Hebrew word · H4358
מִכְלוֹל
mikhlol
perfection
It comes from the root כלל, 'to be complete, perfect.' It means completeness or perfection, and in clothing contexts splendid, complete attire. The related word מַכְלֻלִים in Ezekiel 27:24 means 'choice garments' traded at Tyre.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) perfection, gorgeous attire
adv
2) perfectly, most gorgeously
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 Ezekiel 38:4
- Range of meaning
It comes from the root כלל, 'to be complete, perfect.' It means completeness or perfection, and in clothing contexts splendid, complete attire. The related word מַכְלֻלִים in Ezekiel 27:24 means 'choice garments' traded at Tyre.
- Against the English
KJV: 'clothed with all sorts [of armour]' (with words supplied in italics). BSB, ESV and WEB: 'in full armor.' YLT: 'clothed in perfection.' NASB: 'splendidly attired.' 'Full armor' gets the completeness but drops the sense of splendor and display.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The word occurs only here and in Ezekiel 23:12, in the exact phrase לְבֻשֵׁי מִכְלוֹל. There it describes the Assyrian 'governors and commanders… horsemen riding on horses' whom Oholibah, the figure for Jerusalem, lusted after.
Similar words
Where it appears
Ezekiel · 2
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Ezekiel 23:12 מִכְל֔וֹל perfection
She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors dressed in splendor, horsemen riding on steeds, all desirable young men.
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Ezekiel 38:4 מִכְלוֹל֙ perfection
I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army—your horses, your horsemen in full armor, and a great company armed with shields and bucklers, all brandishing their swords.
Here: 'Perfection': fully and splendidly outfitted. The word stresses how complete and impressive the gear is. It does not specifically mean armor.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.