עֲלַל
a.lal (H5954)
to come
AI Word Study
# עֲלַל (alal): A Rare Hebrew Verb for Coming and Doing The Hebrew verb עֲלַל (alal) appears only 14 times in the biblical text, making it a relatively uncommon word. According to its lexical entry, the primary definition is "to come," though the limited frequency and narrow attestation suggest this verb occupied a specialized niche in biblical Hebrew vocabulary. With only a handful of occurrences across the entire biblical corpus, this word was not a standard choice for expressing movement or arrival—speakers and writers had other, more common verbs available for such concepts. The rarity of alal raises important questions about its specific usage contexts and whether its meaning may have extended beyond simple motion. The entry provides no secondary definitions or additional semantic ranges, which means we cannot determine from this data alone whether "to come" represented its only sense or whether it carried nuanced meanings in particular contexts. Without access to the specific verses where these 14 occurrences appear, the full scope of how biblical authors employed this verb remains unclear. This lexical entry illustrates an important principle in biblical language study: not all synonymous words are interchangeable, and the choice to use a rare verb like alal instead of common alternatives often signals something significant about the author's intent or the specialized nature of the passage.
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.
Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him: “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.”
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him: “I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation.”
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in; and I told the dream before them; but they didn’t make known to me its interpretation.
But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. I told the dream before him, saying,
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Then all the king’s wise men came in; but they could not read the writing, and couldn’t make known to the king the interpretation.
The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house. The queen spoke and said, “O king, live forever; don’t let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed.
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?
Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me its interpretation; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing.
When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting. No musical instruments were brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.