ΒΗΛʼ, βηλʼ
BĒLʼ, bēlʼ
Sounds Like: BALE
Translations: Bel, Baal, 40
From the root: ΒΗΛ
Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Numeral
Explanation: This word, ending with a keraia (ʼ), can have two primary interpretations. Firstly, it can represent the number 40, as Greek letters were used as numerals (Beta=2, Eta=8, Lambda=30, summing to 40). Secondly, and more commonly in ancient texts, it is an elided form of the proper noun ΒΗΛ (Bel or Baal), a prominent deity worshipped in ancient Mesopotamia and Canaan, often associated with storms and fertility. The elision (coronis) indicates that a vowel has been dropped, likely at the end of the word, for phonetic reasons or poetic meter. In the provided examples, it appears to refer to the deity 'Bel' or 'Baal' in the first two instances (referencing a deity or a place named after one, like 'Baal-peor' or 'Baal-zebub'), and potentially a proper name 'Jobel' (ΙΩΒΗΛ) in the third, where the 'ΒΗΛ' part is a component of a larger name. It is a compound word when part of a larger name like 'Jobel'.
Inflection: Does not inflect (as a proper noun or numeral)
Strong’s numbers: H1078 (Lookup on BibleHub), H1079 (Lookup on BibleHub)
Instances
Codex Sinaiticus
From the same root
Below are all other words in our texts that we've cataloged as being from the same root, ΒΗΛ.
These could represent different words with related meanings, or different forms of the same word to fit different grammatical cases, numbers, or genders. This list may include spelling variants and even misspellings in the original manuscripts! Even more words from the same root may exist in other ancient texts that aren't in our database.
- ΒΗΛ — Bel, Baal
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