Lexical Summary
alal: To act severely, deal with severely, make a fool of, mock, play
Original Word:עָלַל
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:`alal
Pronunciation:ah-LAHL
Phonetic Spelling:(aw-lal')
KJV: abuse, affect, X child, defile, do, glean, mock, practise, thoroughly, work (wonderfully)
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to effect thoroughly
2. specifically, to glean (also figuratively)
3. (by implication) (in a bad sense) to overdo, i.e. maltreat, be saucy to, pain, impose (also literal)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
abuse, affect, child, defile, do, glean, mock, practice,
A primitive root; to effect thoroughly; specifically, to glean (also figuratively); by implication (in a bad sense) to overdo, i.e. Maltreat, be saucy to, pain, impose (also literal) -- abuse, affect, X child, defile, do, glean, mock, practise, thoroughly, work (wonderfully).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. []
, (toward) (Late Hebrewid., deal with (rare), and derivatives; Arabic
do a thing (drink, beat, give)a second time, II.divert, occupy, seedivert, occupy oneself with (food, a woman, etc.); Syriac
cause, occasion, affair); —act severely, always with person:Perfect2masculine singularLamentations 1:22as thou hast acted severely to me (in punishment, subject);Lamentations 2:20to whom hast thou acted thusseverely ?3feminine singularLamentations 3:51my eye deals severely with me, i.e. gives me pain (?; text dubious; compare PerlesAnal.18 Bu).Imperative masculine singularLamentations 1:22deal severely with them. — See also below
Perfect3masculine singularLamentations 1:12my pain which is severely dealt out to me.
Perfect
busy, divert oneself with (compare Arabic see ), always with person: 1 singularExodus 10:2 (J)how I []have made a toy of Egypt; especiallydeal wantonly, ruthlessly with ( person): 3 masculine singular1 Samuel 6:6; 2feminine singularNumbers 22:29 (J E; Balsaam's ass); 3 plural consecutive1 Samuel 31:4 =1 Chronicles 10:4;Jeremiah 38:19;Imperfect3masculine pluralJudges 19:25 (of abusing a woman; "" ).
Infinitive constructPsalm 141:4to practise practices in wickedness (perhaps denominative).
[] (grapes or olives; of grain); —Imperfect2masculine singularLeviticus 19:10 (object ; "" ),Deuteronomy 24:21 (absolute, + ); 3 masculine plural figurative (+Infinitive absolute)Jeremiah 6:9;Judges 20:45they made a gleaning of them (i. e. smote the fugitives).
[] ; — only
ParticipleIsaiah 3:12my people — its ruler is acting the child.
III. [] (Arabic
, whence
yoke; compare Old Aramaic , , Syriac
, allenter); — only
Perfect1singularJob 16:15 figurative of humiliation.
Topical Lexicon
Breadth of Meaning and Emphasisעָלַל expresses purposeful action that stresses what one “does” with another person or object—sometimes constructive, often destructive. Its nineteen occurrences show two major spheres: (1) deliberate removal or collection (“gleaning”) and (2) deliberate dealing with people, ranging from severe judgment by God to human cruelty, mockery, or manipulation.
Divine Dealing in Salvation History
Exodus 10:2 and1 Samuel 6:6 place the verb on the lips of the LORD and the Philistine priests. Egypt’s plagues are described as how God “dealt severely” with Pharaoh so that future generations would know His supremacy: “that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt severely with the Egyptians and what signs I performed among them” (Exodus 10:2). The Philistines acknowledge the same pattern: “When He dealt severely with them, did they not send the Israelites out?” (1 Samuel 6:6). Lamentations echoes this theme during Jerusalem’s fall: “Is there any pain like my pain which was inflicted on me, which the LORD has brought on me …?” (Lamentations 1:12). Scripture therefore presents God’s “dealing” as righteous, memorable, instructional, and never arbitrary. Even judgment serves a pedagogical purpose—teaching reverence, calling for repentance, and preserving the covenant line.
Covenant Compassion Shown Through Gleaning
Leviticus 19:10 andDeuteronomy 24:21 apply עָלַל to agricultural practice: landowners must not “glean” their vines or olive trees a second time; the remnant belongs to “the poor and the foreigner.” This turns the verb toward mercy: deliberate withholding of further profit so that vulnerable people may live.Jeremiah 6:9 reverses the imagery: “Glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer over the branches.” The prophet warns that Babylon will strip Judah just as a diligent farmer strips a vine. The same metaphor that safeguards the helpless in Torah becomes an image of total loss when the nation rejects that very Torah.
The gleaning laws find a narrative showcase in the Book of Ruth and anticipate the Gospel principle that “the laborer is worthy of his wages” (Luke 10:7) while still depending on grace. In ministry, the verb reminds believers to leave margin—time, resources, influence—for the needy, mirroring God’s margin of mercy for sinners.
Human Abuse and Exploitation
When עָלַל is used of people acting against people, it almost always carries a dark hue.Judges 19:25 records one of Scripture’s most chilling sentences: the men of Gibeah “raped her and abused her (עָלַל) throughout the night.” Saul anticipates the same shame from the Philistines: “These uncircumcised men will come and abuse me” (1 Samuel 31:4; repeated in1 Chronicles 10:4). King Zedekiah fears that defectors will “abuse me” (Jeremiah 38:19). InNumbers 22:29 Balaam cries to his donkey, “You have made a fool of me!”—humiliation that leads quickly to rage.Psalm 141:4 uses the verb for “practice wicked deeds,” showing that abuse can be personal or collective, violent or subtle.
