Hebrew word · H6425

פֶּ֫לֶס

peles

balance

A balance or scale. It may name the beam of the balance or a steelyard (a one-arm balance with a sliding weight), as distinct from the pans. A related verb means 'to level, make even, weigh out'.

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

What it means

balance, scale

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 Isaiah 40:12

Range of meaning

A balance or scale. It may name the beam of the balance or a steelyard (a one-arm balance with a sliding weight), as distinct from the pans. A related verb means 'to level, make even, weigh out'.

Against the English

English versions use 'scales' and 'balance' as if they were the same word. Hebrew uses two terms here: peles, the beam or balance, and mōʾzənayim, the pair of pans. Both are market tools.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 16:11: 'Honest peles and moznayim belong to the LORD; all the weights in the bag are his work.' The related verb is used in Isa 26:7 (God 'levels' the path) and Ps 58:2 ('you weigh out violence'). Mōʾzənayim appears in Lev 19:36 ('just balances'), Prov 11:1, and in Aramaic in Dan 5:27 ('weighed in the balances').

From the study of Proverbs 16:11

Range of meaning

A weighing instrument. It may be the whole balance, or a particular part of it, such as the beam or the pointer that shows when the beam hangs level. The related verb palas means 'to weigh out, to make level or smooth' (e.g. Prov 4:26; 5:6, 21; Ps 58:2 [Eng. 58:2–3]).

Against the English

KJV and ESV say 'weight' or 'balance', NIV and BSB say 'scales', YLT says 'beam'. YLT's 'beam' guesses that a particular part is meant. The other versions treat peles and moznayim as near-synonyms for one device.

Used elsewhere in the period

The only other use is Isaiah 40:12: 'who weighed the mountains in a peles and the hills in moznayim'. Lexicons (HALOT, BDB) list it as a balance or scale. Its exact technical meaning is uncertain.

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 16:11 פֶּ֤לֶס׀ a balance

    Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern.

    Here: A weighing instrument. The word is rare: it appears only here and in Isaiah 40:12, where God weighs the mountains in a peles. It comes from a verb meaning 'to weigh out, make level', so it points to a scale that has to come out level and true.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 40:12 בַּפֶּ֙לֶס֙ with <the> balance

    Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

    Here: A weighing instrument, probably the beam balance itself or a steelyard, the kind a merchant held up in the hand. Mountains are hung on it like a bag of silver.

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