(×2) Ec 9:3, etc.; earth full of glory, mercy, goodness, knowledge, of י׳ ψ 33:5; 119:64 Is 11:9 Hb 3:3; cf. also ψ 48:11; 104:24, etc.; subj. נֶפֶשׁ = desire be satisfied (full) c. sf. Ex 15:9; וְדִין רָשָׁע מ׳ Jb 36:17 and of judgment on the wicked art thou full (hast thou thy fill), cf. Di Du; מָלֵא לֵב לַעֲשׂוֹת רָ֑ע Ec 8:11; especially of days, years, be full, accomplished, ended, Gn 25:24; 29:21; 50:3(×2) (JE); Lv 8:33; 12:4, 6; 25:30 Nu 6:5, 13 (P); 1 S 18:26 2 S 7:12; Je 25:12; 29:10 La 4:18 Ez 5:2 1 Ch 17:11 Est 1:5; 2:12 Dn 10:3; cf. also with other subj. (lit.) Je 25:34 Is 40:2. e.g. Genesis 6:13
- 2. trans. fill, of populating sea and earth Gn 1:22, 28; 9:1 (all P); consecrate מִלְאוּ יֶדְכֶם ליהוה; (lit. fill the hand) Ex 32:29 (cf. infr.); especially of glory of י׳ filling tabern. and temple; Ex 40:34, 35 (P) 1 K 8:10, 11, cf. Is 6:1; v. also Je 23:24, especially lit. Ez 10:3; 43:5; 44:4 2 Ch 5:14; 7:1, 2; sq. 2 acc. fill jars (with) water 1 K 18:34; abs. overflow מ׳ עַל־כָּל־גְּדוֹתָיו Jos 3:15 (cf. 1 Ch 12:16 Pi.); fig. fill land with sin Je 16:18, cf. 19:4 Ez 8:17; 28:16, cf. 30:11; מְלָאוֹ לִבּוֹ לֵעֲשׂוֹת־כֵּן Est 7:5 (cf. Ec 8:11 supr.); מִלְאוּ הַשְּׁלָטִים Je 51:11 meaning obscure, v. [שֶׁלֶט]; Gie proposes מִדְטוּ הַשּׁ׳ polish. e.g. Genesis 1:22
Niphal
- Pf. נִמְלָא־ Ct 5:2; Impf. יִמָּלֵא 2 S 23:7 + 9 times; וַיִּמָּלֵא Ex 7:25 + 5 times; יִמָּֽלְא֫וּ Pr 3:10 + 2 times; יִמָּֽלֵא֑וּ Pr 24:4; יִמָּֽלְאוּן Ez 32:6;— e.g. Song of Solomon 5:2
- 1. be filled, usually c. acc. mat. (c. מִן of source Ec 1:8, cf. Ez 32:6; c. לְ Hb 2:14); land, with people Ex 1:7; cf. 2 K 3:17, 20 Is 2:7(×2), 8; house with smoke Is 6:4, cf. Ez 10:4; v. also Pr 3:10; 24:4 Je 13:12(×2) Zc 8:5 Ct 5:2 Ec 11:3 2 K 10:21 Ez 32:6; = be armed 2 S 23:7 (lit. be filled or full himself, i.e. his hand, with weapon, cf. Pi. 2); be satisfied, subj. נֶפֶשׁ = appetite Ec 6:7; subj. אֹזֶן Ec 1:8; fig. earth filled with violence (cf. Qal) Gn 6:11, cf. Ez 9:9; 23:33; with glory and knowledge of י׳ Nu 14:21 Hb 2:14 ψ 72:19; v. also 1 K 7:14 ψ 71:8; 126:2 Est 3:5; 5:9 Pr 20:17; abs. Ez 26:2 (but Co sub מָלֵא adj., so 𝔊 𝔗) 27:25. e.g. Ecclesiastes 1:8
- 2. be accomplished, ended, subj. days Ex 7:25; of an exchange, requital, Jb 15:32. e.g. Exodus 7:25
Piel
