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עוּל

𐤏𐤅𐤋

ʻûwl

H5763 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To nurse or suckle (as an infant or young animal); to give milk (as a mother animal). The term chiefly denotes the act of feeding at the breast, both human and animal, but can also refer to the state of a female animal being in milk or nourishing her young. In rare derivative forms, it can describe an animal as being 'with young' or 'milch' (producing milk).

Semantic Range

to suckle (as an infant or young animal), to give milk (as a mother animal), to be in milk (of animals), nourishing offspring, producing milk

Root / Etymology

Root is עול. The root meaning is 'to suckle, to feed at the breast.' The verb is the source of nouns and adjectives describing young children or animals still nursing, as well as mothers producing milk. There is a conceptual link to nourishment and early life feeding. The root is distinct from similar roots such as עָלַל (to act as a child, to play), though there may be some semantic overlap in reference to youth.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In biblical usage, עוּל most commonly pertains to nurturing and mothering, with the core association being the act of suckling. It appears in contexts describing both human and animal nursing. In post-biblical Hebrew, related forms emphasize infancy and dependency. There are few occurrences in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Isaiah 40:11), and its use often overlaps conceptually with the more common יָנַק (to suck, to nurse). Standard English translations tend to render the participial form as 'that gives suck' (KJV) or 'nursing,' but these may not capture the full sense of maternal nourishment. The term is used specifically for the literal feeding relationship and is not attested in metaphorical or figurative senses in the Hebrew Bible. The meaning is stable throughout the periods attested, without significant semantic development in later biblical or post-biblical usage.

Translation Consistency

primary "nurse" 5 occurrences

“Nurse” naturally covers feeding at the breast for humans and animals and conveys the common sense of giving milk or suckling. It is more idiomatic than the technical “suckle” and avoids the misleading active-extraction sense of “milk,” so it fits the typical uses in the SILEX range.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to suckle, i.e. give milk; milch, (ewe great) with young.

Bantu Hebrew

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

Root Family

עול (Ula) — to act wrongfully, to do injustice, to pervert (morally)

Root עול to suckle, to nourish at the breast, to give milk
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5760 עֲוִיל unjust man
H5765 עֲוַל from injustice
H5766 עֶוֶל injustice
H5767 עַוָּל indeed, however
H5768 עוֹלֵל like nursing infants

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H5763-01 עָל֔וֹת alot HVqrfpa milking to suckle nursing 5

Occurrences in Scripture

5 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H5763-01 Genesis 33:13 עָל֣וֹת alot HVqrfpa nursing to suckle nursing
H5763-01 1 Samuel 6:7 עָל֔וֹת alot HVqrfpa that have calved to suckle nursing
H5763-01 1 Samuel 6:10 עָל֔וֹת alot HVqrfpa milking to suckle to nurse
H5763-01 Isaiah 40:11 עָל֖וֹת alot HVqrfpa those with young to suckle nursing ones
H5763-01 Psalms 78:71 עָל֗וֹת alot HVqrfpa the nursing ewes to suckle the nursing ewes
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