Lexical Summary
talah: To hang, suspend
Original Word:תָּלָה
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:talah
Pronunciation:tah-LAH
Phonetic Spelling:(taw-law')
KJV: hang (up)
NASB:hanged, hung, hang, hanging, hangs
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to suspend (especially to gibbet)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
hang up
A primitive root; to suspend (especially to gibbet) -- hang (up).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto hang
NASB Translationhang (5), hanged (13), hanging (2), hangs (1), hung (7).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id.; Assyrian Pi`el
tullû,
hang up; Arabic
let down, dangle (a rope, etc.); Aramaic ,
hang; perhaps Old Aramaic
id., Lzb
386; Ethiopic
in derived sense,
be devoted, addicted, to); —
Perfect3masculine singularGenesis 40:22 +; 2 masculine singularDeuteronomy 21:22 consecutive; 3 pluralEsther 8:7;Esther 9:14 suffix2 Samuel 21:12 Kt (Qr see ), etc.;Imperfect3masculine singular suffixJoshua 10:26, etc.;Imperative masculine plural suffixEsther 7:9;Infinitive constructEzekiel 15:3;Esther 6:4;Participle activeJob 26:7;passiveDeuteronomy 31:23 2t., pluralJoshua 10:26; —hang:
hang up any object: accusative of hands and feet of slain, +2 Samuel 4:12; of Absalomin the terebinth2 Samuel 18:10; with accusative of thing, +Isaiah 22:24;Ezekiel 15:3;Songs 4:4;Psalm 137:2; subject ,Job 26:7.
specificallyput to death by hanging, with accusative of personGenesis 40:22;Genesis 41:13 (both E),2 Samuel 21:12 (compare ),Esther 9:14; absoluteDeuteronomy 21:23one hanged; accusative of person +Genesis 40:19 (E),Deuteronomy 21:22;Joshua 8:29;Joshua 10:26 (twice in verse) (all J E),Esther 5:14;Esther 6:4;Esther 7:9,10;Esther 8:7;Esther 9:13,25.
Perfect3pluralLamentations 5:12princes have been hung up by their hands; Imperfect3masculine pluralEsther 2:23they were hanged on a tree; + 3 masculine singular with apocope2 Samuel 18:9 (for see ).
hang up for display, with accusative of thing:Perfect3pluralEzekiel 27:10 ( location),Ezekiel 27:11 ().
Topical Lexicon
Overviewתָּלָה describes the act of hanging or suspending, usually a human body, upon a tree, stake, or gallows. The verb appears about twenty-eight times across the Old Testament, clustering in passages that deal with judgment, covenant enforcement, and public vindication of righteousness.
Literal Usage in Biblical History
1. Patriarchal Egypt
•Genesis 40–41 records Pharaoh’s baker “hanged on a tree” (Genesis 40:19, 22; 41:13), establishing hanging as a recognized Egyptian penalty that Joseph’s inspired interpretation accurately foretold.
2. Wilderness Discipline
•Numbers 25:4 reveals YHWH’s command to Moses: “Take all the leaders of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel”. The public display of covenant-breakers checked national apostasy.
3. Conquest of Canaan
• Joshua practiced the Deuteronomic mandate (Deuteronomy 21:22-23) when he “hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening” (Joshua 8:29) and later suspended five Amorite kings (Joshua 10:26-27). The removal before nightfall underscored obedience to Torah while proclaiming the defeat of idolatrous powers.
4. United and Divided Monarchy
• David executed Saul’s assassins and “hung them beside the pool at Hebron” (2 Samuel 4:12).
• After Saul’s death the Philistines “hung” his body on Beth-shan’s wall (2 Samuel 21:12), a humiliation later remedied by David.
• During a famine, seven descendants of Saul were “hanged on the mountain before the LORD” (2 Samuel 21:6, 9), illustrating corporate responsibility for covenant violation.
5. Exilic Lament
• “Princes have been hung up by their hands” (Lamentations 5:12), a poignant picture of national shame under Babylon.
