Hebrew noun (feminine) · H4609
מַעֲלָה
maalahmah-al-aw'
thought; step
32 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: maʻălâh
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H4609is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 10 of 39Old Testament books
- 25spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H4609
elevation, i.e. the act (literally, a journey to a higher place, figuratively, a thought arising), or (concretely) the condition (literally, a step or grademark, figuratively, a superiority of station); specifically a climactic progression (in certain Psalms)
The King James renders it: things that come up, (high) degree, deal, go up, stair, step, story.
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
maalah is rendered "thought; step". It stands 32 times in the Hebrew text, across ten books.
- Nine of the uses stand in Ezekiel, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "thought".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Exodus 20:26And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’
- The Greek text spells it twenty-five different ways.
The first use
And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’
Exodus 20:26בְמַעֲלֹ֖ת
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Nine of the word's thirty-two uses are in Ezekiel.
What the word means
The word carries two meanings: thought, and step.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| thoughtStrong's entry A | Tagged aslisted under the table | WhereExodus 20:26And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’ |
| stepStrong's entry B | Tagged aslisted under the table | Wherein the ledger below |
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- steps11
- the steps5
- and steps2
- on steps of2
- on the steps2
- the going up2
- and by steps1
- and on the steps1
- and steps its1
- and thoughts of1
- on steps1
- on steps its1
and 2 more, 32 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.
| Word | Written | Meaning | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| מַעֲשֶׂה | maaseh | deed: work | Uses236 |
| מַעֲלָל | maalal | deed | Uses41 |
| מַעֲשֵׂר | maaser | tithe | Uses32 |
| מַעֲרָכָה | maarakah | rank | Uses19 |
| מַעֲלֶה | maaleh | ascent | Uses18 |
| מַעֲרָב | maarab | west | Uses14 |
| מַעֲבָר | maabar | ford | Uses11 |
| מַעֲרֶכֶת | maareketh | row | Uses10 |
| מַעֲרָב | maarab | merchandise | Uses9 |
| מַעֲכָתִי | Maakathi | Maacathite | Uses8 |
| מַעֲנֶה | maaneh | answer | Uses7 |
| מַעֲמָד | maamad | office | Uses5 |
and 18 more on the stem.
The words it stands beside
All 32, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
25 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
- הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖ה2
- הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת2
- וּמַעֲל֥וֹת2
- מַעֲל֣וֹת2
- מַעֲל֑וֹת2
- מַעֲל֖וֹת2
- מַעֲלֽוֹת׃2
- בְמַעֲל֨וֹת1
- בְּמַעֲל֥וֹת1
- בַּֽ֠מַּעֲלוֹת1
- בַּֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת1
- בְּמַֽעֲלוֹתָ֑יו1
and 13 more spellings in the ledger below.
The grammar of each form
- noun · feminine plural11HNcfpa
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine plural5HTd/Ncfpa
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural2HC/Ncfpa
- preposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)2HR/Ncfpc
- preposition with the article + noun · feminine plural2HRd/Ncfpa
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singular2HTd/Ncfsa
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)1HC/Ncfpc
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular1HC/Ncfpc/Sp3ms
- conjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · feminine plural1HC/R/Ncfpa
- conjunction (“and”) + preposition with the article + noun · feminine plural1HC/Rd/Ncfpa
- noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)1HNcfpc
- noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular1HNcfpc/Sp3ms
Exodus
one use
And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’
- בְמַעֲלֹ֖תvemaalotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: on steps
1 Kings
two uses
The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
- מַעֲל֣וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
- הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹתhamaalotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the steps
2 Kings
eight uses
Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”
- הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹתhamaalotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the steps
And Isaiah had replied, “This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: Would you like the shadow to go forward ten steps, or back ten steps?”
- מַֽעֲל֔וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
- מַעֲלֽוֹת׃maalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”
- מַעֲל֑וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
- מַעֲלֽוֹת׃maalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.
- בַּֽ֠מַּעֲלוֹתbamaalotpreposition with the article + noun · feminine pluraltagged: on the steps
- בְּמַעֲל֥וֹתbemaalotpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: on steps of
- מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ פmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
1 Chronicles
one use
And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant and have regarded me as a man of great distinction, O LORD God.
- הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖הhamaalahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the going up
2 Chronicles
two uses
The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest.
- מַעֲל֣וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
- הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹתhamaalotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the steps
Ezra
one use
He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.
- הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖הhamaalahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the going up
Nehemiah
two uses
The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.
- הַֽמַּעֲל֔וֹתhamaalotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the steps
At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
- מַעֲלוֹת֙maalotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: steps of
Isaiah
five uses
I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.
- הַֽמַּעֲל֡וֹתhamaalotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the steps
- בְמַעֲל֨וֹתvemaalotpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: on steps of
- מַעֲל֑וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
- מַעֲל֔וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
- בַּֽמַּעֲל֖וֹתbamaalotpreposition with the article + noun · feminine pluraltagged: on the steps
Ezekiel
nine uses
And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds.
- וּמַעֲל֥וֹתumaalotconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and thoughts of
Then he came to the gate facing east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate to be one rod deep.
- בְּמַֽעֲלוֹתָ֑יוbemaalotovpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: on steps its
Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.
- וּבְמַעֲל֥וֹתuvemaalotconjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: and by steps
Seven steps led up to it, and its portico was opposite them; it had palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side.
- וּמַעֲל֤וֹתumaalotconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: and steps
Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees. Eight steps led up to it.
- וּמַעֲל֥וֹתumaalotconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: and steps
Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.
- מַעֲל֖וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.
- מַעֲל֖וֹתmaalotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: steps
The portico was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep, and ten steps led up to it. There were columns by the side pillars, one on each side.
- וּבַֽמַּעֲל֔וֹתuvamaalotconjunction (“and”) + preposition with the article + noun · feminine pluraltagged: and on the steps
The ledge shall also be square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, with a rim of half a cubit and a gutter of a cubit all around it. The steps of the altar shall face east.”
- וּמַעֲלֹתֵ֖הוּumaalotehuconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: and steps its
Amos
one use
He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is His name.
- מַעֲלוֹתָ֔יוmaalotovnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: stairs his
Where it leads
Studies that open this word2
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.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.