Hebrew word · H5929
עָלֶה
'aleh
leaf
Leaf; as a singular used for a group, foliage or leafage. Probably from the root ʿ-l-h, "to go up", for what comes up on a plant (so BDB).
Appears 18 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
leaf, leafage
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 Proverbs 11:28
- Range of meaning
Leaf; as a singular used for a group, foliage or leafage. Probably from the root ʿ-l-h, "to go up", for what comes up on a plant (so BDB).
- Against the English
KJV's "as a branch" is inexact: the word means leaf or leafage, not a branch (Hebrew has other words for branch). NIV, ESV, NASB and WEB add "green", which is not in the Hebrew but is implied by "sprout". BSB's "foliage" catches the group sense well.
- How it drifted
KJV's "branch" probably came from wanting a sturdier image, or from echoes of messianic "Branch" passages. For KJV readers it can bring in the wrong picture.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Genesis 3:7 (fig leaves); 8:11 (the dove's olive leaf); Psalm 1:3: "its leaf does not wither"; Jeremiah 17:8: "its leaf stays green"; Isaiah 1:30: "like an oak whose leaf withers"; Isaiah 64:6: "we all fade like a leaf"; Ezekiel 47:12: leaves for healing.
From the study of Leviticus 26:36
- Range of meaning
'Aleh is a leaf or foliage. Nadaf means to drive away or scatter, used of wind blowing chaff (Ps 1:4), smoke dispersing (Ps 68:2), and a leaf blown about (Job 13:25). In this verse it is a passive participle: 'being driven'.
- Against the English
'Shaken leaf' (KJV), 'driven leaf' (WEB, ESV, NASB), 'windblown leaf' (BSB, NIV). All of these are acceptable. 'Driven' is closest to the verb.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Job 13:25 uses exactly the same phrase: 'Will you frighten a driven leaf ('aleh niddaf)?' There Job uses it of himself as the weakest, most worthless thing God could bother to attack. The parallel shows that the phrase stood for utter insignificance and helplessness.
Where it appears
Genesis · 2
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Genesis 3:7 עֲלֵ֣ה leafage of
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
Here: Grammatically singular ("leaf of") but used as a group noun: fig leaves, foliage.
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Genesis 8:11 עֲלֵה־ a leaf of
And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.
Leviticus · 1
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Leviticus 26:36 עָלֶ֣ה a leaf
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
Here: A single leaf: about the weakest, most harmless thing that could make a noise.
Nehemiah · 5
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Nehemiah 8:15 עֲלֵי־ וַעֲלֵי־ וַעֲלֵ֤י וַעֲלֵ֣י וַעֲלֵ֖י leaves of, and leaves of
and that they should proclaim this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”
Job · 1
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Job 13:25 הֶעָלֶ֣ה ¿ a leaf
Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff?
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 1:3 וְעָלֵ֥הוּ and leafage its
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
Here: 'And its leaf/foliage', singular but meaning all the leaves together. Green leaves in the dry season showed that a tree had a hidden water source.
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 11:28 וְ֝כֶעָלֶ֗ה and like <the> leaf
He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
Here: "And" here works as "but", setting up the contrast. The word is singular but means leafage in general, the green growth of a tree; it is placed first in its line, so the picture comes before the people it describes.
Isaiah · 3
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Isaiah 1:30 עָלֶ֑הָ <of> leafage its
For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water.
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Isaiah 34:4 עָלֶה֙ leafage
All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.
Here: 'A leaf' or 'foliage.' It is singular but can stand for the leaves as a group, like dead foliage hanging on a vine at the end of the season.
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Isaiah 64:6 כֶּֽעָלֶה֙ like <the> leafage
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
Here: 'Like the leaf.' Dry autumn foliage, the stock picture of life draining away (compare Isa 1:30; 34:4).
Jeremiah · 2
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Jeremiah 8:13 וְהֶֽעָלֶה֙ and the leafage
I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.”
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Jeremiah 17:8 עָלֵ֖הוּ leafage its
He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
Here: Singular in form but meant as a group: the tree's leafage. Leaves stay on when the roots have water.
Ezekiel · 2
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Ezekiel 47:12 עָלֵ֜הוּ וְעָלֵ֖הוּ leafage its, and leafage its
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.”
Here: 'Its leaf/leafage', a group singular for all the foliage. It sounds like 'come up' (ya'aleh) earlier in the verse.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.