Hebrew word · H4772

מַרְגְּלוֹת

margelotav

feet

A noun built by putting the place-prefix ma- on the root for "foot" (regel). It means "the place of the feet" or "the area at the feet," and by extension the legs or lower limbs. It appears only in Ruth 3 (vv. 4, 7, 8, 14) and Daniel 10:6, where it pairs with "arms" and means the legs.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

place of the feet, feet

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 Ruth 3:7

Range of meaning

A noun built by putting the place-prefix ma- on the root for "foot" (regel). It means "the place of the feet" or "the area at the feet," and by extension the legs or lower limbs. It appears only in Ruth 3 (vv. 4, 7, 8, 14) and Daniel 10:6, where it pairs with "arms" and means the legs.

Against the English

Most English versions translate it simply as "his feet." That is acceptable, but it hides two things. First, this is not the everyday word raglayim. Second, the word names a zone of the body, not the toes alone. The NET Bible chooses "legs." Some versions add "the covering" or "the blanket" to make clear she lifted cloth.

How it drifted

English "feet" makes readers picture bare toes and an act of humble foot-uncovering. The Hebrew points to the lower part of a sleeping man's body under his cloak. The setting is more intimate than "feet" suggests, though less explicit than some modern readings claim.

Used elsewhere in the period

The matching word mĕraʾăšōt, "the place at the head," describes where Jacob's stone (Gen 28:11), Michal's household idol (1 Sam 19:13) and Saul's spear (1 Sam 26:7) lay beside a sleeper. Margəlōt is its counterpart: the space at the sleeper's feet. Daniel 10:6 ("his arms and his legs like burnished bronze") shows it can also mean the limbs themselves. Elsewhere the ordinary word raglayim sometimes serves as a euphemism for genitals (Isa 7:20; Ezek 16:25; Deut 28:57; probably Isa 6:2). The narrator of Ruth does not use that word here.

From the study of Ruth 3:8

Range of meaning

'Place of the feet', the foot-end of where someone lies; also 'legs' (Dan 10:6, paired with 'arms'). The form, 'foot' with a place-prefix, is the opposite of meraashot, 'place at the head' (Gen 28:11; 1 Sam 26:7). It is found only in Ruth 3:4, 7, 8, 14 and Dan 10:6.

Against the English

English 'at his feet' suggests his toes, or a servant's posture of bowing at someone's feet. The Hebrew means more the lower part of his sleeping place and covering: his legs, the area she uncovered (3:7).

How it drifted

Some popular teaching reads 'feet' as a sexual euphemism. That is true of the ordinary word regel in a few passages (e.g. Isa 7:20 'hair of the feet'), but margelot is a different word, and its one other use (Dan 10:6) is literal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Dan 10:6 'his arms and his legs (margelotav) like burnished bronze'. The matching place-word for the head, meraashot, appears in Gen 28:11 (stones 'at Jacob's head') and 1 Sam 26:7 (Saul's spear 'at his head').

Where it appears

Ruth · 4

  1. Ruth 3:4 מַרְגְּלֹתָ֖יו feet his

    When he lies down, note the place where he lies. Then go in and uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will explain to you what you should do.”

  2. Ruth 3:7 מַרְגְּלֹתָ֖יו feet his

    After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

    Here: "The place of his feet": the area at his feet or his lower legs. It is not the ordinary word for feet (raglayim). It is a rare place-noun built from "foot," the mirror of the word for "the place at one's head."

  3. Ruth 3:8 מַרְגְּלֹתָֽיו׃ feet his

    At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman!

    Here: Built from 'foot' (regel) with a prefix that often makes a place-noun: 'the area at his feet', 'his foot-end'. It is a rare word, found only in Ruth 3 and Daniel 10:6 (where it means the legs of a heavenly figure). Here it locates her at the bottom of his sleeping place, under the edge of his cloak she has uncovered (3:7).

  4. Ruth 3:14 מַרְגְּלוֹתָיו֙ feet his

    So she lay down at his feet until morning, but she got up before anyone else could recognize her. Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 10:6 וּמַרְגְּלֹתָ֔יו and feet his

    His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

    Here: Literally 'the feet-area', the lower legs and feet. It is used elsewhere only in Ruth 3 ('at his feet'). Arms and feet together give his whole figure, top to bottom.

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