Hebrew word · H2986

יָבַל

yuval

to conduct

To bring, carry along or conduct, nearly always in a solemn or festive procession: tribute brought to a king (Ps 68:29; Isa 18:7; Hos 10:6), a bride escorted to the king (Ps 45:14–15), a lamb led along (Isa 53:7). The form here is passive, 'be brought or escorted.'

Appears 18 times in 18 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to bring, lead, carry, conduct, bear along

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to bear along, bring

1a2) to carry away, lead away

1a3) to lead, conduct

1b) (Hophal)

1b1) to be borne along

1b2) to be borne (to the grave)

1b3) to be brought, be led, be conducted

Aramaic equivalent: ye.val (יְבַל "to bring" H2987)

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 55:12

Range of meaning

To bring, carry along or conduct, nearly always in a solemn or festive procession: tribute brought to a king (Ps 68:29; Isa 18:7; Hos 10:6), a bride escorted to the king (Ps 45:14–15), a lamb led along (Isa 53:7). The form here is passive, 'be brought or escorted.'

Against the English

'Be led forth' (KJV, BSB) is good. YLT's 'brought in' is less fitting: the verb describes being carried along a route, not entering. 'Be led' can sound like a guide walking in front. The Hebrew picture is closer to an honored person escorted in a procession.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 45:15–16: the princess 'is led (tuval) to the king… they are led (tuvalnah) with joy (bismachot) and gladness.' This is the same verb with the same theme of joy, in a royal wedding procession. Jer 31:9: 'with pleas for mercy I will lead them (ovilem)' on the return from exile. Isa 53:7: the servant 'like a lamb led (yuval) to the slaughter.'

From the study of Psalm 45:14

Range of meaning

To carry or conduct, usually in a ceremonial or solemn way. Used of bringing gifts or tribute to a king or to God, of being led in procession, of being carried to the grave, and of a lamb 'led' to slaughter.

Against the English

'Led' or 'brought' (most versions) is accurate but plain. The Hebrew carries a sense of formal procession and presentation. It is the language of an escorted arrival.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 68:29 and 76:11 use it of bringing gifts to God or the king. Isa 18:7 and Zeph 3:10 use it of offerings being brought. Isa 55:12: 'you will be led forth in peace.' Isa 53:7 and Jer 11:19: a lamb 'led' to slaughter. Job 10:19 and 21:32: 'carried' to the grave.

From the study of Psalm 68:29

Range of meaning

In the causative forms: to bring, carry, conduct, lead along, especially in a ceremonial procession or as an offering.

Against the English

"Bring" is fine but plain. The Hebrew carries a hint of a procession: a line of bearers carrying goods to the sanctuary.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 45:14–15: the princess is "led" (tuval/tuvalnah) to the king in procession. Ps 76:11 and Isa 18:7 pair the verb with shay, apparently a fixed phrase for bringing tribute to God. Jer 11:19: a lamb "led" to slaughter.

Where it appears

Job · 3

  1. Job 10:19 אוּבָֽל׃ I was brought

    If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

  2. Job 21:30 יוּבָֽלוּ׃ they are brought forth

    Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.

    Here: 'They are led / carried.' The verb says someone leads or carries them, but not whether that is to safety or to judgment. The same verb in v. 32 describes the wicked man being carried in honour to his tomb, which suggests being escorted safely through.

  3. Job 21:32 יוּבָ֑ל he will be borne

    He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.

Psalms · 6

  1. Psalm 45:14 תּוּבַ֪ל she is brought

    In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you.

    Here: "She is escorted / led in procession." A passive form (she is the one being brought). The verb is used for solemn, ceremonial conveying, such as bringing tribute or leading someone in procession. It pictures a formal bridal procession, not a casual walk.

  2. Psalm 45:15 תּ֭וּבַלְנָה they are brought

    They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king.

  3. Psalm 60:9 יֹ֭בִלֵנִי will he bring me

    Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

  4. Psalm 68:29 יוֹבִ֖ילוּ they will bring

    Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.

    Here: A causative form meaning "they will carry / bring along." The verb is used for things or people brought in a solemn procession (Ps 45:14–15; Isa 18:7). It pictures a train of tribute-bearers coming up to the sanctuary. The verb form can be read as future ("will bring") or as something that keeps happening ("bring").

  5. Psalm 76:11 יוֹבִ֥ילוּ let them bring

    Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.

    Here: 'Let them bring': the speaker shifts from 'you' to 'they'. The verb suggests goods carried in procession. The same verb is used with the same noun in Psalm 68:29 and Isaiah 18:7 for tribute carried to Zion.

  6. Psalm 108:10 יֹ֭בִלֵנִי will he bring me

    Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 18:7 יֽוּבַל־ it will be brought

    At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of Hosts—from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people widely feared, from a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers—to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD of Hosts.

    Here: A passive form of a verb used for carrying something along in procession, especially tribute to an overlord (Hos 10:6) and gifts brought to God (Ps 68:29; 76:11). It sets up a picture of a tribute procession.

  2. Isaiah 23:7 יֹבִל֣וּהָ [which] they have carried it

    Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?

  3. Isaiah 53:7 יוּבָ֔ל it is brought

    He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

    Here: Passive: 'is led along'. Grammatically the subject could be the sheep ('a sheep that is led') or the servant ('he is led like a sheep'). Either way, someone else is doing the leading.

  4. Isaiah 55:12 תּֽוּבָל֑וּן you will be led !

    You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

    Here: A passive form: 'you will be conducted, carried along in procession.' The verb is used for bringing tribute or a bride in a festive procession (Ps 45:14–15). It has an extra -un ending, an older and more emphatic form. Someone else does the leading, and the people are escorted like honored guests.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 11:19 יוּבַ֣ל [which] it is led

    For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

    Here: A passive form: the lamb is walked along by others and has no say. The same word appears in Isaiah 53:7 in almost the same phrase.

  2. Jeremiah 31:9 אֽוֹבִילֵם֒ I will bring them

    They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”

    Here: "I will bring them along": the verb is used for escorting people or carrying tribute in a procession (Ps 45:14–15; Isa 55:12). God personally escorts the column home.

Hosea · 2

  1. Hosea 10:6 יוּבָ֔ל it will be carried

    Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.

    Here: A passive verb for something conveyed or led along. Elsewhere it is used of a bride brought to the king (Ps 45:14–15), a lamb led to slaughter (Isa 53:7), and oil shipped to Egypt as a diplomatic gift (Hos 12:1). The god cannot walk. Somebody has to haul it.

  2. Hosea 12:1 יוּבָֽל׃ it is carried

    Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

    Here: 'Is carried', a passive verb. Hosea uses the same form in 10:6 for the calf idol 'carried to Assyria' as tribute, so it suggests goods carried to a foreign king.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 3:10 יוֹבִל֖וּן they will bring !

    From beyond the rivers of Cush My worshipers, My scattered people, will bring Me an offering.

    Here: 'They will carry (it) in', a verb used for bringing tribute in procession (Psalm 68:29; 76:11; Isaiah 18:7). The extra -n ending gives a solemn, emphatic weight. The tense looks ahead: 'they shall bring'.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.