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Hebrew noun (masculine) · H6738

צֵל

tseltsale

shadow

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

Concordance spelling: tsêl

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H6738is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 15 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 36
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H6738

shade, whether literal or figurative

The King James renders it: defence, shade(-ow).

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

tsel is rendered "shadow". It stands 49 times in the Hebrew text, across fifteen books.

  • Eleven of the uses stand in Isaiah, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 19:8Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
  • The Greek text spells it thirty-six different ways.

The first use

Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

Genesis 19:8בְּצֵ֥ל

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

Where the word stands

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

The other 24 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

  • in shadow of9
  • like the shadow5
  • like a shadow3
  • the shadow3
  • and in shadow of2
  • in a shade2
  • in shade its2
  • shade2
  • shade its2
  • shade your2
  • shadow of2
  • a shade1

and 14 more, 49 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.

צֵלָעtselasideUses40
צֵלֶלtselelshadowUses4
צֵלָחָהtselachahpotUses1

All 49, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

36 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

  • בְּצֵ֥ל9
  • בְּצֵ֣ל2
  • כְּצֵ֣ל2
  • כַּצֵּ֑ל2
  • צֵ֣ל2
  • צִלָּ֑הּ2
  • בַּצֵּ֔ל1
  • בְּצֵל־1
  • בְצִלָּ֑הּ1
  • בְצִלּ֖וֹ1
  • בְצִלּ֔וֹ1
  • בְּצִלּוֹ֙1

and 24 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)11HR/Ncmsc
  • preposition with the article + noun · masculine singular7HRd/Ncmsa
  • preposition + noun · masculine singular6HR/Ncmsa
  • preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular5HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms
  • noun · masculine singular4HNcmsa
  • conjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)3HC/R/Ncmsc
  • the definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singular3HTd/Ncmsa
  • noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)2HNcmsc
  • noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singular2HNcmsc/Sp3fs
  • conjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular1HC/R/Ncmsc/Sp3ms
  • noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singular1HNcmsc/Sp2fs
  • noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular1HNcmsc/Sp2ms

Genesis

one use
  • Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

    Genesis 19:8

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of

Numbers

one use
  • Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”

    Numbers 14:9

    • צִלָּ֧םtzilamnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: shade their

Judges

two uses
  • But the thornbush replied, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

    Judges 9:15

    • בְצִלִּ֑יvetzilipreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: in shade my
  • When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!” But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”

    Judges 9:36

    • צֵ֧לtzelnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: shadow of

2 Kings

four uses
  • 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?”

    2 Kings 20:9

    • הַצֵּל֙hatzelthe definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: the shadow
  • “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”

    2 Kings 20:10

    • לַצֵּ֔לlatzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: to the shadow
    • הַצֵּ֛לhatzelthe definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: the shadow
  • 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.

    2 Kings 20:11

    • הַצֵּ֗לhatzelthe definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: the shadow

1 Chronicles

one use
  • For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

    1 Chronicles 29:15

    • כַּצֵּ֧ל׀katzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: like the shadow

Job

four uses
  • Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.

    Job 7:2

    • צֵ֑לtzelnoun · masculine singulartagged: shade
  • For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

    Job 8:9

    • צֵ֖לtzelnoun · masculine singulartagged: a shadow
  • Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

    Job 14:2

    • כַּ֝צֵּ֗לkatzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: like the shadow
  • My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow.

    Job 17:7

    • כַּצֵּ֣לkatzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: like the shadow

Psalms

ten uses
  • Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

    Psalms 17:8

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!

    Psalms 36:7

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.

    Psalms 57:1

    • וּבְצֵֽל־uvetzel-conjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and in shadow of
  • For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.

    Psalms 63:7

    • וּבְצֵ֖לuvetzelconjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and in shadow of
  • The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches.

    Psalms 80:10

    • צִלָּ֑הּtzilahnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: shade its
  • He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

    Psalms 91:1

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.

    Psalms 102:11

    • כְּצֵ֣לketzelpreposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: like a shadow
  • I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.

    Psalms 109:23

    • כְּצֵל־ketzel-preposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: like a shadow
  • The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand.

    Psalms 121:5

    • צִ֝לְּךָ֗tzilekhanoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: shade your
  • Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

    Psalms 144:4

    • כְּצֵ֣לketzelpreposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: like a shadow

Ecclesiastes

four uses
  • For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

    Ecclesiastes 6:12

    • כַּצֵּ֑לkatzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: like the shadow
  • For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

    Ecclesiastes 7:12

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: in a shade
    • בְּצֵ֣לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: in a shade
  • Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

    Ecclesiastes 8:13

    • כַּצֵּ֑לkatzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: like the shadow

Song of Solomon

one use
  • Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

    Song of Solomon 2:3

    • בְּצִלּוֹ֙betzilopreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: in shade his

Isaiah

eleven uses
  • a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and the rain.

    Isaiah 4:6

    • לְצֵל־letzel-preposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: for shade
  • “Give us counsel; render a decision. Shelter us at noonday with shade as dark as night. Hide the refugees; do not betray the one who flees.

    Isaiah 16:3

    • צִלֵּ֖ךְtzilekhnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: shade your
  • For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,

    Isaiah 25:4

    • צֵ֣לtzelnoun · masculine singulartagged: a shade
  • like heat in a dry land. You subdue the uproar of foreigners. As the shade of a cloud cools the heat, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

    Isaiah 25:5

    • בְּצֵ֣לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shade of
  • They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.

    Isaiah 30:2

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.

    Isaiah 30:3

    • בְּצֵל־betzel-preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.

    Isaiah 32:2

    • כְּצֵ֥לketzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: like shadow of
  • There the owl will make her nest; she will lay and hatch her eggs and gather her brood under her shadow. Even there the birds of prey will gather, each with its mate.

    Isaiah 34:15

    • בְצִלָּ֑הּvetzilahpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: in shadow its
  • 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.

    Isaiah 38:8

    • צֵ֣לtzelnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: shadow of
  • He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

    Isaiah 49:2

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

    Isaiah 51:16

    • וּבְצֵ֥לuvetzelconjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and with shadow of

Jeremiah

one use
  • “Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.

    Jeremiah 48:45

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of

Lamentations

one use
  • The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. We had said of him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.”

    Lamentations 4:20

    • בְּצִלּ֖וֹbetzilopreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: in shadow his

Ezekiel

four uses
  • I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches.

    Ezekiel 17:23

    • בְּצֵ֥לbetzelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in shadow of
  • All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.

    Ezekiel 31:6

    • וּבְצִלּוֹ֙uvetziloconjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: and in shade its
  • Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

    Ezekiel 31:12

    • מִצִּלּ֛וֹmitzilopreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: from shade its
  • They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

    Ezekiel 31:17

    • בְצִלּ֖וֹvetzilopreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: in shade its

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

    • צִלָּ֑הּtzilahnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: shade its
  • They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

    Hosea 14:7

    • בְצִלּ֔וֹvetzilopreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: in shade its

Jonah

two uses
  • Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of it, where he made himself a shelter and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city.

    Jonah 4:5

    • בַּצֵּ֔לbatzelpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: in the shade
  • So the LORD God appointed a vine, and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.

    Jonah 4:6

    • צֵל֙tzelnoun · masculine singulartagged: shade

The letters

Gematria 120

Where it leads

Studies that open this word1

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.

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 →