Menu

Genesis 19:26 — Word Study

Depth

WLCוַתַּבֵּ֥ט אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו וַתְּהִ֖י נְצִ֥יב מֶֽלַח׃

BSABut [Lot’s] wifeʼishshâh [who was lagging behind, looking back from behind him] lookednâbaṭ backʼachar [to see what was happening] and she becamehâyâh [turned into, was transformed into] a pillarnᵉtsîyb [garrison, monument] of saltmelach [easily pulverized and dissolved, used to season food]

Word
Listen & take awayGenesis 19
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 26 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration (Me.lach) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Genesis 19:26quick helps
In a sentenceLot's wife looked back and was transformed into a pillar of salt.
Who is speakingThe narrator recounts the events of Lot's escape from Sodom.
Where we areThe destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a pivotal moment in Genesis.
The hard wordנְצִיב
Take awayLooking back had dire consequences for Lot's wife.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbנָבַט The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Genesis 19:26

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrahgenerated

25Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.
26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.

Genesis 19:26 describes the moment when Lot's wife, despite the warning not to look back, turned to see the destruction of Sodom. This act of looking back signifies a longing for the past and a failure to heed God's command, leading to her transformation into a pillar of salt. This event serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of disobedience and attachment to a sinful past.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Genesis 19:17As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
2Proverbs 14:14The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
3Luke 17:31–32On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
4Hebrews 10:38But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
5Numbers 16:38As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 5 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word נָבַט, va.ta.Betgenerated

The verb נָבַט (nabat) means to look or regard something carefully. It emphasizes an intentional act of looking, often with a sense of favor or care. In this context, it highlights Lot's wife's deliberate choice to look back, which leads to her fate.

The parsing indicates that it is a Hiphil verb in the third person feminine singular, showing that the action is performed by Lot's wife. This form often implies causation or an active role in the action.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

All translations agree on the rendering of Lot's wife looking back and becoming a pillar of salt.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb וַתַּבֵּ֥ט (vatabet), and she looked, governs the sentence, with two phrases following: a noun phrase that identifies the subject and a prepositional phrase indicating the direction of her action.

The structure emphasizes the action of looking back, which is central to the narrative, and the consequences that follow.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The Septuagint translates נָבַט as ἐπέβλεψεν (epeblepsen), meaning 'to look upon' or 'to gaze.' This choice may suggest a more intense scrutiny of the destruction, highlighting the severity of her action.

This translation reflects a similar understanding of the act of looking back as a significant and transformative moment.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Genesis 19:26 tells us that Lot's wife looked back at the destruction of Sodom, despite being warned not to do so. This act led to her becoming a pillar of salt, illustrating the consequences of disobedience and attachment to the past.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that Lot's wife looked back?

Looking back signifies a longing for the past and a failure to obey God's command.

Why did Lot's wife become a pillar of salt?

Her transformation into a pillar of salt serves as a warning about the dangers of disobedience and attachment to sin.

What can we learn from Lot's wife's actions?

We learn the importance of following God's instructions and not being drawn back into a sinful past.

How does this story relate to other biblical themes?

It reflects themes of judgment, obedience, and the consequences of choices, similar to other narratives in the Bible.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What are some areas of my life where I might be looking back instead of moving forward?
  2. How can I better heed God's warnings in my life?
  3. What does it mean to me to leave behind a sinful past?
  4. In what ways can I encourage others to focus on the future rather than the past?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Early Church Fathers comment on this verse, discussing the implications of Lot's wife's actions and God's command.

