מָלַל

From the study of Job 14:2

Range of meaning

Lexicons separate a sense 'to wither, fade, languish' from a sense 'to be cut off, cut down', and the roots overlap. The verb is related to mûl / nāmal, 'cut, circumcise' (Gen 17:11, 'you shall be circumcised', nəmaltem). The few passive uses fall right between the two: Ps 37:2 ('like grass they quickly yimmālû; like green plants they wither'), Ps 90:6 ('in the evening it yəmôlēl and dries up'), Job 18:16 ('above, his branch yimmal'), Job 24:24 ('like heads of grain they are yimmālû').

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'is cut down / cut off'. NIV, ESV, NASB, NLT and BSB have 'withers'. 'Cut down' suggests a mower or an outside blow. 'Withers' suggests a natural drying up.

How it drifted

KJV's 'cut down' follows the Vulgate's 'conteritur' ('is crushed, worn down') and the reading of the root as 'cut'. The Book of Common Prayer burial service ('He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower') fixed the reaper image in English-speaking memory.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX: exepesen, 'fell off' (petals dropping). Vulgate: conteritur. Both ancient versions took it as something done to the flower or happening to it, not simply drying. Job 24:24 (grain heads) suits 'cut'. Ps 37:2 and 90:6, where the verb is paired with 'dry up', suit 'wither'.

From the study of Job 18:16

Range of meaning

Two possible origins for this form. (1) A verb 'to fade, wither, languish', used of plants (Job 14:2; Psalm 37:2; Psalm 90:6). (2) A verb 'to be cut off / cut down' (related to the word for circumcision, mul), which is how Strong's (listing it under namal) and the KJV take it. The same form occurs in Job 14:2 (a man 'comes forth like a flower and withers / is cut down') and Job 24:24 ('cut off / withered like heads of grain').

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV: 'wither'. KJV, WEB, NASB: 'cut off'. YLT: 'cut off'. The difference is between a tree that dies from within and one that is chopped down.

How it drifted

Not a drift in English but a genuine disagreement over which Hebrew root the form comes from. The KJV followed the older lexical tradition that read 'cut off'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 90:6 pairs this verb (in a related form) with yavesh, exactly as here. That parallel is the main reason most modern lexicons and translations read 'wither' in Job 18:16.

From the study of Job 24:24

Range of meaning

Two roots look the same. (1) mālal I, "to wither, fade, languish" (Job 14:2, "like a flower he comes forth and withers"; Job 18:16; Psalm 37:2). (2) mûl/mālal II, "to cut off, circumcise"; Strong's H5243 nāmal is glossed "be cut off." The supplied data lists the lemma as "to languish" (sense 1).

Against the English

BSB, KJV, WEB, NIV and ESV say "cut off" (the harvest picture). Others render "wither" or "fade" (the drought picture). YLT has "cut off."

Used elsewhere in the period

The same verb form, yimmālû, describes withering grass in Psalm 37:2: "they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb" (some take it from a related root). Psalm 37 is a wisdom poem on the brief success of the wicked, and its themes run closely parallel to Job 24:18–24.