- Pf. מִלֵּא Ex 35:35 +; מִלָּא Je 51:34; מִלֵּאתָ Dt 6:11 +; מִלְאוּ Nu 32:11 +, etc.; Impf. יְמַלֵּא Lv 8:33 +; יְמַלֵּה Jb 8:21; וַיְמַלְאוּ Gn 42:25 Ex 39:10; יְמַלֵּ֑אוּ Ez 7:19, etc.; Imv. מַלֵּא Gn 29:27 + 5 times; מַלְאוּ Je 4:5 Ez 9:7; Inf. cstr. מַלֵּא Ex 29:29 + 5 times; מַלְּאוֹת (-אֹת) Ex 31:5 + 5 times; sf. מַלְּאָם Je 33:5; Pt. מְמַלֵּא Je 13:13 1 Ch 12:15; pl. מְמַלְאִים Is 65:11 + 2 times;— e.g. Exodus 35:35
- 1. fill (often c. 2 acc.; lit., c. בְּ 2 K 9:24 Ezr 9:11 Jb 40:31; c. מִן Je 51:34 ψ 127:5): Gn 21:19; 24:16; 26:15; 42:25; 44:1 Ex 2:16 Dt 6:11 Jos 9:13 1 K 18:35; 20:27 2 K 3:25; 23:14 Is 23:2 Jb 3:15; 22:18 Je 41:9 Ez 3:3; 7:19; 9:7; 10:2; 24:4 Na 2:13 Hg 2:7 ψ 129:7 2 Ch 16:14, etc. (indef. subj.); fill (cup) with drink for libation Is 65:11; fig. fill with spirit Ex 28:3; 31:3; 35:31 cf. v 35, ψ 107:9 Is 33:5 Je 15:17; fill (with blood) 2 K 21:16; with abominations Ezr 9:11 (c. בְּ). e.g. 2 Kings 9:24
- 2. special uses are: satisfy appetite Jb 38:39 ψ 17:14 Pr 6:30 Jb 20:23 Je 51:14 (fig.); take a handful of מ׳ כַּפּוֹ מִן Lv 9:17; grasp מ׳ יָדוֹ בְּ 2 K 9:24, cf. (of laying arrow on bow) fig. מ׳ קֶשֶׁת … אֶפְרַיִם Zc 9:13; overflow מְמַלֵּא עַל־כָּל־גְּד֯יֹתָיו 1 Ch 12:16 (cf. Jos 3:15 Qal); give in full וַיְמַלְאוּם לַמֶּלֶךְ 1 S 18:27 (read וַיְמַלְּאֵם A 𝔊L 𝔙 We Dr Kit Bu); מִלֵּא יַד פּ׳ fig. for institute to a priestly office, consecrate Ex 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35; 32:29 Lv 8:33; 16:32; 21:10 Nu 3:3 Ju 17:5, 12 1 K 13:33 Ez 43:26 (altar), 1 Ch 29:5; 2 Ch 13:9; 29:31 (cf. Assyrian qāta … mullû, confer upon, DlHWB 409); מ׳ אַהֲרֵי wholly follow י׳ Nu 14:24; 32:11, 12 Dt 1:36 Jos 14:8, 9, 14 1 K 11:6; fill in, i.e. set precious stones Ex 28:17 (מ׳ בּוֹ מִלֻּאַת אֶבֶן) cf. 31:5; 35:33; 39:10 (all P); etc. e.g. Job 38:39
- 3. fulfil, accomplish, complete, obj. week, year, day, Gn 29:27, 28 Ex 23:26 Is 65:20 Jb 39:2 2 Ch 36:21 Dn 9:2; obj. word, promise, etc.; subj. י׳ 1 K 8:15, 24 2 Ch 6:4, 15 ψ 20:5, 6; subj. men 1 K 2:27 Je 44:25 2 Ch 36:21. e.g. Genesis 29:27
- 4. confirm words 1 K 1:14. e.g. 1 Kings 1:14
Pual
- Pt. filled, i.e. set with jewels מְמֻלָּאִים בַּתַּרְשִׁישׁ Ct 5:14. e.g. Song of Solomon 5:14
Hithpael
- Impf. עָלַי יִתְמַלָּא֑וּן Jb 16:10, mass themselves against me; perhaps denom. from מְלֹא 2. e.g. Job 16:10
מלא II full
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. vb. be full, fill (NH id. (Pi. trans.); Zinj. מלא (Pi. trans.) DHMSendsch. 60; Assyrian malû (trans. and intrans.) DlHWB 409; Arabic مَلَأَ (trans.) مَلُؤَ, مَلِىَٔ (intrans.); Ethiopic መልአ: (trans. and intrans.); Aramaic ܡܠܴܐ (trans.), מְלָא (intrans. and trans.), Palm. n.pr. מלא = plenitude, VogPalm. 7, 2 al.; Sab. מלא Os 14 Levy-OsZMG xix. 1865, 211 f. DHMZMG xxix, 1875, 595);—
