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תֵּבֵל

𐤕𐤁𐤋

têbêl

H8398 noun

SILEX Entry

Root יבל to flow, bring, carry, lead

Definition

The habitable world or earth, often contrasted with 'land' (אֶרֶץ), and referring to the inhabited, ordered, or settled portion of the earth as opposed to wilderness or desolation. The term is used poetically to refer to the whole world created and governed by the deity, and occasionally specific territories. The word can also refer to humanity collectively as the population of the inhabited world.

Semantic Range

inhabited world, habitable earth, the world as an ordered realm, humanity collectively, specific territory (rare), population of the world

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root יבל (y-b-l), which in related Semitic languages and in Hebrew carries the core meaning 'to flow, bring, lead, carry.' The noun תֵּבֵל is thought to signify the world or earth as a flowing, inhabited, or populated sphere. However, the connection to the root is somewhat uncertain and may reflect a traditional association rather than a clear derivational path.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In biblical usage, תֵּבֵל tends to appear in poetic texts (Psalms, Job, Isaiah), often in parallel with אֶרֶץ (land, earth) but with a broader and more universal scope. While אֶרֶץ typically refers to a specific land, territory, or even the physical earth, תֵּבֵל suggests the entirety of the world as an ordered, habitable realm, often as the creation of the deity. There is a focus on the world as inhabited and as a place of human and animal life. Later Jewish tradition adopted תֵבֵל in poetic and liturgical contexts as a term for the whole earth, but in most biblical contexts, it lacks the specific connotation of 'globe' or 'planet' that arises in modern usage. Translation as 'world' or 'inhabited earth' may obscure the ancient sense of an ordered, populated domain as opposed to the land per se. The use of the term in reference to Babylonia or Palestine stems from attempts to render the contextually-specific nuance where תֵּבֵל may refer to a recognized center of civilization, but such usage is rare in the Hebrew Bible.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from יָבַל; the earth (as moist and therefore inhabited); by extension, the globe; by implication, its inhabitants; specifically, a particular land, as Babylonia, Palestine; habitable part, world.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

יבל (y-b-l) — to flow, bring, carry, lead

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H180 אוּבָל the water-bearing stream
H2981 יְבוּל and her yield
H2986 יָבַל I will conduct them
H2987 יְבַל and to cause to bring
H2988 יָבָל streams of

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8398-02 תֵּבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world 32
H8398-04 וְ/תֵבֵ֖ל vetevel HC/Ncfsa and the world inhabited world 2
H8398-03 וּֽ/מִ/תֵּבֵ֥ל umitevel HC/R/Ncfsa and from the world and from the inhabited world 1
H8398-01 בְּ/תֵבֵ֣ל betevel HR/Ncfsc in the world in the inhabited world of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

36 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8398-02 1 Samuel 2:8 תֵּבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world
H8398-02 2 Samuel 22:16 תֵּבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 13:11 תֵּבֵל֙ tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 14:17 תֵּבֵ֛ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 14:21 תֵבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 18:3 תֵבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 24:4 תֵּבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 26:9 תֵבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 26:18 תֵבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 27:6 תֵבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world
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