Clement of AlexandriaThe Stromata Book 2 c. 150–215
For God looks closely at the actual inner purpose, as when Lot’s wife was the only one to turn of her own free will toward the wickedness of the world.
Early Church Fathers on Genesis 19 →
Origen of AlexandriaHOMILIES ON Genesis 5.2 c. 185–253
But let us return to Lot, who, fleeing the destruction of Sodom with his wife and daughters after he had received the command from the angels to not look back, was proceeding to Zoar. But his wife became negligent of the command.
Early Church Fathers on Genesis 19 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Genesis 19:26 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But his wife looked back from behind him,.... That is, the wife of Lot, whose name the Jewish writers (x) say was Adith, or as others Irith (y); and, according to the Targums of Jonathan and

Read John Gill on Genesis 19 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Read Robert Jamieson on Genesis 19 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

His wife looked back, through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of what she left, or from all these causes; from behind her husband, whom she followed. Which circumstance seems to be mentioned as the reason of this presumption, because she could do it without her husband’ s observation or reproof, to which she had a greater regard than to the all-seeing eye of God. And she, i.e. her body, by a very common synecdoche, became a pillar of salt; either metaphorically, i.e. a perpetual durable pillar, as an everlasting covenant is called a covenant of salt, ; or properly, for there is a kind of metallic salt which resists the rain, and is hard enough for buildings, as Pliny, Solinus, and others…

Read Matthew Poole on Genesis 19 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.Ver. 26. But his wife looked back.] Whether out of curiosity, or foolish pity, or as loath to leave so sweet a country, she turned her about, and she was turned. Some think she was a Sodomite, and some tell us her name was Tytea. Her sin, seem it never so light, was a compound of many sins. And her punishment was part of the plague of Sodom, which was "brimstone and salt," so that it became a sea of salt. And all this to season us, saith Augustine; to caution us, saith our Saviour, that we look not back. The fable of Eurydice, lost by her husband’ s looking back upon her, was devised by the devil to…

Read John Trapp on Genesis 19 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(26) His wife looked back from behind him.—In Oriental countries it is still the rule for the wife to walk behind her husband. As regards the method of her transformation, some think that she was stifled by sulphureous vapours, and her body subsequently encrusted with salt. More probably, the earthquake heaped up a mighty mass of the rock-salt, which lies in solid strata round the Dead Sea, and Lot’s wife was entangled in the convulsion and perished, leaving the hill of salt, in which she was enclosed, as her memorial. Salt cones are not uncommon in this neighbourhood, and the American Expedition found one, about forty feet high, near Usdum (Lynch, Report, pp. 183 et seq.). Entombed in this…

Read Charles John Ellicott on Genesis 19 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 26. She became a pillar of salt] The vast variety of opinions, both ancient and modern, on the crime of Lot's wife, her change, and the manner in which that change was effected, are in many cases as unsatisfactory as they are ridiculous. On this point the sacred Scripture says little. God had commanded Lot and his family not to look behind them; the wife of Lot disobeyed this command; she looked back from behind him - Lot, her husband, and she became a pillar of salt. This is all the information the inspired historian has thought proper to give us on this subject; it is true the account is short, but commentators and critics have made it long enough by their laborious glosses. The…

Read AdamClarke on Genesis 19 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

26. a pillar of salt] Lot’s wife for disobeying the command, recorded in Genesis 19:17, was, according to the tradition, changed into a pillar of salt. Our Lord’s words, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32), refer to the narrative in this passage. Her looking back indicated the place of her real treasure. She failed to trust whole-heartedly, or to obey. Compare the story of Orpheus and Eurydice (Ovid, Met. x. 51). Our Lord’s warning is directed against the absorption of mind in temporal pleasures and interests. His allusion to this passage was one that all Jewish hearers understood. He does not raise the question of its historicity. He appeals to the teaching of the parable contained in the…

Read Cambridge on Genesis 19 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

26. His wife looked back — Prompted by her longing for what she had left behind, and a curiosity to witness the destruction. Her example is given as a warning against desire and effort to take one’s goods when God calls away.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Genesis 19 →

The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

NETBNew English Translation2006

But Lot’s wife looked back longingly and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

¶ But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

RVARevised Version, American1894

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Now his wife behind him looked backe, and she became a pillar of salt.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

And his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

And his wife looketh expectingly from behind him, and she is — a pillar of salt!

