Hebrew word · H4136

מוּל

mul

opposite

In origin a noun meaning "front," used as a preposition: "in front of, opposite, facing, over against." It is often used of geographical position (Deut 1:1, "opposite Suph"; Deut 3:29, "opposite Beth-peor") and of facing someone (Exod 34:3, "in front of that mountain").

Appears 36 times in 34 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) front

1a) front

1b) in the opposite direction

prep

2) in front of

2a) in front of

2b) (with prefix)

2b1) towards the front of, to the front of, on the front of

2b2) from the front of, off the front of, close in front of, on the forefront of

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 Exodus 18:19

Range of meaning

In origin a noun meaning "front," used as a preposition: "in front of, opposite, facing, over against." It is often used of geographical position (Deut 1:1, "opposite Suph"; Deut 3:29, "opposite Beth-peor") and of facing someone (Exod 34:3, "in front of that mountain").

Against the English

Most modern versions turn the whole clause into an abstract job title, "be the people's representative before God" (BSB, NIV, NASB; ESV "represent the people before God"). KJV's "to God-ward" and YLT's "over-against God" keep the picture of Moses positioned facing God.

How it drifted

"Representative" is a reasonable summary, but to modern ears it suggests someone chosen by the people to speak for them, as in politics. The Hebrew picture is about where Moses stands: in front of the people and face to face with God. Nobody elected him. God called him (Exod 3–4), and the people had asked him to stand between them and God (compare Exod 20:19).

Used elsewhere in the period

Mûl is a spatial word throughout the Hebrew Bible. Deut 5:5 describes the same role with a similar picture: "I was standing between YHWH and you at that time, to declare to you the word of YHWH."

From the study of Exodus 39:18

Range of meaning

Mûl means 'in front of, facing, opposite'. Pānîm means 'face', and by extension 'front' or 'presence'. Together, with 'el ('toward'), they mean 'on the front side of it'.

Against the English

KJV 'before it', BSB 'at the front', WEB 'in its front', YLT 'over-against its front'. All convey the sense. YLT's wording shows the doubled Hebrew most clearly.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same phrase is used in the parallel instruction (28:25) and for the lower rings (28:27; 39:20, 'on the front of it').

From the study of Joshua 18:18

Range of meaning

In front of, opposite, facing (Exod 34:3; Deut 1:1; Josh 8:33). It is used for something seen across a gap: a mountain facing a mountain, a people facing an ark.

Against the English

KJV 'over against', WEB 'opposite', YLT 'over-against' follow the Hebrew. BSB drops the word and reads the town-name Beth-arabah instead.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has no word for 'opposite' here. Instead it has a place-name formed with Baith- ('house of'). This is why many scholars think the Hebrew mul- arose from a miscopied bet- (Beth-).

Where it appears

Exodus · 8
  1. Exodus 18:19 מ֚וּל in front of

    Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.

    Here: "In front of, facing." It is a word about physical position: Moses stands out in front of the people, face to face with God, between the two parties.

  2. Exodus 26:9 מ֖וּל [the] front of

    Join five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another. Then fold the sixth curtain over double at the front of the tent.

  3. Exodus 28:25 מ֥וּל [the] front of

    and fasten the other ends of the two chains to the two filigree settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

  4. Exodus 28:27 מִמּ֣וּל from in front of

    Make two additional gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near its seam just above its woven waistband.

  5. Exodus 28:37 מ֥וּל [the] front of

    Fasten to it a blue cord to mount it on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban.

  6. Exodus 34:3 מ֖וּל [the] front of

    No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

  7. Exodus 39:18 מ֥וּל [the] front of

    and they fastened the other ends of the two chains to the two filigree settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

    Here: 'The front (of)'. Together with the next word it means 'on the front side'.

  8. Exodus 39:20 מִמּ֣וּל from in front of

    They made two additional gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near the seam just above its woven waistband.

Leviticus · 2
  1. Leviticus 5:8 מִמּ֥וּל from in front of

    He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the front of its neck without severing it;

  2. Leviticus 8:9 מ֣וּל [the] front of

    Moses also put the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the holy diadem, on the front of the turban, as the LORD had commanded him.

Numbers · 3
  1. Numbers 8:2 מוּל֙ [the] front of

    “Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”

  2. Numbers 8:3 מוּל֙ [the] front of

    And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

  3. Numbers 22:5 מִמֻּלִֽי׃ from in front of me

    he sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

Deuteronomy · 6
  1. Deuteronomy 1:1 מ֨וֹל opposite to

    These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

  2. Deuteronomy 2:19 מ֚וּל in front of

    But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

  3. Deuteronomy 3:29 מ֖וּל opposite to

    So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

  4. Deuteronomy 4:46 מ֚וּל opposite to

    while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

  5. Deuteronomy 11:30 מ֚וּל opposite to

    Are not these mountains across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh?

  6. Deuteronomy 34:6 מ֖וּל opposite to

    And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows the location of his grave.

Joshua · 6
  1. Joshua 8:33 מ֣וּל מ֣וּל [the] front of

    All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.

    Here: 'Toward the front of' the mountain, meaning at its face or foot. It does not necessarily mean on the summit.

  2. Joshua 9:1 מ֖וּל [the] front of

    Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)—

    Here: 'To the front of / facing' Lebanon. The coast runs up to the area facing the Lebanon range. It does not name a precise border.

  3. Joshua 18:18 מוּל־ opposite to

    Then it went on to the northern slope of Beth-arabah and went down into the valley.

    Here: 'Facing' or 'opposite.' In the Hebrew text as it stands, the slope is described by what it faces: the Arabah below. If the Greek reading is right, this word replaces an original 'Beth-' (house of), and the slope belongs to the town Beth-arabah.

  4. Joshua 19:46 מ֥וּל opposite to

    Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.

  5. Joshua 22:11 מוּל֙ opposite to

    Then the Israelites received the report: “Behold, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the border of the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.”

1 Samuel · 3
  1. 1 Samuel 14:5 מ֣וּל מ֥וּל opposite to

    One cliff stood to the north toward Michmash, and the other to the south toward Geba.

  2. 1 Samuel 17:30 מ֣וּל [the] front of

    Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered.

2 Samuel · 2
  1. 2 Samuel 5:23 מִמּ֥וּל from in front of

    So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

  2. 2 Samuel 11:15 מוּל֙ [the] front of

    In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”

1 Kings · 2
  1. 1 Kings 7:5 וּמ֧וּל and [the] front

    All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

  2. 1 Kings 7:39 מִמּ֥וּל from in front of

    He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

1 Chronicles · 1
  1. 1 Chronicles 14:14 מִמּ֥וּל from [the] front of

    So David again inquired of God, who answered him, “Do not march up after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

2 Chronicles · 1
  1. 2 Chronicles 4:10 מִמּ֥וּל from in front of

    He put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

Nehemiah · 1
  1. Nehemiah 12:38 לְמ֖וֹאל to [the] front

    The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

    Here: As written, 'toward the opposite (side)': the second choir went the other way round from the first. The spelling is unusual, and many scholars correct it to 'to the left' to pair with 'to the right' in 12:31. Either way, the two choirs set off in opposite directions.

Micah · 1
  1. Micah 2:8 מִמּ֣וּל from in front of

    But of late My people have risen up like an enemy: You strip off the splendid robe from unsuspecting passersby like men returning from battle.

    Here: 'From in front of / from off'. It marks the thing being stripped away: the garment is pulled from the front of the person, or one layer pulled from off another.

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