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Hebrew noun (feminine) · H3618

כַּלָּה

kallahkal-law'

daughter-in-law: bride

34 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: kallâh

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H3618is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 12 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 26
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H3618

a bride (as if perfect); hence, a son's wife

The King James renders it: bride, daughter-in-law, spouse.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

kallah is rendered "daughter-in-law: bride". It stands 34 times in the Hebrew text, across twelve books.

  • Seven of the uses stand in Ruth, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 11:31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.
  • The Greek text spells it twenty-six different ways.

The first use

And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

Genesis 11:31כַּלָּת֔וֹ

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

The word stands in twelve of the 39 Old Testament books.

The other 27 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • a bride6
  • daughter-in-law his6
  • bride4
  • daughter-in-law your3
  • daughter-in-law her2
  • daughters-in-law her2
  • O bride2
  • a daughter-in-law1
  • and bride1
  • and brides your1
  • and daughter-in-law his1
  • and daughters-in-law her1

and 4 more, 34 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

The words it stands beside

All 34, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

26 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • כַלָּ֑ה3
  • כַּלָּ֑ה3
  • כַּלָּת֔וֹ3
  • כַּלָּ֔ה2
  • כַּלָּ֖ה2
  • וְכַכַּלָּ֖ה1
  • וְכַלָּ֖ה1
  • וְכַלּוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם1
  • וְכַלָּת֣וֹ1
  • וְכַלֹּתֶ֔יהָ1
  • כַּכַּלָּֽה׃1
  • כַלָּה֒1

and 14 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • noun · feminine singular13HNcfsa
  • noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular6HNcfsc/Sp3ms
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singular2HNcfpc/Sp3fs
  • noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular2HNcfsc/Sp2ms
  • noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singular2HNcfsc/Sp3fs
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine plural1HC/Ncfpc/Sp2mp
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singular1HC/Ncfpc/Sp3fs
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular1HC/Ncfsa
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular1HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms
  • conjunction (“and”) + preposition with the article + noun · feminine singular1HC/Rd/Ncfsa
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine plural1HNcfpc/Sp2mp
  • noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singular1HNcfsc/Sp2fs

Genesis

four uses
  • And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

    Genesis 11:31

    • כַּלָּת֔וֹkalatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law his
  • Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

    Genesis 38:11

    • כַּלָּת֜וֹkalatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law his
  • Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “What will you give me for sleeping with you?” she inquired.

    Genesis 38:16

    • כַלָּת֖וֹkhalatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law his
  • About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

    Genesis 38:24

    • כַּלָּתֶ֔ךָkalatekhanoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law your

Leviticus

two uses
  • You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

    Leviticus 18:15

    • כַּלָּֽתְךָ֖kalatekhanoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law your
  • 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.

    Leviticus 20:12

    • כַּלָּת֔וֹkalatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law his

Ruth

seven uses
  • When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab.

    Ruth 1:6

    • וְכַלֹּתֶ֔יהָvekhaloteihaconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: and daughters-in-law her
  • Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road leading back to the land of Judah.

    Ruth 1:7

    • כַלֹּתֶ֖יהָkhaloteihanoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: daughters-in-law her
  • Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me.

    Ruth 1:8

    • כַלֹּתֶ֔יהָkhaloteihanoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: daughters-in-law her
  • So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

    Ruth 1:22

    • כַלָּתָהּ֙khalatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: daughter-in-law her
  • Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”

    Ruth 2:20

    • לְכַלָּתָ֗הּlekhalatahpreposition + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: to daughter-in-law her
  • And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”

    Ruth 2:22

    • כַּלָּתָ֑הּkalatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: daughter-in-law her
  • He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

    Ruth 4:15

    • כַלָּתֵ֤ךְkhalatekhnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: daughter-in-law your

1 Samuel

one use
  • Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her.

    1 Samuel 4:19

    • וְכַלָּת֣וֹvekhalatoconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: and daughter-in-law his

1 Chronicles

one use
  • Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.

    1 Chronicles 2:4

    • כַּלָּת֔וֹkalatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law his

Song of Solomon

six uses
  • Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summits of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.

    Song of Solomon 4:8

    • כַּלָּ֔הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: O bride
  • You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.

    Song of Solomon 4:9

    • כַלָּ֑הkhalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: bride
  • How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

    Song of Solomon 4:10

    • כַלָּ֑הkhalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: bride
  • Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon.

    Song of Solomon 4:11

    • כַּלָּ֑הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: O bride
  • My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.

    Song of Solomon 4:12

    • כַלָּ֑הkhalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: bride
  • I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.

    Song of Solomon 5:1

    • כַלָּה֒khalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: bride

Isaiah

three uses
  • Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.

    Isaiah 49:18

    • כַּכַּלָּֽה׃kakalahpreposition with the article + noun · feminine singulartagged: like the bride
  • I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

    Isaiah 61:10

    • וְכַכַּלָּ֖הvekhakkalahconjunction (“and”) + preposition with the article + noun · feminine singulartagged: and like the bride
  • For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.

    Isaiah 62:5

    • כַּלָּ֔הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a bride

Jeremiah

five uses
  • Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.

    Jeremiah 2:32

    • כַּלָּ֖הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a bride
  • I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”

    Jeremiah 7:34

    • כַּלָּ֑הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a bride
  • For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.

    Jeremiah 16:9

    • כַּלָּֽה׃kalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a bride
  • Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

    Jeremiah 25:10

    • כַּלָּ֑הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a bride
  • the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.

    Jeremiah 33:11

    • כַּלָּה֒kalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a bride

Ezekiel

one use
  • One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.

    Ezekiel 22:11

    • כַּלָּת֖וֹkalatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: daughter-in-law his

Hosea

two uses
  • They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

    Hosea 4:13

    • וְכַלּוֹתֵיכֶ֖םvekhaloteikhemconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine pluraltagged: and brides your
  • I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.

    Hosea 4:14

    • כַּלּֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙kaloteikhemnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine pluraltagged: brides your

Joel

one use
  • Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

    Joel 2:16

    • וְכַלָּ֖הvekhalahconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: and bride

Micah

one use
  • For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

    Micah 7:6

    • כַּלָּ֖הkalahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a daughter-in-law

The letters

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →