Hebrew word · H1098
בְּלִיל
belil
fodder
Fodder or provender, specifically a mixed feed. It comes from balal, 'to mix, mingle, moisten', the verb in the repeated Levitical phrase about fine flour 'mixed with oil' (e.g. Leviticus 2:4–5). It is also the root the narrator plays on in Genesis 11:9 (Babel/balal).
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
fodder
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Isaiah 30:24
- Range of meaning
Fodder or provender, specifically a mixed feed. It comes from balal, 'to mix, mingle, moisten', the verb in the repeated Levitical phrase about fine flour 'mixed with oil' (e.g. Leviticus 2:4–5). It is also the root the narrator plays on in Genesis 11:9 (Babel/balal).
- Against the English
'Fodder' (BSB), 'provender' (KJV), 'feed' (WEB) are all accurate, but they lose the 'mixed' idea. NIV's 'mash' keeps a hint of it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Job 6:5: 'Does the ox low over its fodder (belilo)?' An animal with good feed has nothing to complain about. Job 24:6 is a disputed text that may also contain the word.
Where it appears
Job · 2
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 30:24 בְּלִ֥יל fodder
The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
Here: Animal feed made by mixing. It comes from the root b-l-l, 'to mix, moisten', the root behind the Levitical phrase 'mixed with oil'. Here it is a prepared feed mixture, not rough grazing or bare straw.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.