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תֵּבֵל

𐤕𐤁𐤋

têbêl

H8398 noun

SILEX Entry

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.

Translation Consistency

primary "world" 36 occurrences

têbêl denotes the habitable or inhabited earth and often the population of the inhabited world; 'world' is the most natural, widely used English noun that captures this range. Using 'world' gives a simple, consistent rendering across contexts (better than the adjectival 'inhabited').

✓ All renderings match approved senses

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

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

יבל (Yaval) — to bring, carry, flow

Root יבל 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
H2988 יָבָל streams of
H2989 יָבָל Flow-Bringer

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H8398-02 תֵּבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world 32
H8398-04 וְ/תֵבֵ֖ל vetevel HC/Ncfsa and the world inhabited world and the inhabited world 2
H8398-01 בְּ/תֵבֵ֣ל betevel HR/Ncfsc in the world in the inhabited world of in the inhabited world 1
H8398-03 וּֽ/מִ/תֵּבֵ֥ל umitevel HC/R/Ncfsa and from the world and from the inhabited world and from the inhabited world 1

Occurrences in Scripture

36 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H8398-02 1 Samuel 2:8 תֵּבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 2 Samuel 22:16 תֵּבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 13:11 תֵּבֵל֙ tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 14:17 תֵּבֵ֛ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 14:21 תֵבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 18:3 תֵבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 24:4 תֵּבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 26:9 תֵבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 26:18 תֵבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 27:6 תֵבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Isaiah 34:1 תֵּבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Jeremiah 10:12 תֵּבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Jeremiah 51:15 תֵּבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-04 Nahum 1:5 וְ/תֵבֵ֖ל vetevel HC/Ncfsa the world inhabited world and the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 9:9 תֵּבֵ֥ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 18:16 תֵּ֫בֵ֥ל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 19:5 תֵ֭בֵל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 24:1 תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 33:8 תֵבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 50:12 תֵ֝בֵ֗ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 77:19 תֵּבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 89:12 תֵּבֵ֥ל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-04 Psalms 90:2 וְ/תֵבֵ֑ל vetevel HC/Ncfsa and the world inhabited world and the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 93:1 תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 96:10 תֵּ֭בֵל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 96:13 תֵּבֵ֥ל tevel HNcfsa world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 97:4 תֵּבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 98:7 תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Psalms 98:9 תֵּבֵ֥ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Proverbs 8:26 תֵּבֵֽל tevel HNcfsa of the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-01 Proverbs 8:31 בְּ/תֵבֵ֣ל betevel HR/Ncfsc in the world in the inhabited world of in the inhabited world
H8398-03 Job 18:18 וּֽ/מִ/תֵּבֵ֥ל umitevel HC/R/Ncfsa and from the world and from the inhabited world and from the inhabited world
H8398-02 Job 34:13 תֵּבֵ֥ל tevel HNcfsa the-world inhabited world the inhabited world
H8398-02 Job 37:12 תֵבֵ֣ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 Lamentations 4:12 תֵבֵ֑ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
H8398-02 1 Chronicles 16:30 תֵּבֵ֖ל tevel HNcfsa the world inhabited world inhabited world
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