6. Persian Era Narratives
• Esther records the most concentrated use: Haman (Esther 7:10), his ten sons (Esther 9:14), and earlier conspirators (Esther 2:23) were all hanged on the gallows. The verb punctuates the reversal theme—those who plot destruction reap the very judgment they intended for God’s people.
Judicial and Covenant Significance
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 provides the theological frame: hanging is not the primary means of execution but the post-mortem display of a capital offender. The corpse is raised as a visible curse—“anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (v. 23). Yet Torah immediately commands burial the same day, balancing justice with mercy and preventing defilement of the land God gives. Every subsequent biblical hanging consciously or unconsciously echoes this statute.
Symbol of Curse and Redemption
Because hanging epitomizes covenant curse, the New Testament later applies the concept to Messiah: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13, citingDeuteronomy 21:23). Thus תָּלָה becomes a typological bridge—what was a mark of reproach in the Old Testament becomes the instrument through which Christ secures blessing for the nations.
Prophetic and Poetic Allusions
Lamentations employs the verb to lament the disgrace of Israel’s leadership, portraying hanging as the nadir of covenant judgment. Though less explicit, the prophetic motif of lifting up (Isaiah 52:13;John 12:32) reverses the shameful suspension of sinners into the exaltation of the Servant.
Practical Lessons for Ministry
• Public Sin Requires Public Address. The verb reminds leaders that flagrant rebellion must be confronted openly to preserve communal holiness.
• Justice Tempered by Compassion. Removal of the body before nightfall models swift but bounded discipline.
• The Cross Transforms the Curse. Preaching can trace the trajectory from the hanged transgressor in Joshua to the sinless Savior who bore the curse, offering hope and calling for gratitude-driven obedience.
• Vindication of the Righteous. Esther’s narrative encourages believers that God reverses plots against His people, often causing the wicked to suffer the very fate they planned for others.
Summary
תָּלָה functions as more than a judicial term; it dramatizes covenant realities—curse versus blessing, shame versus honor, death versus life. Its Old Testament occurrences prepare the theological soil for the Gospel announcement that the One who was “hanged on a tree” has forever turned the curse into blessing for all who trust Him.
Forms and Transliterations
וְיִתְל֤וּ וְתָל֥וּ וְתָל֨וּ וְתָלִ֥יתָ וְתָלָ֥ה וַיִּתְל֥וּ וַיִּתְלֵ֕ם וַיִּתְלוּ֙ וַיִּתָּל֥וּ ויתלו ויתלם ותלה ותלו ותלית יִתְל֥וּ יתלו לִתְל֥וֹת לִתְלוֹת֙ לתלות נִתְל֔וּ נתלו תְּלֻ֥הוּ תְּלוּיִ֥ם תִּלּ֤וּ תִּלּוּ־ תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ תָּל֑וּי תָּל֖וּי תָּל֣וּ תָּל֣וּי תָּלָ֑ה תָּלָ֥ה תָּלֽוּ׃ תָלָֽה׃ תֹּ֥לֶה תְּלָא֥וּם תלאום תלה תלה׃ תלהו תלו תלו־ תלו׃ תלוי תלוים תלינו liṯ·lō·wṯ litlOt liṯlōwṯ niṯ·lū nitLu niṯlū tā·lāh ṯā·lāh tā·lî·nū tā·lū tā·lui taLah tālāh ṯālāh taLinu tālînū taLu tālū taLui tālui tə·lā·’ūm tə·lu·hū tə·lū·yim təlā’ūm telaUm teLuhu təluhū teluYim təlūyim til·lū til·lū- tillu tillū tillū- tō·leh Toleh tōleh vaiyitLem vaiyitLu vaiyittaLu vetaLah vetaLita vetaLu veyitLu way·yiṯ·lêm way·yiṯ·lū way·yit·tā·lū wayyiṯlêm wayyiṯlū wayyittālū wə·ṯā·lāh wə·ṯā·lî·ṯā wə·ṯā·lū wə·yiṯ·lū wəṯālāh wəṯālîṯā wəṯālū wəyiṯlū yiṯ·lū yitLu yiṯlū
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