Hebrew word · H485

אֲלֻמָה

la'alumati

sheaf

A sheaf: a bundle of cut grain stalks bound together in the field before threshing.

Appears 5 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) sheaf (as something bound)

1a) of Israel returning from exile (fig.)

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 126:6

Range of meaning

A sheaf: a bundle of cut grain stalks bound together in the field before threshing.

Against the English

English 'sheaves' is accurate, though few modern readers have seen one. BSB adds 'of grain' to make it clear. NLT's 'the harvest' loses the picture of a man with his arms full.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 37:7, where Joseph's and his brothers' sheaves stand and bow. The word is rare elsewhere. The LXX translates it drágmata, 'handfuls, sheaves.'

From the study of Genesis 37:7

Range of meaning

Noun: a sheaf, a bundle of cut grain stalks tied together at harvest. Verb (the intensive form): to bind sheaves. Both are rare. The noun occurs only here (five times in vv. 7) and in Ps 126:6. The verb occurs only here.

Against the English

'Sheaves' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is exact. YLT and NLT say 'bundles' (NLT 'bundles of grain'), which is clearer to people who have never seen a harvest.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 126:6 'bringing his sheaves'. Strong's puts the verb under H0481 'be dumb (mute)'. Lexicons such as BDB and HALOT separate a root אלם I/II meaning 'bind' (the intensive form, used here) from the passive form meaning 'be mute'. Some connect the two through the idea of a 'bound' tongue. Either way, the meaning here is 'bind'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 4

  1. Genesis 37:7 אֲלֻמִּים֙ אֲלֻמָּתִ֖י אֲלֻמֹּ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם לַאֲלֻמָּתִֽי׃ sheaves, sheaf my, sheaves your, to sheaf my

    We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”

    Here: Bundles of harvested grain stalks. It is the object of the related verb before it, which makes the line sound repetitive and almost hypnotic, the way a dream might.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 126:6 אֲלֻמֹּתָֽיו׃ sheaves his

    He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

    Here: 'His sheaves': bundles of cut grain stalks tied together (as in Joseph's dream, Genesis 37:7). The plural and the 'his' stress how much there is and that it is his own: a few handfuls of seed have become armloads of harvest.

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