Hebrew word · H4609

מַעֲלָה

hama'alot

step

Steps or stairs (Exod 20:26; the steps of Solomon's throne, 1 Kgs 10:19; the steps of Ahaz, 2 Kgs 20:9–11), and 'the going up' (Ezra 7:9, the journey up from Babylon). It comes from 'alah, 'go up', the standard verb for travelling up to Jerusalem (Ps 122:4, 'there the tribes go up').

Appears 47 times in 39 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) step, stair

1a) step, stair

1b) steps (of sundial)

1c) stories (of heaven)

1d) ascent

1e) song of ascent

1e1) to the three great pilgrim feasts (Psalm titles)

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 Psalm 125:1

Range of meaning

Steps or stairs (Exod 20:26; the steps of Solomon's throne, 1 Kgs 10:19; the steps of Ahaz, 2 Kgs 20:9–11), and 'the going up' (Ezra 7:9, the journey up from Babylon). It comes from 'alah, 'go up', the standard verb for travelling up to Jerusalem (Ps 122:4, 'there the tribes go up').

Against the English

KJV's 'Song of degrees' uses 'degrees' in the old sense of 'steps' (Latin gradus). A modern reader hears temperature or academic degrees. 'Ascents' is clearer.

How it drifted

English 'degree' (step, rung) narrowed after the 17th century to measurement and rank, which left the KJV heading opaque.

Used elsewhere in the period

The heading appears on all fifteen psalms, 120–134. Mishnah Middot 2:5 and Sukkah 5:4 link the fifteen songs to fifteen temple steps where Levites sang during the Feast of Tabernacles.

From the study of Psalm 130:1

Range of meaning

From ʿ-l-h, 'to go up.' Means a step or stair (Exod 20:26; 1 Kgs 10:19; Ezek 40:6), a going up or journey up (Ezra 7:9, the 'going up from Babylon'), the 'steps' of a sundial (2 Kgs 20:9–11; Isa 38:8), and figuratively things that 'come up' into the mind (Ezek 11:5).

Against the English

BSB/WEB/YLT 'Ascents' is accurate. KJV 'degrees' comes through the Latin Vulgate's 'Canticum graduum' (gradus = step). It meant 'steps' in 1611, but a modern reader hears temperatures or university degrees.

How it drifted

The English word 'degree' (from Old French, from Latin gradus) once meant 'a step' as its main sense. That sense has mostly died out, so KJV readers now miss the picture of going up.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX: ᾠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν, 'song of the steps'; Vulgate: canticum graduum. Mishnah Middot 2:5 and Sukkah 5:4 speak of fifteen steps from the Court of the Women up to the Court of Israel in the Second Temple, where Levites sang, 'matching the fifteen Songs of Ascents in the Psalms.'

From the study of Psalm 122:1

Range of meaning

Steps or stairs (Exod 20:26; 1 Kgs 10:19–20), degrees on a sundial or staircase (2 Kgs 20:9–11; Isa 38:8), and a going up or journey up (Ezra 7:9, of the return from Babylon). It comes from alah, 'to go up', the standard verb for travelling to Jerusalem or to the sanctuary (Exod 34:24; 1 Sam 1:3; Ps 122:4 'where the tribes go up').

Against the English

KJV has 'A Song of degrees', following the Latin graduum ('of steps'). Modern versions have 'A Song of Ascents', which is accurate but obscure. Neither says what the ascents were. 'Degrees' especially misleads a modern reader, who may think of temperature or academic rank.

How it drifted

KJV's 'degrees' kept the older English sense 'steps', which has since died out.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalms 120–134 all carry this title. Later Jewish tradition (Mishnah Sukkah 5:4; Middot 2:5) tied the fifteen psalms to fifteen steps in the temple where Levites stood singing during the Feast of Booths. The Septuagint renders it ōdē tōn anabathmōn, 'song of the steps'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 20:26 בְמַעֲלֹ֖ת on steps

    And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 10:19 מַעֲל֣וֹת steps

    The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.

  2. 1 Kings 10:20 הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת the steps

    Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

2 Kings · 8

  1. 2 Kings 9:13 הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹת the steps

    Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

  2. 2 Kings 20:9 מַֽעֲל֔וֹת מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ steps

    And Isaiah had replied, “This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: Would you like the shadow to go forward ten steps, or back ten steps?”

    Here: 'Steps': the physical stairs of a structure built by Ahaz. They are not angular 'degrees', and nothing says how much time one step represents.

  3. 2 Kings 20:10 מַעֲל֑וֹת מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ steps

    “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”

  4. 2 Kings 20:11 בַּֽ֠מַּעֲלוֹת בְּמַעֲל֥וֹת מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ פ on the steps, on [the] steps of, steps

    So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 17:17 הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖ה the going up

    And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant and have regarded me as a man of great distinction, O LORD God.

    Here: As vowel-pointed, "the step" or "the going up," usually taken to mean height of rank. The same consonants could also be read as "the one who brings up," which would make it a description of God lifting David.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:18 מַעֲל֣וֹת steps

    The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.

  2. 2 Chronicles 9:19 הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת the steps

    Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 7:9 הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖ה the going up

    He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 3:15 הַֽמַּעֲל֔וֹת the steps

    The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.

  2. Nehemiah 12:37 מַעֲלוֹת֙ [the] steps of

    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.

Psalms · 15
Isaiah · 5

  1. Isaiah 38:8 הַֽמַּעֲל֡וֹת בְמַעֲל֨וֹת מַעֲל֑וֹת מַעֲל֔וֹת בַּֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת the steps, on [the] steps of, steps, on the steps

    I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.

Ezekiel · 9

  1. Ezekiel 11:5 וּמַעֲל֥וֹת and [the] thoughts of

    And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.

  2. Ezekiel 40:6 בְּמַֽעֲלוֹתָ֑יו on steps its

    Then he came to the gate facing east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate to be one rod deep.

    Here: "By its steps." The other outer gates have seven steps (40:22, 26). The inner gates have eight (40:31, 34, 37). Each stage inward is higher than the last. This is the same noun as in the psalm titles "Song of Ascents."

  3. Ezekiel 40:22 וּבְמַעֲל֥וֹת and by steps

    Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.

  4. Ezekiel 40:26 וּמַעֲל֤וֹת and [was] steps

    Seven steps led up to it, and its portico was opposite them; it had palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side.

  5. Ezekiel 40:31 וּמַעֲל֥וֹת and [was] steps

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

  6. Ezekiel 40:34 מַעֲל֖וֹת steps

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

  7. Ezekiel 40:37 מַעֲל֖וֹת steps

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

  8. Ezekiel 40:49 וּבַֽמַּעֲל֔וֹת and on the steps

    The portico was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep, and ten steps led up to it. There were columns by the side pillars, one on each side.

  9. Ezekiel 43:17 וּמַעֲלֹתֵ֖הוּ and steps its

    The ledge shall also be square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, with a rim of half a cubit and a gutter of a cubit all around it. The steps of the altar shall face east.”

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 9:6 מַעֲלוֹתָ֔יו stairs his

    He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is His name.

    Here: 'His steps' or 'his stairs'. The word is used for the steps up to a throne or temple and for the 'ascents' of the pilgrim psalms. It pictures a stairway rising through the sky to God's upper rooms. Many scholars read 'his upper rooms' instead (see textual notes).

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