מוֹלָדָה
𐤌𐤅𐤋𐤃𐤄
Moladah
H4137 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A proper noun referring to Moladah, an inhabited settlement or town in the southern region of ancient Judah/territory of the Negev. The term is also a feminine noun derived from the root meaning 'beget, bring forth,' and can denote 'birth' or 'generation,' but in the biblical corpus it is used exclusively as a place name.
Semantic Range
name of a town in the Negev allotted to the tribe of Simeon; a place name; (by root) could connote place of birth or origin, though not contextually attested
Root / Etymology
From the root ילד (to bear, beget, bring forth). מוֹלָדָה is a feminine noun formation, likely originally meaning 'place of birth' or 'place of begetting,' which became established as a toponym (place name).
Historical & Contextual Notes
In all identifiable usages in the Hebrew Bible, מוֹלָדָה refers specifically to a geographic locality. In Joshua and the lists of towns resettled after the Babylonian exile (e.g., Joshua 15:26; 19:2; Nehemiah 11:26; 1 Chronicles 4:28), it is named among the settlements allotted to the tribe of Simeon within the territory of Judah, later associated with post-exilic repopulation. The name, drawing from the verbal root 'to bear, to beget,' likely indicated a place associated with birth, origins, or family roots, although this nuance is not elaborated in the biblical narrative. Later translations sometimes rendered it phonetically as 'Moladah,' and occasionally the connotation of 'birth' was noted in translation footnotes. There is no evidence the term was used to denote 'birth' in a general sense within the received text—its attestation is strictly as a toponym. Modern archaeological identification suggests a site in the Negev, but precise correlation is debated. The underlying root is the same as that producing מוֹלֶדֶת ('kindred, family, nativity').
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from יָלַד; birth; Moladah, a place in Palestine; Moladah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
ילד (y-l-d) — beget, bear, bring forth
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2056 | וָלָד | male-born child |
| H3205 | יָלַד | in being born |
| H3206 | יֶלֶד | the boy |
| H3207 | יַלְדָּה | the female child |
| H3208 | יַלְדוּת | in your childhood-years |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4137-01 |
וּ/מוֹלָדָֽה | umoladah | HC/Np |
and Moladah | and Birth-place | 3 |
H4137-02 |
וּ/בְ/מוֹלָדָ֖ה | uvemoladah | HC/R/Np |
and in Moladah | and in Moladah, Birthplace-town | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4137-01 |
Joshua 15:26 | וּ/מוֹלָדָֽה | umoladah | HC/Np |
and Moladah | and Birth-place |
H4137-01 |
Joshua 19:2 | וּ/מוֹלָדָֽה | umoladah | HC/Np |
and Moladah | and Birth-place |
H4137-02 |
Nehemiah 11:26 | וּ/בְ/מוֹלָדָ֖ה | uvemoladah | HC/R/Np |
and in Moladah | and in Moladah, Birthplace-town |
H4137-01 |
1 Chronicles 4:28 | וּ/מוֹלָדָ֖ה | umoladah | HC/Np |
and Moladah | and Birth-place |