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

And his wife looks from behind him, and she becomes a pillar of salt!

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But Lot's wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And his wife looking behind her, was turned into a statue of salt.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

But Lot's wife, who was lagging behind, looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But Lot's wife, looking back, became a pillar of salt.

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

וַandclauseverbתַּבֵּ֥טshe.lookednoun phrase · subjectאִשְׁתּ֖wifeוֹhisprepositional phrase · prepositionalprepositional phraseמֵfromאַחֲרָ֑יbehindוhimוַandclauseverbתְּהִ֖יshe.wasnoun phrase · objectנְצִ֥יבa.pillarמֶֽלַחof.salt

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint align closely, with six words matched. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs slightly by using the word נצב for 'pillar', indicating a variation in terminology but not in the overall meaning of the verse.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

וַתַּבֵּ֥ט אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו וַתְּהִ֖י נְצִ֥יב מֶֽלַח׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
וַתַּבֵּ֥טἐπέβλεψενאִשְׁתּ֖וֹαὐτοῦמֵאַחֲרָ֑יוὀπίσωוַתְּהִ֖יἐγένετοנְצִ֥יבστήληמֶֽלַח׃ἁλός

6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Samaritan Pentateuchthe Torah as the Samaritan community kept it

ותבט אשׁתו מאחריו ותהי נצב מלח

1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: נצב (pillar)

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Genesis 19:26נָבַטand she looand she lookedנָבַטאִשָּׁהwife hiswife hisאִשָּׁהאַחַרfrom behindfrom behind himאַחַרהָיָהand she wasand she wasהָיָהנְצִיבa pillar ofa pillar ofנְצִיבמֶ֫לַחsaltsaltמֶ֫לַחאָחַרto delayto delayאָחַרנָצַבto standto standנָצַבמָלַחto dissipato dissipateמָלַחאִישׁmanmanאִישׁאֱנוֹשׁhumanhumanאֱנוֹשׁהָוָאto fallto fallהָוָאעָמָלtroubletroubleעָמָלשָׁמַיheavenheavenשָׁמַיטַףchildchildטַףנָכְרִיforeignforeignנָכְרִירָדַףto pursueto pursueרָדַףזָנָהto fornicato fornicateזָנָהאֱדוֹםEdomEdomאֱדוֹםאָזthenthenאָזגַּיְאValleyValleyגַּיְאעֲרָבָהplainplainעֲרָבָה
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Genesis 19:26

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

and she looked wife his from behind him and she was a pillar of salt
וַתַּבֵּ֥טva.ta.Bet and she looked H5027 Verb · Hiphil · sequential imperfect third person feminine singular
69× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This verb means to look or regard something carefully. It can also mean to show favor or care for someone. In the Bible, it is used to describe how God looks at his people with favor and care, as seen in Psalm 138:6.
Tyndale gloss
to look
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

נָבַט (nabat) is a Hebrew verb meaning to look or regard. It encompasses various nuances, such as looking intently, considering, and showing favor or care. The entries indicate its use in different grammatical forms, specifically the Piel and Hiphil stems, which emphasize the act of looking or regarding. No significant disagreements among lexicons are noted.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

[נָבַט] vb. Pi., Hiph. look

Pi. look

Hiph. look

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5027 נָבַט look

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5027 nabat naw-bat'

a primitive root; to scan, i.e. look intently at; by

implication, to regard with pleasure, favor or care:--(cause

to) behold, consider, look (down), regard, have respect, see.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

נָבַט (na.vat) — to look.

