Hebrew word · H3980

מַאֲכֹ֫לֶת

ma'akholet

fuel

Fuel, literally 'what is eaten', from the verb akhal, 'to eat'. It occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times in this chapter and both times with 'fire'.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

fuel

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 9:5

Range of meaning

Fuel, literally 'what is eaten', from the verb akhal, 'to eat'. It occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times in this chapter and both times with 'fire'.

Against the English

'Fuel' (BSB, WEB, KJV, YLT) is accurate, but it hides the image of eating that a Hebrew ear would catch. The Vulgate's cibus ignis, 'food of fire', keeps it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The other occurrence is Isaiah 9:19 (9:18 in Hebrew numbering): 'the people are fuel for the fire', because of God's anger at Israel. Fire that 'eats' is common Hebrew idiom, as in Deuteronomy 4:24, 'a consuming fire'.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 9:5 מַאֲכֹ֥לֶת fuel of

    For every trampling boot of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

    Here: From the common verb 'to eat', so literally 'food'. The gear that devoured the land now gets devoured.

  2. Isaiah 9:19 כְּמַאֲכֹ֣לֶת like fuel of

    By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.

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