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מַאֲכֹלֶת

𐤌𐤀𐤊𐤋𐤕

maʼăkôleth

H3980 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אכל to eat, consume, devour

Definition

Instrument or item used for eating, most commonly referring to a 'knife' or 'implement for slaughtering/preparing food,' especially in ritual contexts. In broader contexts, can refer to tool or implement associated with preparing or consuming food.

Semantic Range

knife, implement for eating, implement for slaughter (esp. ritual), tool for food preparation

Root / Etymology

From the root אָכַל (אכל), meaning 'to eat, consume.' The nominal pattern maqtōlet (here, ma'ăkōlet) generally indicates an instrument or means related to the action of the root—thus, 'that by which eating is done' or 'implement related to eating.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In biblical Hebrew, מַאֲכֹלֶת appears only twice (Genesis 22:6, 22:10), in the context of Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac, and refers specifically to a knife or implement for slaughter. Some English translations render it as 'knife,' but the term is more general and refers to an implement tied to food preparation or ritual slaughter. The word is from the early monarchic or even pre-monarchic period and does not persist into later biblical or post-biblical Hebrew, where other terms for 'knife' (e.g. סַכִּין) replace it. The confusion in some lexicons that it means 'fuel' derives from later rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic, influenced by its root's association with consumption or being consumed, but the contextual biblical usage supports 'knife/tool for eating or slaughter.' The KJV and some other English traditions obscure its instrumental sense with overly generic translations; modern scholarship recognizes the specific tool/implement sense as most accurate. The word is not semantically related to standard terms for 'fuel' or 'consumable' in biblical Hebrew, though this sense appears in later periods.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from אָכַל; something eaten (by fire), i.e. fuel; fuel.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אכל (ʾ-k-l) — eat, consume, devour

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H396 אֲכִילָה the edible provision
H3978 מַאֲכָל for food
H3979 מַאֲכֶלֶת the slaughter-knife
H398 אָכַל to eat
H399 אֲכַל they ate

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3980-02 מַאֲכֹ֥לֶת maakholet HNcfsc food eating-knife 1
H3980-01 כְּ/מַאֲכֹ֣לֶת kemaakholet HR/Ncfsc like fuel like an eating-implement of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3980-02 Isaiah 9:4 מַאֲכֹ֥לֶת maakholet HNcfsc food eating-knife
H3980-01 Isaiah 9:18 כְּ/מַאֲכֹ֣לֶת kemaakholet HR/Ncfsc like fuel like an eating-implement of
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