Hebrew word · H5948
עֲלִיל
ba'alil
furnace
Found only here in the Bible, so its meaning is uncertain. Lexicons give 'furnace', 'crucible', or possibly 'workshop'. Some older interpreters read baʿălîl as an adverb, 'clearly, openly'.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
furnace, crucible
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
- Range of meaning
Found only here in the Bible, so its meaning is uncertain. Lexicons give 'furnace', 'crucible', or possibly 'workshop'. Some older interpreters read baʿălîl as an adverb, 'clearly, openly'.
- Against the English
KJV/YLT 'furnace of earth', WEB 'clay furnace', BSB 'furnace', NIV 'crucible', ESV/NASB 'furnace on the ground'. All are reasonable guesses from the context.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint translates loosely (dokimion, 'a testing'), which suggests the translators also did not know the word. Jerome's translation from the Hebrew has 'in a furnace (camino) of earth'. In archaeology, silver was separated from lead ore by heating it in porous clay vessels (cupels) or in small hearths set into the ground. Either could be meant by 'to/of the earth'.
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 12:6 בַּעֲלִ֣יל in a crucible
The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.
Here: 'In a crucible' or 'in a furnace'. The word occurs only here in the Bible. The context shows it is the vessel or place where silver is refined, but its exact sense is uncertain.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.