אָכַל
ʼâkal · aw-kal'
to eat (literally or figuratively)
Lexicon
Derivation: a primitive root;
to eat (literally or figuratively)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: [idiom] at all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up), feed (with), food, [idiom] freely, [idiom] in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, [idiom] quite.
Letters
- אAlef1
Picture: ox head
- Concrete
- ox · bull · cattle
- Extended
- strength · leader · first · the one in front
- כKaf20
Picture: open palm
- Concrete
- palm · open hand · sole of the foot
- Extended
- to open · to allow · to cover · to tame · like / as
- לLamed30
Picture: shepherd's staff or goad
- Concrete
- staff · goad · yoke · cattle prod
- Extended
- authority · to lead · to teach · to bind · toward
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
strength, the leader › the open hand that covers › authority, the one who leads
Strength, the leader of the open hand that covers of authority, the one who leads.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of אָכַל above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
810 occurrences · 810 OT · 0 NT · 492 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- eat39 · 12%
- shall eat34 · 11%
- to eat34 · 11%
- and eat28 · 9%
- shall devour14 · 4%
- and ye shall eat14 · 4%
- and did eat13 · 4%
- and they did eat12 · 4%
- thou shalt eat10 · 3%
- ye shall eat10 · 3%
- hath devoured9 · 3%
- that eateth9 · 3%
- and consumed8 · 3%
- did eat8 · 3%
- devoured8 · 3%
- shall ye eat7 · 2%
- and they shall eat7 · 2%
- eating7 · 2%
- that they may eat7 · 2%
- they shall eat7 · 2%
- and it shall devour6 · 2%
- shalt thou eat6 · 2%
- and devour6 · 2%
- and thou shalt eat6 · 2%
- thou shalt not eat5 · 2%
Where it is used, by book.
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.