These texts form a biblical theology of oppression: personal indignity leads swiftly to societal collapse; unchecked abuse invites divine justice; the covenant community must not tolerate actions that disfigure the image of God in others.
Warfare and Total Defeat
Judges 20:45 depicts Israel “gleaning” fugitives from Benjamin—collecting scattered soldiers the way a vintager collects grapes left behind. The verb therefore paints a battlefield stripped of survivors, reinforcing the seriousness of the civil war sparked by Gibeah’s crime. When God hands a people over to such “gleaning,” moral failure has reached its harvest.
Personal Lament and Prayer
Job 16:15 (“I have buried my horn in the dust”),Lamentations 3:51 (“My eyes bring grief to my soul”), and several pleas inLamentations 1–2 employ עָלַל to express what suffering has “done” to the inner person. In each case the sufferer wrestles with the tension between present anguish and the conviction that God remains righteous. The verb thus serves devotional life by giving vocabulary to pain without surrendering faith.
Ethical and Theological Implications
1. Memory and Testimony:Exodus 10:2 mandates that God’s dealings be retold. Teaching children the acts of God is part of covenant fidelity.
2. Social Justice:Leviticus 19:10 andDeuteronomy 24:21 ground care for the marginalized in God’s own character (“I am the LORD your God”). Extreme poverty or alien status never removes a person from His concern.
3. Abuse Condemned: Passages likeJudges 19:25,1 Samuel 31:4, andJeremiah 38:19 call the church to protect the vulnerable and confront exploitation.
4. Prayerful Watchfulness:Psalm 141:4 links the heart’s inclination with outward practice; believers must pray not to “practice” what the wicked do.
5. Sovereign Justice and Mercy: Lamentations shows that God’s severe dealings are never mere wrath but a righteous response to covenant breach, always holding out the hope of restoration.
Foreshadowings in the Gospel
The severe dealings against Egypt culminate in the Passover, prefiguring Christ’s sacrifice (1 Corinthians 5:7). The gleaning laws anticipate the Gospel’s inclusion of Gentiles and the church’s diaconal calling (Acts 6:1–7). The abuse Saul fears and Jerusalem suffers foreshadows the mocking, scourging, and crucifixion of Jesus, who “was oppressed and afflicted” yet remained silent (Isaiah 53:7). Through His resurrection the ultimate outcome of God’s dealings is salvation for all who believe.
Ministry Application
• Proclaim the mighty acts of God: incorporateExodus 10:2 into family worship and corporate testimony.
• Build margin for mercy: structure personal budgets and church calendars so that “gleanings” remain for the poor.
• Confront abuse: establish accountability and transparent care structures in every ministry.
• Model lament: use Job and Lamentations to teach believers how to bring honest grief before God.
• Trust divine justice: when oppression seems unanswered, recall that the same God who “dealt severely” with Egypt will one day judge every wrong and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4).
Forms and Transliterations
הִתְעַלֵּ֣ל הִתְעַלַּ֖לְתְּ הִתְעַלַּ֙לְתִּי֙ התעלל התעללת התעללתי וְהִתְעַלְּלוּ־ וְעֹלַ֖לְתִּי וְעוֹלֵ֣ל וַיְעֹֽלְלֻ֙הוּ֙ וַיִּֽתְעַלְּלוּ־ והתעללו־ ויעללהו ויתעללו־ ועולל ועללתי יְעוֹלְל֥וּ יעוללו לְהִתְע֘וֹלֵ֤ל להתעולל עֽוֹלְלָ֣ה עוֹלֵ֛ל עוֹלַ֖ל עוֹלַ֛לְתָּ עוֹלַ֣לְתָּ עולל עוללה עוללת תְעוֹלֵ֔ל תְעוֹלֵ֖ל תעולל ‘ō·w·lal ‘ō·w·lal·tā ‘ō·w·lêl ‘ō·wl·lāh ‘ōwlal ‘ōwlaltā ‘ōwlêl ‘ōwllāh hiṯ‘allalt hiṯ‘allaltî hiṯ‘allêl hiṯ·‘al·lal·tî hiṯ·‘al·lalt hiṯ·‘al·lêl hitalLalt hitalLalti hitalLel lə·hiṯ·‘ō·w·lêl ləhiṯ‘ōwlêl lehitoLel oLal oLalta oLel olLah ṯə‘ōwlêl ṯə·‘ō·w·lêl teoLel vaiyitallelu vayoleLuhu vehitallelu veoLalti veoLel way‘ōləluhū way·‘ō·lə·lu·hū way·yiṯ·‘al·lə·lū- wayyiṯ‘alləlū- wə‘ōlaltî wə‘ōwlêl wə·‘ō·lal·tî wə·‘ō·w·lêl wə·hiṯ·‘al·lə·lū- wəhiṯ‘alləlū- yə‘ōwllū yə·‘ō·wl·lū yeolLu
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