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מֵעָל

𐤌𐤏𐤋

mêʻâl

H4606 noun

SILEX Entry

Root עַלַל to enter, to go in, to come in

Definition

(Aramaic) The act or process of going down, most often referring specifically to the setting of the sun, i.e., sunset. In context, denotes the period or event of the sun's descent below the horizon, marking the close of daytime and the beginning of evening.

Semantic Range

sunset, the setting of the sun, the act of going down (of the sun), evening (as the sun goes down)

Root / Etymology

From the Aramaic root עֲלַל (‘to enter, to come in’), though the word itself is constructed and used in Aramaic biblical materials as מֵעָל (mêʻâl), often in plural form as a singular (collective) noun. The root ע-ל-ל in Aramaic generally means 'to go in, to enter,' and the noun develops to express 'entering in' or 'coming in', applied to the sun’s act of 'going in' or 'setting.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

מֵעָל appears in Aramaic sections of the Tanakh (notably Daniel 6:14 in the context of 'before the going down of the sun'). It is a specifically Aramaic word and is not attested in standard Biblical Hebrew; in Hebrew, 'sunset' is more commonly שְׁקִיעָה or בּוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ. The use of the plural with singular meaning (so-called 'plural of abstraction' or 'plurale tantum') is characteristic of Aramaic and some other Semitic languages and does not imply multiple settings but the collective or abstract concept. Standard English translations typically render מֵעָל as 'sunset,' 'going down (of the sun),' or 'evening,' but these may lose the sense of the act or process implied in the original. Aramaic lexical development uses עֲלַל for the basic idea of entering, and by metaphorical extension, for the sun’s entering into the horizon at day’s end. The word is limited to later biblical writings, reflecting the growing use of Aramaic during the exilic and post-exilic periods among the Israelite elite and scribal classes, especially in Persian administrative contexts. Related Hebrew terms (e.g., בּוֹא for 'to come/go in' or for 'setting' of the sun) are not direct synonyms but share the aspect of movement or transition.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) from עֲלַל; (only in plural as singular) the setting (of the sun); going down.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

עלל (ʿ-l-l) — to enter, to go in, to come in

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4611 מַעֲלָל in his deeds
H5931 עִלָּה contrived pretext
H5943 עִלַּי the Exalted One
H5948 עֲלִיל refining crucible
H5949 עֲלִילָה deed

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4606-01 מֶֽעָלֵ֣י mealey ANcmpc going-up-of from sunset-enterings-of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4606-01 Daniel 6:15 מֶֽעָלֵ֣י mealey ANcmpc going-up-of from sunset-enterings-of
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