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יְלָלָה

𐤉𐤋𐤋𐤄

yᵉlâlâh

H3215 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ילל to howl, to wail, to lament loudly

Definition

A loud, lamenting wail or cry, especially of mourning, grief, or distress; the act or sound of howling, often as a ritualized or communal expression of sorrow or disaster in Israelite society. In some contexts, designates the sound itself ('howl, lamentation') and in others, the act or event of howling in response to calamity.

Semantic Range

howling, loud lament, wailing, the sound of distress, the act of public lamentation, ritualized collective wailing

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root י-ל-ל (ילל), meaning 'to howl, wail.' The term יְלָלָה is a feminine noun formed from this root, denoting both the action and the sound of howling or lamenting. The root itself is onomatopoeic, mimicking the cry or wail that it describes.

Historical & Contextual Notes

יְלָלָה is used in prophetic and poetic literature (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Micah, Zephaniah) for the response of individuals or communities to disaster, especially in oracles of judgment or lamentations over destruction. The term conveys more than simple animal howling; it references a distinctly human, often public, ritualized lament. This distinguishes it from other words for lament or weeping (e.g., בכי for 'weeping', מספד for 'mourning', קינה for 'dirge'). English translations ('howling', 'lamentation', 'wailing') may not capture the cultural dimension of communal, vocalized grief or frenzy expressed by יְלָלָה. The usage is almost always linked with calamity, distress, or judgment, frequently in parallelism with other terms for mourning or destruction.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine of יְלֵל; {a howl}; a howling.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ילל (y-l-l) — to howl, to wail, to lament loudly

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3213 יָלַל I will cause a wail
H3214 יְלֵל mournful howl
H8437 תּוֹלָל our wail-causers

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H3215-04 יִלְלָתָ֔/הּ yilelatah HNcfsc/Sp3fs its wailing her wailing howl 2
H3215-02 וִֽ/ילְלַ֖ת vilelat HC/Ncfsc and wailing and wailing-of 1
H3215-01 וִֽ/ילָלָ֖ה vilalah HC/Ncfsa and wailing lamenting wail 1
H3215-03 יִֽלְלַ֣ת yilelat HNcfsc howling wail of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H3215-04 Isaiah 15:8 יִלְלָתָ֔/הּ yilelatah HNcfsc/Sp3fs its wailing her wailing howl
H3215-04 Isaiah 15:8 יִלְלָתָֽ/הּ yilelatah-2 HNcfsc/Sp3fs its wailing her wailing howl
H3215-02 Jeremiah 25:36 וִֽ/ילְלַ֖ת vilelat HC/Ncfsc and wailing and wailing-of
H3215-01 Zephaniah 1:10 וִֽ/ילָלָ֖ה vilalah HC/Ncfsa and wailing lamenting wail
H3215-03 Zechariah 11:3 יִֽלְלַ֣ת yilelat HNcfsc howling wail of
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