אֲלָפִים֩

𐤀𐤋𐤐𐤉𐤌

alafim

thousands

prop, the same as אֶלֶף; hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand; thousand.

H505

1 Chronicles 21:5 · Word #13

Lexicon H505

Lemmaאֶלֶף
Lemma (Paleo)𐤀𐤋𐤐
Transliterationʼeleph
Strong'sH505
In-contextthousands

Morphology HAcbpa All morphology codes

Part of Speech A — Adjective — Describes a noun
Subtype c — Cardinal Number — Cardinal number
Gender b — Both — Both (masculine and feminine)
Number p — Plural — Plural
State a — Absolute — The noun stands independently

SIBI-P1 H505-01

thousands

Rootאלף (ʾ-l-p)
Core Meaningsox, cattle, clan-unit, thousand, group
Semantic Rangea thousand (numerical), large indefinite number, clan or tribal subdivision, military contingent, group associated with cattle or property
Conceptual SignificanceIn the Hebrew Bible, אֶלֶף functions both as a precise number and as a social unit (clan or military division), reflecting Israel’s tribal organization. Its dual sense bridges numerical counting and covenantal community structure, often conveying magnitude, blessing, or military strength.
Morphological NotesMasculine plural absolute noun (common noun), from אֶלֶף (ʼeleph). No pronominal suffix; simple plural form.
Rendering RationaleThe form אֲלָפִים is a masculine plural absolute noun from אֶלֶף, meaning "thousand" or a large clan-unit. Rendering it as "thousands" preserves the plural number indicated by the morphology (masculine plural absolute) and reflects the word’s development from a concrete clan or cattle-group into a standard numerical unit.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root אלף (ox, cattle, clan-unit, thousand, group)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H504-01 alafeykha your clan-thousands
H505-02 alef a thousand-unit
H505-03 alefey thousands of
H505-04 alepayim two clan-thousands
H441-01 aluf clan-chief
H441-02 alufey trained chiefs of
H505-05 baalafayv in his thousands
H505-06 bealefey in thousands of
H505-07 beelef in a thousand
H505-08 elef a thousand
H505-09 haalafim the thousands
H505-10 haalef the thousand
H505-11 haelef the Thousand
H505-12 kealepayim as two-thousands
H505-13 keelef like a thousand
H505-14 laalafim to thousands
H505-15 laelef to the thousand
H505-16 lealef to a thousand-clan
H505-17 lealefey to thousands of
H505-18 leelef to a thousand
H505-19 mealef than a clan-thousand
H505-20 mealefey from the thousands of
H505-21 meelef from a thousand
H505-22 ulealefeykhem and to your thousands
H505-23 vaalef and one thousand
H505-24 vaelef and a thousand
H505-25 vealepayim and two thousand
H505-26 veelef and one thousand
H505-27 velaalafim and to the thousands
H505-28 vlfv in his thousands

Word Usage (507 occurrences of H505)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 20:16 אֶ֤לֶף elef a thousand
Genesis 24:60 לְ/אַלְפֵ֣י lealefey thousands of
Exodus 12:37 אֶ֧לֶף elef thousand