Hebrew word · H353
אֱיָל
'eyal
strength
Strength, vigor, help. This exact form occurs only here. It is closely related to ʾeyaluth in Ps 22:19 (Eng. 22:20), 'O my strength, come quickly to help me', and probably to the root behind ʾayil ('ram', 'leader, chief') and ʾel ('power', as in 'it is in the power of my hand', Gen 31:29).
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) strength
2) help
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
- Range of meaning
Strength, vigor, help. This exact form occurs only here. It is closely related to ʾeyaluth in Ps 22:19 (Eng. 22:20), 'O my strength, come quickly to help me', and probably to the root behind ʾayil ('ram', 'leader, chief') and ʾel ('power', as in 'it is in the power of my hand', Gen 31:29).
- Against the English
Most versions say 'strength'. The WEB says 'help', following the Greek Septuagint's abohēthētos, 'without help'.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Ps 22:19 (Heb. 22:20). The Septuagint's 'helpless' shows that ancient translators linked the strength word to rescue or help, as Ps 22:19 itself does ('my strength, hasten to my help').
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 88:4 אֱיָֽל׃ [is] strength
I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength.
Here: A rare word, found only here. It is related to ʾeyaluth, 'my strength', in Psalm 22:19 (Eng. 22:20). It means life-force or vigor: the strong man has nothing left in him.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.