1) to look, regard

1a) (Piel) to look

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) tolook

1b2) to regard, show regard to, pay attention to, consider

1b3) to look upon, regard, show regard to

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj | V-Hiphil-ConsecImperf-3fs — Verb · Hiphil · sequential imperfect third person feminine singular
Hc/Vhw3fs
and she looked wife his from behind him and she was a pillar of salt
אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ'ish.To wife his H802 Noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
781× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for woman, used to describe a female person, wife, or animal, appears in many biblical passages, including Genesis and Exodus, and is often translated as woman, wife, or female.
Amplified meaning
who was lagging behind, looking back from behind him
Tyndale gloss
woman
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אִשָּׁה (ishshah) means 'woman,' 'wife,' or 'female.' It can refer to a woman in general, a wife in relation to a man, or the female of animals. The term also has distributive and reciprocal uses, indicating 'each woman' from her neighbor. The word is derived from the masculine forms אִישׁ (ish) and אִישָׁה (ishah), indicating a broad range of meanings.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אִשָּׁה 773 n.f. woman, wife, female

woman

Wife (woman belonging to a man, usually cstr. or sf.)

Female of animals

With distrib. & recipr. sense, each woman from her neighbor; each one

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H802 אִשָּׁה woman, wife, female . woman

. Wife (woman belonging to a man, usually cstr. or sf.)

. Female of animals

. With distrib. & recipr. sense, each woman from her neighbor; each one

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

802 'ishshah ish-shaw'

feminine of 376 or 582; irregular plural, nashiym

{naw-sheem'}; a woman (used in the same wide sense as

582):--(adulter)ess, each, every, female, X many, + none,

one, + together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.

see HEBREW for 0376

see HEBREW for 0582

see HEBREW for 0582

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אִשָּׁה (ish.shah) — woman.

: woman

1) woman, wife, female

1a) woman (opposite of man)

1b) wife (woman married to a man)

1c) female (of animals)

1d) each, every (pronoun)

אִשָּׁה (ish.shah) — woman: wife.

: wife/widow

1) woman, wife, female

1a) woman (opposite of man)

1b) wife (woman married to a man)

1c) female (of animals)

1d) each, every (pronoun)

אִשָּׁה (ish.shah) — woman: another.

: another

1) woman, wife, female

1a) woman (opposite of man)

1b) wife (woman married to a man)

1c) female (of animals)

1d) each, every (pronoun)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-fs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
HNcfsc/Sp3ms
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hiz: Used often in the King James Version with reference to a neuter or inanimate thing, or to a lower animal (Ge 1:11, "after his kind"; Le 1:16, "pluck away his crop"; Ac 12:10, "of his own accord"; 1Co 15:38, "his own body"), etc. the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "its."

and she looked wife his from behind him and she was a pillar of salt
מֵאַחֲרָ֑יוme.'a.cha.Rav from behind him H310 Preposition · suffix
716× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Achar means backwards or after, used to describe something that happens later or in the rear. It is used in various senses in the Bible, including in 1 Kings 12:18.
Amplified meaning
to see what was happening
Tyndale gloss
after
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word אַחַר (*achar*) primarily denotes the concept of 'after' or 'behind' in both spatial and temporal contexts. It functions as a substantive, adverb, preposition, and conjunction, indicating a following part or time. The related form אַחֲרַי (*acharai*) refers to a person who turns backwards. There is a reference to Proverbs 28:23 in relation to the latter.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אַחַר prop. subst. the hinder or following part

adv.

of place, behind

of time, afterwards

prep.

of place, behind, after

of time, after

conj. after that.

base

אַחֲרַי adj. Pr 28:23 a man that turneth backwards.

ref

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H310a אַחַר prop. subst. the hinder or following part . adv. . of place, behind

. of time, afterwards

. prep. . of place, behind, after

. of time, after

. conj. after that.

H310b אַחֲרַי a man that turneth backwards.

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

310 'achar akh-ar'

from 309; properly, the hind part; generally used as an

adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses):--after

(that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side),

behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from,

hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute,

posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence(-forth),

when, with.

see HEBREW for 0309

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אַחַר (a.char) — after.

