Hebrew word · H5950

עֲלִילִיָּה

ha'aliliyah

deed

Found only here in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from the root ʿ-l-l, 'to act, to deal (with someone)', sometimes 'to deal severely' (1 Sam 6:6; Lam 1:22).

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

deed

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 Jeremiah 32:19

Range of meaning

Found only here in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from the root ʿ-l-l, 'to act, to deal (with someone)', sometimes 'to deal severely' (1 Sam 6:6; Lam 1:22). Related nouns: 'alilah, 'deed, exploit', used of God's mighty acts (Ps 9:11; 77:12; 105:1) and of wanton human deeds (Ezek 14:22–23), and ma'alal, 'practice, deed'.

Against the English

'Work' (KJV, WEB), 'deed' (BSB, ESV, NASB), 'act' (YLT), 'deeds' (NIV). NLT's 'miracles' narrows it too much: the word covers all of God's acting in history, including judgment, not only wonders (though verse 20 goes on to the signs in Egypt).

Used elsewhere in the period

Since this exact form occurs only here, its meaning comes from its root and its sister nouns. The Vulgate seems to have read it as 'incomprehensible in thought' (incomprehensibilis cogitatu), apparently a guess. That shows ancient translators also found the rare word difficult.

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 32:19 הָעֲלִֽילִיָּ֑ה <the> deed[s]

    the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

    Here: A word found only here in the Bible, from the root ʿ-l-l, 'to act, to deal with'. It names God's action in history. The same root comes back at the end of the verse in human 'deeds' (ma'alalav).

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