II. adj. full;—מ׳ Gn 23:9 + 15 times; cstr. מְלֵא Je 6:11; f. מְלֵאָה Nu 7:14 + 20 times; cstr. מְלֵאֲתִי Is 1:21 cf. Ges§ 90, 3 a.; pl. מְלֵאִים Nu 7:13 + 18 times; f. מְלֵאוֹת (-אֹת) Gn 41:7 + 4 times;—full, abs. of ears of corn Gn 41:7, 22; of value, price, Gn 23:9 1 Ch 21:22, 24; of wind (= strong) Je 4:12 sq. acc. mat., bowls of fine flour (סֹלָת) Nu 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73, 79; spoons of incense Nu 7:14, 20, 26, 32, 38, 44, 50, 56, 62, 68, 74, 80, 86; bowls of wine Je 35:5, cf. fig. ψ 75:9; houses, of contents Dt 6:11 Ne 9:25 cf. Pr 17:1; cage, of birds Je 5:27 (in sim., v. infr.); cart, of sheaves Am 2:13 (in sim.) 1 Ch 11:13 2 K 7:15; Ez 1:18; 10:12; 17:3; 36:38; 37:1; as pred., of storehouses ψ 144;13; cf. fig. of Naomi Ru 1:21; of sea Ec 1:7; with art., of full vessel 2 K 4:4; מְלֵאָה pregnant woman Ec 11:5; fig. full of blessing Dt 33:23; wisdom 34:9; justice Is 1:21; commotion 22:2; fury 51:20; lies, etc. Na 3:1; wisdom Ez 28:12 (del. A BCo); only twice in cstr. before that with which a thing is filled Is 1:21 מ׳ מִשְׁפָּט; Je 6:11 מְלֵא יָמִים (as subst.); as subst. in genit. (Ges§ 128 n) ψ 73:10 מֵי מָלֵא; as adv. = fully Na 1:10 Je 12:6 (loudly, cf. 4:5).
— 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.
מִלָּא
- , v. מִלְּתָא a. מִלָּה.
מָלֵא I
- (b. h.) to be full, v. מָלֵא II.—Tosef. Dem. V, 24 היאך מְלָאֲךָ ליבך how could thy heart be so full of thyself, i.e. how daredst thou?
- to fill, to draw (water). Erub. VIII, 6 אין מְמַלְּאִין וכ׳ (Y. ed. מְמַלִּין) you must not draw water out of it on the Sabbath. B. Bath. 162ᵇ מִילְּאֵהוּ בקרובים if he filled the vacant space on the document with the signatures of relatives; Gitt. 87ᵇ. Hor. 11ᵇ ממלא מקום אבותיו הוה he was filling his ancestors’ place, was a direct successor; a. fr.
- to be filled. Ber. 3ᵇ; 59ᵃ אין הבור מִתְמַלֵּא וכ׳, v. חוּלְיָא I. Y. Succ. III, end, 54ᵃ עד שיִתְמַלֵּא זקנו until he has a full beard. Y. Ber. IX, 13ᵈ bot. הִתְמַלְּאִי דינרי זהב be full of gold denars; והיתה מתְמַלְּאָה and it became filled with &c. Gen. R. s. 33 הִתְסַלְּאוּ רחמים אלו על אלו be merciful to one another. Ib. ראיתי … והִתְמַלֵּאתִי עליה רחמים I saw her in distress and was filled with pity for her; a. fr.