1) after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time)

1a) as an adverb

1a1) behind (of place)

1a2) afterwards (of time)

1b) as a preposition

1b1) behind, after (of place)

1b2) after (of time)

1b3) besides

1c) as a conjunction

1c) after that

1d) as a substantive

1d1) hinder part

1e) with other prepositions

1e1) from behind

1e2) from following after

אַחֲרַי (a.cha.ray) — backwards.

backwards (of a man that turns backwards)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep | Prep | Suff — Preposition · suffix
HR/Acmpc/Sp3ms
and she looked wife his from behind him and she was a pillar of salt
וַתְּהִ֖יva.te.Hi and she was H1961 Verb · Qal · sequential imperfect third person feminine singular
3,562× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for to be means to exist or come into being. It is used to describe something that happens or comes to pass, like in Genesis where God creates the world.
Amplified meaning
turned into, was transformed into
Tyndale gloss
to be
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word הָיָה (hayah) is a primitive root meaning to exist or become, and it encompasses a range of meanings including to happen, occur, and come to pass. It is often used in narrative contexts, particularly in phrases like "and it came to pass." The word can also denote a state of being or existence, and it appears frequently in various forms throughout the Old Testament.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be

Qal

Fall out, happen

occur, take place, come about, come to pass

esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass

וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

Come into being, become

abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

sq. prep.

become

sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

sq. pred. adj.

become like

sq. pred. לְ pers.

sq. לְ pred.

oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.

with עַל and לְ

sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)

exist, be in existence

abide, remain, continue

with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie

as copula, joining subj. & pred.

Read the full entry →
Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1961 הָיָה fall out, come to pass, become, be .. . . Fall out, happen

. occur, take place, come about, come to pass

. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass . . וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

. rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

. Come into being, become . . abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

. sq. prep.

. become . sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

. sq. pred. adj.

. become like

. sq. pred. + לְ pers.

. sq. לְ pred.

. oft. c. לְ pred. + לְ pers.

. with עַל and לְ

. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming) . exist, be in existence

. abide, remain, continue

Read the full entry →
Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1961 hayah haw-yaw

a primitive root (compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become,

come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or

auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished,

committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint,

fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit

(one-)self, require, X use.

see HEBREW for 01933

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

הָיָה (ha.yah) — to be.

1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out

1a) (Qal)

1a1) ---

1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass

1a1b) to come about, come to pass

1a2) to come into being, become

1a2a) to arise, appear, come

1a2b) to become

1a2b1) to become

1a2b2) to become like

1a2b3) to be instituted, be established

1a3) to be

1a3a) to exist, be in existence

1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)

1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)

1a3d) to accompany, be with

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about

1b2) to be done, be finished, be gone

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs — Verb · Qal · sequential imperfect third person feminine singular
Hc/Vqw3fs
and she looked wife his from behind him and she was a pillar of salt
נְצִ֥יבne.Tziv a pillar of H5333 Noun common · masculine singular construct
11× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for a garrison or military post, like the ones established by King Solomon. It appears in 1 Kings 4:19, where Solomon's administrative districts are listed. This word describes a place of military strength and control.
Amplified meaning
garrison, monument
Tyndale gloss
garrison
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

נְצִיב (netsīb) refers to something stationary, including meanings like pillar, prefect, or military post. It can denote a garrison or an officer in a position of authority. The word is built from a root meaning to stand firm, and it appears in contexts related to authority and structure.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

נְצִיב n.m. pillar, prefect, also appar. garrison, post

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5333 נְצִיב pillar, prefect, also appar. garrison, post

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5333 ntsiyb nets-eeb'

or ntsib {nets-eeb'}; from 5324; something stationary, i.e. a

prefect, a military post, a statue:--garrison, officer,

pillar.

see HEBREW for 05324

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

נְצִיב (ne.tsiv) — garrison.

