Word Study for H5953 (עָלַל) | Strong's Concordance

ʻâlal /aw-lal'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningto effect thoroughly; specifically, to glean (also figuratively); by implication (in a bad sense) to overdo, i.e. maltreat, be saucy to, pain, impose (also literal)

KJV usageabuse, affect, defile, do, glean, mock, practise, thoroughly, work (wonderfully).

Idioms & phrasesidiom child

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of ʻâlal — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word ʻâlal, represented by H5953, is a primitive root signifying to effect thoroughly. It appears 20 times across 18 unique verses in the Bible. Its meaning spans from the agricultural act of gleaning to the potent acts of God, and in a negative sense, to abuse, mock, or maltreat.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In biblical usage, H5953 describes actions that are complete or intense. It is used for God's powerful works, such as the signs He wrought in Egypt to demonstrate His power to future generations Exodus 10:2. In a darker context, it depicts severe human cruelty, as when the men of Gibeah abused the concubine throughout the night Judges 19:25. The word also carries a specific agricultural meaning, as seen in the command not to glean one's vineyard, leaving the remainder for the poor Leviticus 19:10.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words expand upon themes of action, malice, and thoroughness:

H1219 bâtsar (to gather grapes): This word is often used in parallel with the gleaning aspect of ʻâlal, describing the primary harvest before the gleaning takes place Deuteronomy 24:21. It can also mean to be inaccessible or to do mighty things Jeremiah 33:3.
H1856 dâqar (to thrust through): This term appears alongside H5953 in passages describing extreme violence, where a fear of being "thrust through" is paired with the fear of being "abused" 1 Samuel 31:4.
H5065 nâgas (oppress): This word is directly linked to H5953 in Isaiah 3:12, where children are described as their people's oppressors. It carries the sense of harassment and tyranny, as when the Suffering Servant was oppressed Isaiah 53:7.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H5953 is demonstrated in several key areas, showing how thorough action can be used for divine and human ends.

Divine Power and Judgment: The word describes God's complete and powerful interventions in history, such as when he wrought wonderfully among the Egyptians 1 Samuel 6:6. It is also used in laments to describe the thorough affliction experienced as a result of God's judgment Lamentations 1:12.
Human Cruelty and Sin: ʻâlal frequently illustrates the depths of human sin. It describes the wicked impulse to practise wicked works Psalms 141:4, the mocking King Zedekiah feared Jeremiah 38:19, and the horrific abuse of the concubine at Gibeah Judges 19:25.
Gleaning as Justice and Metaphor: The term establishes a principle of social justice, commanding that fields not be gleaned completely so the poor can gather what remains Leviticus 19:10. This same action becomes a metaphor for total judgment, where God commands Israel's enemies to throughly glean the remnant of His people like a vine Jeremiah 6:9.

Summary

In summary, H5953 is a dynamic word whose meaning is heavily shaped by its context. It can describe the thorough and powerful work of God Exodus 10:2, but it is more frequently used to depict the thoroughness of human cruelty, mockery, and abuse Judges 19:25. Its use in the context of gleaning serves as both a literal agricultural law and a powerful metaphor for complete judgment Jeremiah 6:9. The root idea of effecting something thoroughly connects these seemingly disparate applications, from divine wonders to the worst of human behavior.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 20 occurrences, inflected in 16 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

הִתְעַלְּלוּ
תְעוֹלֵל
עוֹלַלְתָּ
יִּתְעַלְּלוּ
הִתְעוֹלֵל
הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי
הִתְעַלַּלְתְּ
הִתְעַלֵּל
יְעֹלְלֻ
עֹלַלְתִּי
עוֹלֵל
יְעוֹלְלוּ
עוֹלֵל
מְעוֹלֵל
עוֹלְלָה
עוֹלַל

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 18 verses across 12 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Lamentations (4 verses); never once in the other 27.

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Judges

1 Samuel

1 Chronicles

Job

Psalms

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.