Hebrew word · H500

אֶלְעָלֵא

'el'ale'

Elealeh

A place name. It is commonly explained as "God has gone up" or "God is exalted" (El + the root 'lh, "go up"), though the meaning is not certain.

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

What it means

§ Elealeh = "God is ascending"

a Reubenite village near Heshbon (in ruins)

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 Numbers 32:37

Range of meaning

A place name. It is commonly explained as "God has gone up" or "God is exalted" (El + the root 'lh, "go up"), though the meaning is not certain.

Against the English

English versions all transliterate it as "Elealeh".

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears only five times: here, Numbers 32:3, Isaiah 15:4 and 16:9, and Jeremiah 48:34. Each time it is paired with Heshbon. It is identified with el-'Al, about 2–3 km north-east of Tell Hesban.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 32:3 וְאֶלְעָלֵ֑ה and Elealeh

    “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,

    Here: A town just north-east of Heshbon (el-ʿAl), and the two are often named together (Isa 15:4; 16:9). The name can be read as 'God has gone up'. Like the other names, though, it works here simply as a place name.

  2. Numbers 32:37 אֶלְעָלֵ֑א Elealeh

    The Reubenites built up Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

    Here: A town just north-east of Heshbon. Every other time the Bible mentions it, it is paired with Heshbon.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 15:4 וְאֶלְעָלֵ֔ה and Elealeh

    Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voices are heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out; their souls tremble within.

  2. Isaiah 16:9 וְאֶלְעָלֵ֑ה and Elealeh

    So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 48:34 אֶלְעָלֵ֗ה Elealeh

    There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.

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