--- title: אֶלֶף — thousand · The Tanakh dictionary description: אֶלֶף (505), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 493 times: thousand. BDB 1906: n.m. 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/505.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/) / [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-5.md)‎ / אֶלֶף‎ # אֶלֶף «אֶלֶף» in the Tanakh dictionary: **thousand** — 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:** 493 times · **Key:** 505 · **BDB:** אֶ֫לֶף² ### Glosses thousand (201); thousand(s) (96); one.thousand (53) ### Meaning (OSHB) thousand [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/505/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) n.m. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/505/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Ju 6:15 thousand (אלף MI, SI, Sab. DHMZMG 1875, 615; Arabic أَلْفٌ, Aramaic ܐܳܠܶܦ, אֲלַף, אלפיא; cf. Ethiopic እልፍ mille, myrias)\*.—(אָ֑׳)א׳ Gn 20:16 +; sf. אַלְפִּי †Ju 6:15; du. אַלְפַּיִם Nu 4:36 +; pl. אֲלָפִים Ex 18:21 +; cstr. אַלְפֵי Ex 32:28 +; אֲלָפֶיךָ Dt 7:13 + 2 times; אֲלָפָיו Qr 1 S 18:7 + 2 times (Kt ־פו)—a thousand. numeral: used with noun alone; mostly before noun Nu 35:4 Jos 7:3 Ne 3:13 1 Ch 18:4 +; after noun (late) 1 Ch 12:35 + 6 times Ch Ezr Ne; א׳ בָּאַמָּה Nu 35:5(×4) Ez 47:3 (del. Co); the noun always pl. when preceding, sometimes when following, 1 S 25:2 1 K 3:4 2 K 18:23 = Is 36:8 2 Ch 30:24 ψ 90:4 Jb 42:12 Ec 6:6; elsewhere sg. אישׁ Ju 9:49; 15:15, 16 Jos 7:3 +; אַמָּה Nu 35:4 + (so SI); דּוֹר Dt 7:9 +, cf. 1 Ch 18:4; 19:6 2 K 15:19 Jb 42:12 Ct 4:4 Is 7:23, noun sometimes coll.; א׳ pl. cstr. Mi 6:7 ψ 119:72 Gn 24:60; noun not expr. (or not fully) Gn 20:16 Nu 31:5, 6 +; distrib. אֶלֶף … אֶלָף Nu 31:4; multipl. Dt 1:11 א׳ פְּעָמִים; indef. for great no. (pl.) Ex 20:6; 34:7 Dt 5:10 Je 32:18, (sg.) Dt 32:30 Ec 6:6 +. א׳ + other num. usually precedes it Ex 38:25 + often; but foll. רִבּוֹא Ezr 2:64 + 2 times; it follows also smaller no. Nu 3:50 1 K 5:12 (so SI); the noun foll. in sg. Ex 38:25 + 8 times; pl. 2 S 8:4 + 2 times; noun precedes, in pl. (late) Dn 12:12 + 2 times; noun not expr. Ex 38:28 + often א׳ × other no. always foll. Ex 12:37 +; usual order is no. × א׳ + additional no. (if any) + noun (ifexpr.) Nu. 31:52 Ju 20:35 cf. Ex 12:37 2 K 3:4(×2) +; less often noun + no. × א׳ Nu 31:33 1 K 8:63 +; (other combin. v. Ex 38:26 Nu 26:51; 31:32 Ez 48:30 1 Ch 29:7 etc.); א׳ usually sg. Nu 11:21 +; except after units, where pl. abs. Nu 1:46 Ju 20:34 + (so MI); seld. pl. cstr. Ex 32:28 Ju 4:10 Jb 1:3(×2); (noun mostly sg. when foll. Ju 4:10 1 K 12:21 +, yet pl. Jos 4:13 1 S 13:5 +; when preceding it is pl. 1 Ch 5:21 +, or coll. Nu 31:33 1 S 25:2 1 K 8:63 2 Ch 7:5 +); אֶלָף אֲלָפִים 1 Ch 21:5; 22:14 2 Ch 14:8; אַלְפֵי שִׁנְאָן ψ 68:18, cf. שִׁנְאָן; בְּהַרְרֵי אָ֑לֶף ψ 50:10, read אֵל cf. ψ 36:7, Ol Bi Che; yet v. Hup De.— 10,000 = עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים etc. Ju 1:4; 3:29 1 K 5:28 1 Ch 29:7 +; less often רִבּוֹ, רְבָבָה etc. q.v. a thousand, a company of 1000 men, as united under one superior, or leader, hence שַׂר א׳ (שָׂרֵי) Ex 18:21, 25 cf. Nu 31:14 +; cf. רָאשֵׁי א׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל Nu 1:16; 10:4 Jos 22:21, 30 \& v. infr.; cf. also 1 S 29:2; especially family, etc. Ju 6:15 1 S 10:19 (‖ שֵׁבֶט \& cf. מִשְׁפַּחַת v 21); cf. Mi 5:1;—Nu 10:36 (רִבְבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל) 31:5 Jos 22:14 1 S 23:23 apparently shew transit. to this technical use. Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 79 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (8 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (7 candidates) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every English meaning of «אֶלֶף» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/505/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [Nehemiah 7:42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/NEH.7.42/) בְּנֵ֣י חָרִ֔ם אֶ֖לֶף שִׁבְעָ֥ה עָשָֽׂר׃פ *Word for word:* the.descendants of.Harim one.thousand seven- teen *JPS 1917:* The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. [Numbers 31:33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/NUM.31.33/) וּבָקָ֕ר שְׁנַ֥יִם וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ *Word for word:* and cattle two and seventy thousand *JPS 1917:* and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, - ← previous: [אֶלֶף](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/504.md) - next →: [אֶלֶף](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/lemma_3a_5d0_5b6_5dc_5b6_5e3.md) - ↑ back to [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-5.md)