Hebrew word · H5942

עִלִּי

iliyot

upper

ʿillî: upper, higher in position (used of the upper millstone, Judg 9:53 has a related form). taḥtî: lower, nether, below (used of 'the lower parts of the earth' in other contexts, but basically a spatial word).

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

What it means

upper

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 Joshua 15:19

Range of meaning

ʿillî: upper, higher in position (used of the upper millstone, Judg 9:53 has a related form). taḥtî: lower, nether, below (used of 'the lower parts of the earth' in other contexts, but basically a spatial word).

Against the English

KJV's 'nether springs' sounds archaic and to some ears mysterious, as if it meant the underworld. In fact it just means 'lower'.

How it drifted

Devotional allegory turned 'upper' and 'lower' into 'heavenly' and 'earthly' blessings. That reading is a later sermon device, not the plain meaning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paired 'upper'/'lower' place descriptions are common in Hebrew geography: Upper and Lower Beth-horon (Josh 16:3, 5) and the upper and lower pools of Jerusalem (Isa 7:3; 22:9).

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 15:19 עִלִּיּ֔וֹת upper

    “Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

    Here: Higher in position, here meaning higher up the slope or valley. It is a plain description of where they are.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 1:15 עִלִּ֔ית upper

    “Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

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