Hebrew word · H8397

תֶּ֫בֶל

tevel

perversion

Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) take tevel from the root b-l-l, 'to mix, mingle, confuse'. The same root gives balal, used for mixing flour with oil in offerings (Lev 2:4–5) and for 'confusing' the languages at Babel (Gen 11:7, 9).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 07, 2026

What it means

1) confusion (violation of nature or divine order)

1a) perversion (in sexual sin)

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 Leviticus 20:12

Range of meaning: Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) take tevel from the root b-l-l, 'to mix, mingle, confuse'. The same root gives balal, used for mixing flour with oil in offerings (Lev 2:4–5) and for 'confusing' the languages at Babel (Gen 11:7, 9). So tevel means a confusion, a mixing-up, a violation of the proper order of things. HALOT also gives 'perversion' or 'abnormality' as English equivalents for its effect.
Against the English: KJV and YLT have 'confusion'. That is close to the root, but today it sounds like mental bewilderment. BSB, WEB, ESV and NIV have 'perversion' or 'acted perversely', which gets across how serious it is but loses the picture of mixing. NASB names the act 'incest', which says what the act is but drops the word's own picture.
How it drifted: In 1611 'confusion' still kept its Latin sense of 'pouring together' (con-fundere), which matches b-l-l well. Today it mostly means being puzzled. 'Perversion' now suggests a psychological sexual disorder. The Hebrew is about crossing boundaries that God set, not about anyone's inner psychology.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Hebrew Bible it occurs only twice: Lev 18:23 (a woman with an animal) and here. Both cases blur a basic dividing line: human and animal in one, the generations of one family in the other. The Greek translation of Leviticus (the Septuagint) does not keep the picture of mixing. In Lev 18:23 it has 'it is loathsome' (μυσερόν), and here it seems to have 'for they have acted impiously; they are liable' (ἠσεβήκασιν γάρ, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν). Hittite law has a similar category, hurkel, 'a forbidden pairing', for certain incest and animal cases.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 2

Leviticus 18:23 תֶּ֥בֶל [is] confusion

You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.
Leviticus 20:12 תֶּ֥בֶל confusion

If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.

Here: A rare word, used only here and in Leviticus 18:23 (sex with an animal). It most likely comes from the root b-l-l, 'to mix, mingle, confuse'. It names the act as a blending of relationships that must stay separate. It comes first in its clause for emphasis.

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