מְלָא
- v. מְלֵי
מָלֵא II
- (b. h.) full. Ab. IV, 20 יש … מ׳ ישן many a new vessel is full of old wine (many a young man is full of wisdom). Meg. 6ᵃ (ref. to Ez. XXVI, 2) אם מ׳ זו חרבה זו when one (of the two cities, Jerusalem and Caesarea) is full, the other is waste; a. fr.—Esp. a full month, of thirty days. Bekh. 58ᵃ זימנין מ׳ וכ׳ at times (in some years) it is full, at times defective, v. חָסֵר; a. fr.—Pl. מְלֵאִים, מְלֵאִין, מְלֵי׳; f. מְלֵאוֹת, מְלֵי׳. Ber. 57ᵃ; Erub. 19ᵃ, a. e. מ׳ מצות כרמון are full of good deeds as a pomegranate (is full of seeds); a. fr.—[מְלֵאָה as a noun, v. מְלֵיאָה.] e.g. Ezekiel 26:2
מְלֹא
- ch., v. מְלוֹא
מְלוֹא
- fulness, contents. Mikv. III, 1, sq. עד שיצא ממנו מְלוֹאוֹ ועוד until a quantity equal to its original contents and something besides have run off. Y. Succ. I, 51ᵈ top אכסדרה שנפרצה במְלוֹאָהּ וכ׳ an exedra which is (on one side) entirely open towards the public road. Ib. bot. כמְלוֹאוֹ של דלי as far as the bucket is let down into the water (for filling it). Ḥull. II, 3 אם יש בסכין מְלֹא צואר if the slaughtering knife has the length of the width of the neck. Kidd. 33ᵃ מ׳ עיניו as far as his eye can reach. Sabb. 30ᵃ, a. e. כמ׳ נימא as much as a hair’s breadth. Sifré Num. 160 (expl. אבן יד, Num. XXXV, 17) מ׳ יד as large as the grasp of the hand; a. fr.—[Tosef. Ohol. XVII, 3 מ׳ טימיא, v. לָטוֹמְיָא.] e.g. Numbers 35:17
מְלוֹא ²
- Targ. Y. Num. XXXV, 17. Targ. O. Deut. XXXIII, 16 (Y. ומַלְיָהּ, v. מַלְיָא II); a. e.—Ab. Zar. 29ᵃ מ׳ חמש אצבעתיה as much as one can pinch with five fingers; מ׳ אצבעיה … ומ׳ וכ׳ as much as one can pinch with thumb and little finger; a. e.
מְלֵי
- 1. to be full. Targ. Josh. III, 15; a. fr.; v. next art. Ab. Zar. 28ᵃ דלא מָלוּ תִילתא, v. תִּילְתָּא; a. e.
- 2. to fill. Targ. Gen. I, 22. Targ. Deut. VI, 11 (O. ed. Vienna מַלֵּ׳ Pa.); a. fr.—Part. מָלֵי; f. מַלְּיָא; pl. מָלָן; מַלְיָאתָא, מַלְיָיתָא. Ib. O. XXIX, 10. Targ. Josh. IX, 21 (ed. Wil. מְלָן). Targ. Gen. XXIV, 11; a. fr.
- 1. to fill. Targ. Jer. XIII, 13; a. fr.—Lev. R. s. 21 מַלּוֹי קולתיך fill thy vessel; Pesik. Aḥăré, p. 176ᵇ; Yalk. Lev. 571 מלתי (read: מַלְּאִי); Keth. 62ᵇ מַלִּי. Ab. Zar. 29ᵃ ומַלְּיֵיה מיא and fill it with water. Taan. 29ᵃ; Shebu. 10ᵃ; Pes. 77ᵃ תמוז … מַלּוּיֵי מַלְּיוּהָ they made the Tammuz of that year a full month (of thirty days); a. e.
- 2. to complement, compensate, replace. Targ. O. Gen. II, 21 ומַלִי ed. Berl. (ed. Amst. ומְ׳, corr. acc.).—B. Mets. 105ᵃ טרח ומַלְּיֵיה he took pains to make up for the loss. Ib. טרחת ומַלְּיָיתֵיה וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. למַלָּיוּתֵיה) thou didst take pains to make up &c.; a. e.—[
- 3. מ׳ על לבא to comfort. Targ. O. Gen. XXXIV, 3 ed. Berl. (v. Berl. Mass., p. 27); v., however, Kidd. 50ᵃ, quot. s. v. מְלַל II.]
- to be filled, full. Targ. Gen. VI, 13. Targ. Ex. XL, 34 א׳ ית וכ׳ (filled); 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 178 distinct written forms H4390 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; 118 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4390, 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
- מלא mᵉlâʼ H4391 to fill
- מלא mâlêʼ H4392 full
- מלא mᵉlôʼ H4393 fulness
- מלא milluʼ H4394 installation
- מלאת millêʼth H4402 fulness
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 8 — not the complete family. 2 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 231 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 242 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 1:22
- Exodus 1:7
- Leviticus 8:33
- Numbers 3:3
- Deuteronomy 1:36
- Joshua 3:15
- Judges 16:27
- 1 Samuel 16:1
- 2 Samuel 7:12
- 1 Kings 1:14
- 2 Kings 3:17
- 1 Chronicles 12:15
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.
