מָלַח
𐤌𐤋𐤇
mâlach
H4414 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To sprinkle with salt or to salt, either literally (e.g., applying salt to food, offerings, or surfaces) or metaphorically (to purify, preserve, or dedicate). The word also carries the sense of treating something with salt to preserve, purify, or ritually dedicate it, as well as the broader sense of making something last or preventing decay.
Semantic Range
to sprinkle with salt, to season food, to preserve by salting, to ritually purify by salting, to dedicate with salt, to render a place barren by salting, to rub with salt
Root / Etymology
From the root מ־ל־ח (מָלַח), directly associated with salt. The verb derives from the noun מֶלַח (salt), and while the core meaning of the root is 'to be or become salty' or 'to salt,' it also carries the metonymic sense of preservation or purification resulting from the use of salt.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, מָלַח refers primarily to the act of applying salt—most commonly in the context of ritual (e.g., Levitical offerings seasoned or sprinkled with salt; Leviticus 2:13), but also in practices such as rubbing newborns with salt (Ezekiel 16:4), which functioned as a cleansing or purifying rite. Metaphorical uses may refer to rendering land unproductive (Judges 9:45), where spreading salt symbolized a curse of barrenness and desolation. In all cases, the word interfaces with the concept of preservation, purification, and dedication. Later tradition extends 'salting' as a symbolic action in contracts or covenants (salt-covenant), although that development is more explicit in post-biblical sources. English translations typically render the verb as 'to salt' or 'to season with salt,' which generally reflects the primary meaning but may under-represent the ritual and symbolic nuances present in biblical contexts. The term should be distinguished from related words for seasoning or purification that do not involve salt specifically.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; also as denominative from מֶלַח; properly, to rub to pieces or pulverize; intransitively, to disappear as dust; to salt whether internally (to season with salt) or externally (to rub with salt); [idiom] at all, salt, season, temper together, vanish away.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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מלח (m-l-ḥ) — to salt, to season, to preserve, to purify
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4408 | מַלּוּחַ | saltwort |
| H4415 | מְלַח | we have eaten salt |
| H4416 | מְלַח | salt |
| H4417 | מֶלַח | in the salt |
| H4418 | מָלָח | worn-out rags |
Word Forms
5 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4414-02 |
מְמֻלָּ֖ח | memulach | HVPsmsa |
salted | salt-treated | 1 |
H4414-05 |
וְ/הָמְלֵ֨חַ֙ | vehamelecha | HC/VHa |
and salting | and being salted | 1 |
H4414-01 |
הֻמְלַ֔חַתְּ | humelachate | HVHp2fs |
were you rubbed | you were salted | 1 |
H4414-03 |
נִמְלָ֨חוּ֙ | nimelachu | HVNp3cp |
will vanish | they were salted | 1 |
H4414-04 |
תִּמְלָח֒ | timelach | HVqi2ms |
you shall season | you will salt | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
5 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4414-02 |
Exodus 30:35 | מְמֻלָּ֖ח | memulach | HVPsmsa |
salted | salt-treated |
H4414-04 |
Leviticus 2:13 | תִּמְלָח֒ | timelach | HVqi2ms |
you shall season | you will salt |
H4414-03 |
Isaiah 51:6 | נִמְלָ֨חוּ֙ | nimelachu | HVNp3cp |
will vanish | they were salted |
H4414-05 |
Ezekiel 16:4 | וְ/הָמְלֵ֨חַ֙ | vehamelecha | HC/VHa |
and salting | and being salted |
H4414-01 |
Ezekiel 16:4 | הֻמְלַ֔חַתְּ | humelachate | HVHp2fs |
were you rubbed | you were salted |