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מִיכָאֵל

𐤌𐤉𐤊𐤀𐤋

Mikhael

H4317 noun

SILEX Entry

Root מי-כ-אל who, like, God (El)

Definition

Personal name meaning 'Who is like El?' expressing the rhetorical question of incomparability to the deity El (God). Used for a supernatural being (messenger of El, often rendered 'angel' in translation) and for various Israelites in genealogical records and narrative contexts.

Semantic Range

personal name expressing 'Who is like El?', name of a supernatural messenger (angelic being), name of various Israelites, rhetorical expression of incomparability to El

Root / Etymology

From the interrogative pronoun מִי ('who') + prepositional particle/relativizer כְּ('like, as') + אֵל ('El, God'). The formation is a theophoric compound typical of ancient Israelite names expressing themes about the divine, here in the form of a rhetorical question emphasizing El's uniqueness or incomparability.

Historical & Contextual Notes

As a personal name, מִיכָאֵל appears for several individuals in genealogies within the Hebrew Bible, reflecting the common practice of theophoric naming among Israelites. In exilic and especially post-exilic texts such as Daniel, Michael is depicted as a chief angel or heavenly prince associated with the protection of Israel; this represents a late development in the role of named angels in biblical literature. The English 'Michael' is a direct borrowing through Greek and Latin transliterations. The LXX renders it as Μιχαήλ. In the Second Temple period and later, literature and tradition expand Michael's role as a prominent angelic figure, which becomes influential in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought. However, in pre-exilic contexts, the name functions purely as a personal name without connotations of angelic hierarchy. Use of 'archangel' is a later interpretive tradition and not present in the Hebrew Bible's original usage. 'El' in the name reflects the general West Semitic term for deity, not a specific reference to later theological conceptions of God.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from מִי and (the prefix derivative from) כִּי and אֵל; who (is) like God?; Mikael, the name of an archangel and of nine Israelites; Michael.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מי-כ-אל (m-y-k-ʾ-l) — who, like, El (God)

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4317-01 מִיכָאֵֽל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El? 10
H4317-02 וּ/מִיכָאֵ֧ל umikhael HC/Np and Michael and Who-is-like-El 3

Occurrences in Scripture

13 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4317-01 Numbers 13:13 מִיכָאֵֽל mikhael HNp of Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 Daniel 10:13 מִֽיכָאֵ֗ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 Daniel 10:21 מִיכָאֵ֖ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 Daniel 12:1 מִֽיכָאֵ֜ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 Ezra 8:8 מִֽיכָאֵ֑ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 1 Chronicles 5:13 מִֽיכָאֵ֡ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 1 Chronicles 5:14 מִיכָאֵ֛ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 1 Chronicles 6:25 מִיכָאֵ֥ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-01 1 Chronicles 7:3 מִֽיכָאֵ֡ל mikhael HNp Michael Who is like El?
H4317-02 1 Chronicles 8:16 וּ/מִיכָאֵ֧ל umikhael HC/Np and Michael and Who-is-like-El
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