אֱלִיל elil
Hebrew word for “idol” · Strong’s H457 · used 20 times in 18 verses
Meaning
1) of nought, good for nothing, worthless; 1a) of physicians, a shepherd, a divination; 1b) of false gods
How it is translated
Glosses given for elil in context, with how often each is used:
- idols 10
- worthless idols 6
- worthlessness 2
- idol 2
Where it is used
| Book | Uses | Per 1,000 words | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaiah | 10 | 0.6 | |
| Leviticus | 2 | 0.2 | |
| Psalms | 2 | 0.1 | |
| 1 Chronicles | 1 | 0.1 | |
| Job | 1 | 0.1 | |
| Jeremiah | 1 | 0.0 | |
| Ezekiel | 1 | 0.1 | |
| Habakkuk | 1 | 1.5 | |
| Zechariah | 1 | 0.3 |
Chapters where it is used most
Isaiah 2 (3), Isaiah 10 (2), Isaiah 19 (2), Leviticus 19 (1), Leviticus 26 (1), 1 Chronicles 16 (1), Job 13 (1), Psalms 96 (1), Psalms 97 (1), Isaiah 31 (1)
Forms
- אלילים 5
- אלילי 4
- האלילים 2
- האליל 2
- אלילם 1
- אלל 1
- באלילים 1
- והאלילים 1
- ולאליליה 1
- ואלילי 1
Words used with it
Words that share verses with elil more often than their overall frequency would suggest:
- פֶּסֶל pesel “idol” 3
- שָׁחָה shachah “to bow” 4
- שֶׁקֶר sheqer “deception” 3
- כֶם khem “you” 4
- מַסֵּכָה massekhah “liquid” 2
- מִצְרַיִם mitsrayim “Egypt” 3
- שֹׁמְרוֹן shomeron “Samaria” 2
- קֶרֶב qerev “entrails” 2
- זָהָב zahav “gold” 2
- כֶּסֶף keseph “silver” 2
- שָׁמַיִם shamayim “heaven” 2
- יְרוּשָׁלִַם yerushalaim “Jerusalem” 2
Key verses
The verses using elil that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):
- Leviticus 26:1 — Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto…
- Job 13:4 — But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
- Psalms 97:7 — Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
- Isaiah 2:8 — Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
- Isaiah 2:18 — And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
- Isaiah 2:20 — In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
- Isaiah 19:1 — The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the…
- 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…
- Jeremiah 14:14 — Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto…
- Ezekiel 30:13 — Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of…
- Habakkuk 2:18 — What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to…
- Zechariah 11:17 — Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye…
See all 18 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.