בָּלַע bala

Hebrew word for “to swallow up” · Strong’s H1104 · used 49 times in 48 verses

Explore it in the Word Atlas

Meaning

1) to swallow down, swallow up, engulf, eat up;

How it is translated

Glosses given for bala in context, with how often each is used:

• swallowed 6
• will swallow up 4
• swallowed up 3
• will swallow 3
• swallows 3
• confused 3
• has swallowed up 3
• have swallowed 2
• swallows up 2
• swallowing 1
• should swallow 1
• should be swallowed up 1

Where it is used

Also in 3 more books.

Chapters where it is used most

Lamentations 2 (4), Numbers 16 (3), Genesis 41 (2), 2 Samuel 20 (2), Job 20 (2), Isaiah 25 (2), Isaiah 28 (2), Hosea 8 (2), Exodus 7 (1), Exodus 15 (1)

Forms

• בלע 6
• יבלע 4
• ותבלע 3
• תבלענו 2
• אבלע 2
• יבלענו 2
• ותבלענה 1
• ותבלען 1
• ויבלע 1
• תבלעמו 1

Words used with it

Words that share verses with bala more often than their overall frequency would suggest:

• פֶּה peh “lip” 8
• פָּצָה patsah “to open” 3
• שִׁבֹּלֶת shibbol “ear” 3
• תָּעָה taah “to go astray” 3
• רָאָה raah “to see” 6
• אֲדֹנָי adonai “Lord” 4
• דָּתָן datan “Dathan” 2
• אֲבִירָם aviram “Abiram” 2
• פָּתַח patach “to open” 3
• שָׁחַת shachat “to ruin” 3
• דַּק daq “thin” 2
• אָשַׁר ashar “to bless” 2

Key verses

The verses using bala that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):

• Job 2:3 — And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth…
• Psalms 21:9 — Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
• Psalms 35:25 — Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
• Ecclesiastes 10:12 — The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
• Isaiah 19:3 — And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to…
• Isaiah 25:8 — He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the…
• Isaiah 28:7 — But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are…
• Jeremiah 51:34 — Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled…
• Lamentations 2:2 — The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he…
• Lamentations 2:16 — All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we…
• Hosea 8:7 — For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow…
• Habakkuk 1:13 — Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue…

See all 48 verses in the Word Atlas

Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.