1) set over, something placed, pillar, prefect, garrison, post

1a) pillar

1b) prefect, deputy

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular construct
HNcmsc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

and she looked wife his from behind him and she was a pillar of salt
מֶֽלַח׃Me.lach salt H4417 Noun common · masculine singular absolute
28× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew word refers specifically to salt that is easily pulverized and dissolved, often used to season food. It is also associated with salt pits, where salt was harvested. The word highlights the importance of salt in ancient Israelite life.
Amplified meaning
easily pulverized and dissolved, used to season food
Tyndale gloss
salt
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

מֶ֫לַח (melach) means 'salt' and is derived from a root meaning 'powder.' It specifically refers to salt in various contexts, including geographical references like the 'Valley of Salt.' The entries consistently define it as salt without significant disagreement.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מֶ֫לַח n.m. salt

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4417 מֶ֫לַח salt

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4417 melach meh'-lakh

from 4414; properly, powder, i.e. (specifically) salt (as

easily pulverized and dissolved:--salt((-pit)).

see HEBREW for 04414

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מֶ֫לַח (me.lach) — Salt (Sea).

salt

Also named: a.ra.vah (עֲרָבָה "(Sea of the )Arabah" H6160K)

מֶ֫לַח (me.lach) — (Valley of) Salt.

Combined with gay (גַּיְא " Valley" H1516J)

§ salt

מֶ֫לַח (me.lach) — salt.

salt

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absolute
HNcmsa
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

solt (melach; halas, hals): Common salt is considered by most authorities as an essential ingredient of our food. Most people intentionally season their cooking with more or less salt for the sake of palatability. Others depend upon the small quantities which naturally exist in water and many foods to furnish the necessary amount of salt for the body. Either too much salt or the lack of it creates undesirable disturbance in the animal system. Men and animals alike instinctively seek for this substance to supplement or improve their regular diet. The ancients appreciated the value of salt for seasoning food (Job 6:6). So necessary was it that they dignified it by making it a requisite part of sacrifices (Le 2:13; Ezr 6:9; 7:22;

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Salt

Used to season food (Job 6:6), and mixed with the fodder of cattle (Isa. 30:24, “clean;” in marg. of R.V. “salted”). All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13). To eat salt with one is to partake of his hospitality, to derive subsistence from him; and hence he who did so was bound to look after his host’s interests (Ezra 4:14, “We have maintenance from the king’s palace;” A.V. marg., “We are salted with the salt of the palace;” R.V., “We eat the salt of the palace”).

A “covenant of salt” (Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5) was a covenant…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Indispensable as salt is to ourselves, it was even more so to the Hebrews, being to them not only an appetizing condiment in the food both of man, (Job 11:6) and beset, (Isaiah 30:24) see margin, and a valuable antidote to the effects of the heat of the climate on animal food, but also entering largely into the religious services of the Jews as an accompaniment to the various offerings presented on the altar. (Leviticus 2:13) They possessed an inexhaustible and ready supply of it on the southern shores of the Dead Sea. [SEA, THE SALT, THE SALT] There is one mountain here called Jebel Usdum, seven miles long and several hundred feet high, which is composed almost entirely of salt. The Jews appear to have distinguished between rock-salt and that which was gained by evaporation as…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Was procured by the Jews from the Dead Sea, wither from the immense hill or ridge of pure rock salt at its southwest extremity, or from that deposited on the shore by the natural evaporation. The Arabs obtain it in large cakes, two or three inches thick, and sell it in considerable quantities throughout Syria. It well-known preservative qualities, and its importance as a seasoning for food, Job 6:6, are implied in most of the passages where it is mentioned in Scripture: as in the miraculous healing of a fountain, 2Ki 2:21; in the sprinkling of salt over the sacrifices consumed on God’s altar, Le 2:13 Eze 43:24 Mr 9:49

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

Everything we make is available for free because of a generous community of supporters.

Donate