Hebrew word · H4608

מַעֲלֶה

ma'aleh

ascent

Ma'aleh is an ascent, slope or pass, often part of a road or boundary name (the 'Ascent of Akrabbim', Num 34:4; the 'Ascent of Adummim', Josh 15:7). Beth-horon, 'house of Horon', names twin towns (Upper and Lower) on a ridge road.

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

What it means

ascent, incline

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 Joshua 10:10

Range of meaning

Ma'aleh is an ascent, slope or pass, often part of a road or boundary name (the 'Ascent of Akrabbim', Num 34:4; the 'Ascent of Adummim', Josh 15:7). Beth-horon, 'house of Horon', names twin towns (Upper and Lower) on a ridge road.

Against the English

KJV 'the way that goeth up to Beth-horon'; BSB 'the ascent to Beth-horon'; WEB and YLT 'the way of the ascent of Beth Horon'. The more literal versions keep the sense that this is a named route.

Used elsewhere in the period

Beth-horon is the main pass from the central hills down to the coastal plain. Later battles were fought on the same road: Judas Maccabeus defeated the Seleucid commander Seron there (1 Macc 3:13–24), and the Roman legate Cestius Gallus's army was routed on its descent in AD 66 (Josephus, Jewish War 2.546–555).

From the study of 2 Samuel 15:30

Range of meaning

'The ascent of the olives': the slope and road up the ridge east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley, named for its olive groves.

Against the English

BSB and NIV say 'the Mount of Olives', which names the hill but drops the idea of a road up it. KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB keep 'ascent'. YLT keeps the plain 'the olives'.

How it drifted

Because of the Gospels, 'Mount of Olives' brings Jesus to mind for Christian readers. The original wording describes a working road through olive groves on the way east toward Jericho and the Jordan.

Used elsewhere in the period

This is its only Old Testament mention under this description. Zechariah 14:4 calls it 'the Mount of Olives' (har hazzeitim), and 2 Kings 23:13 may refer to part of it as the 'Mount of Corruption'. In the New Testament it is Jesus' route and place of prayer (Luke 22:39; John 18:1).

From the study of Joshua 18:17

Range of meaning

ma'aleh means "ascent, slope, pass" (from 'alah, "go up"). 'adummim is a plural of 'adom, "red": "the red ones", that is, the red rocks.

Against the English

The BSB's "Ascent of Adummim" and the KJV's "the going up of Adummim" are accurate, but the colour the name describes is lost to English readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Also in Josh 15:7. Eusebius's Onomasticon (4th century AD) knows the place as Maledomni on the Jerusalem–Jericho road. The Arabic Talʿat ed-Damm ("ascent of blood") preserves the red association.

Where it appears

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 10:10 מַעֲלֵ֣ה [the] ascent of

    And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

    Here: 'The ascent of', the name of the climbing road and pass. It is a road name, so it does not have to mean the fleeing army was going uphill (see v. 11, 'the descent').

  2. Joshua 15:3 לְמַעֲלֵ֤ה of [the] ascent of

    proceeded south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continued on to Zin, went over to the south of Kadesh-barnea, ran past Hezron up to Addar, and curved toward Karka.

  3. Joshua 15:7 לְמַעֲלֵ֣ה to [the] ascent of

    Then the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning north to Gilgal, which faces the Ascent of Adummim south of the ravine. It continued along the waters of En-shemesh and came out at En-rogel.

  4. Joshua 18:17 מַעֲלֵ֣ה [the] ascent of

    From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

    Here: A "going-up": a steep pass on a road. Here it is the climb on the Jericho–Jerusalem route.

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 1:36 מִֽמַּעֲלֵ֖ה [was] from [the] ascent of

    And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.

  2. Judges 8:13 מִֽלְמַעֲלֵ֖ה from to [the] ascent of

    After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 9:11 בְּמַעֲלֵ֣ה on [the] ascent of

    And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here?”

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 15:30 בְמַעֲלֵ֨ה on [the] ascent of

    But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

    Here: A slope or climbing road, from the same root as 'go up'. It names the path up the hillside east of Jerusalem, not the summit.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 9:27 בְּמַֽעֲלֵה־ at [the] ascent of

    When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:16 בְּמַעֲלֵ֣ה on [the] ascent of

    Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.

  2. 2 Chronicles 32:33 בְּֽמַעֲלֵה֮ at [the] ascent of

    And Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried in the upper tombs of David’s descendants. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. And his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 9:4 מַֽעֲלֵ֣ה [the] platform of

    And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.

  2. Nehemiah 12:37 בַּֽמַּעֲלֶ֖ה at the ascent

    At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 15:5 מַעֲלֵ֣ה [the] ascent of

    My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.

    Here: A climbing road up a slope. The word shares its root with 'goes up' later in the line, so the Hebrew says 'the going-up… he goes up it'.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 48:5 מַעֲלֵ֣ה [the] ascent of

    For on the ascent to Luhith they weep bitterly as they go, and on the descent to Horonaim cries of distress resound over the destruction:

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 40:31 מַעֲלָֽיו׃ ascents its

    Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees. Eight steps led up to it.

  2. Ezekiel 40:34 מַעֲלָֽיו׃ ascents its

    Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

  3. Ezekiel 40:37 מַעֲלָֽיו׃ ascents its

    Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

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