--- title: מָעַל — act unfaithfully · The Tanakh dictionary description: מָעַל (4603), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 35 times: act unfaithfully. BDB 1906: vb. act unfaithfully, treacherously. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4603.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [מ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1502-7.md)‎ / מָעַל‎ # מָעַל «מָעַל» in the Tanakh dictionary: **act unfaithfully** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers. **Used:** 35 times · **Key:** 4603 · **BDB:** מָעַל ### Glosses they.acted.unfaithfully (7); you.have.acted.unfaithfully (4); act.unfaithfully (3) ### Meaning (OSHB) act unfaithfully [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4603/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) vb. act unfaithfully, treacherously [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4603/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** vb. act unfaithfully, treacherously, a priestly word (P Ez. Ch.), chiefly late (NH id., act unfaithfully; Arabic مَغَلَ whisper, backbite, مَغَالَةٌ perfidy, fraud);— Pf. 3 ms. מָעַל Jos 22:20 + 4 times; 3 fs. מָֽעֲלָה Lv 5:21 Nu 5:12 + 13 times Pf.; Impf. יִמְעַל Pr 16:10 2 Ch 26:16; 3 fs. תִּמְעֹל Lv 5:15 Nu 5:27; 3 mpl. יִמְעֲלוּ Jos 7:1, וַיִּמְעֲלוּ 1 Ch 5:25; 2 mpl. תִּמְעָ֑לוּ Ne 1:8; Inf. cstr. לִמְעֹל, so read for ℌ למסר Nu 31:16 Thes Di;—act unfaithfully, treacherously, usually מָעַל מַ֫עַל: abs. בַּחֵרֶם in the matter of the devoted thing (the sin of Achan) Jos 7:1 (JE), 22:20 (P), cf. Lv 5:15 (P), 2 Ch 36:14 Ez 14:13; 15:8; 18:24. wife against (בְּ) husband Nu 5:12, 27 (P; marital infidelity). elsewhere ag. (בְּ) God, Lv 26:40 (H), 5:21 Nu 5:6; 31:16 (?) Jos 22:16, 31 (all P), 1 Ch 10:13 2 Ch 28:19 Ez 17:20; 20:27; 39:26 Dn 9:7. usage without מַעַל (only late): במשׁפט לא ימעל פיו Pr 16:10 let not his (the king’s) mouth act treacherously against justice (RV in judgment). elsewhere against God, c. בְּ, Dt 32:51 (P), 1 Ch 5:25 2 Ch 12:3; 26:16; 28:22; 30:7 Ezr 10:2 Ne 13:27 Ez 39:23; without בְּ, 2 Ch 26:18; 29:6 Ezr 10:10 Ne 1:8; בַּהֵרֶם 1 Ch 2:7. Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 34 of its verses cited, 2 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (9 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 2 words shared with the BDB entry, 2 with the glosses (5 candidates) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every English meaning of «מָעַל» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4603/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [Proverbs 16:10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.16.10/) קֶ֤סֶם ׀ עַֽל־שִׂפְתֵי־מֶ֑לֶךְ בְּ֝מִשְׁפָּ֗ט לֹ֣א יִמְעַל־פִּֽיו׃ *Word for word:* divination \[is\].on \[the\].lips of.a.king in judgment not it.will.act.unfaithfully mouth his *JPS 1917:* A divine sentence is in the lips of the king; his mouth trespasseth not in judgment. [1 Chronicles 2:7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/1CH.2.7/) וּבְנֵ֖י כַּרְמִ֑י עָכָר֙ עוֹכֵ֣ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר מָעַ֖ל בַּחֵֽרֶם׃ס *Word for word:* and the.sons of.Carmi \[were\].Achar \[who\].troubled Israel who he.acted.unfaithfully in the.devoted thing\[s\] *JPS 1917:* And the sons of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who committed a trespass concerning the devoted thing. - ← previous: [מַעֲכָתִי](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4602.md) - next →: [מַעַל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4604.md) - ↑ back to [מ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1502-7.md)