8510. tel

Lexicon

tel: Mound, heap, ruin

Original Word: תֵּל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: tel
Pronunciation: tehl
Phonetic Spelling: (tale)
Definition: Mound, heap, ruin
Meaning: a mound

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

heap, strength

By contraction from talal; a mound -- heap, X strength.

see HEBREW talal

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a mound
NASB Translation
heap (2), mounds (1), ruin (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

תֵּל noun [masculine] mound; —

1 mound, ruin-heep (of city): construct תֵּל(ֿ)עוֺלָם Joshua 8:28 (JE), Deuteronomy 13:17, תֵּל שְׁמָמָה Jeremiah 49:2.

2 mound or hill on which city stood: suffix תִּלָּם Joshua 11:18 (D), תִּלָּתּ Jeremiah 30:18.

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from an unused root meaning to accumulate.

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: The corresponding Strong's Greek entry is G5038 (τύμβος, tymbos), which refers to a tomb or sepulcher. While not a direct equivalent in meaning, both terms relate to structures associated with the past and serve as reminders of mortality and the passage of time.

Usage: The term "tel" is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe a mound or heap, typically associated with ancient ruins or sites of former cities. It is often used in the context of describing the desolation or destruction of a place.

Context: The Hebrew word תֵּל (tel) appears in the Old Testament to denote a mound or heap, particularly in reference to ancient ruins. This term is significant in biblical archaeology, as many ancient cities were built on tels, which are layers of successive settlements built upon one another over time. These mounds are characteristic of the ancient Near East and are key to understanding the historical and cultural context of biblical narratives.

In the Bible, "tel" is used to describe the desolation that befalls cities as a result of divine judgment or military conquest. For example, in Deuteronomy 13:16 (BSB), the text instructs, "Then you are to gather all its spoil into the middle of the city square and completely burn the city and all its spoil as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It will be a mound (tel) forever, a ruin, never to be rebuilt."

The imagery of a tel serves as a powerful symbol of the consequences of disobedience and the transience of human endeavors. It underscores the biblical theme of divine sovereignty and the ultimate futility of opposing God's will.

Forms and Transliterations

לְתֵ֣ל לתל תִּלָּ֔הּ תִּלָּ֔ם תֵּ֣ל תֵּל־ תל תל־ תלה תלם lə·ṯêl leTel ləṯêl tel têl têl- til·lāh til·lām tilLah tillāh tilLam tillām

Englishman's Concordance

Deuteronomy 13:16
HEB: אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ וְהָיְתָה֙ תֵּ֣ל עוֹלָ֔ם לֹ֥א
NAS: your God; and it shall be a ruin forever.
KJV: thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever;
INT: your God shall be a ruin forever shall never

Joshua 8:28
HEB: הָעָ֑י וַיְשִׂימֶ֤הָ תֵּל־ עוֹלָם֙ שְׁמָמָ֔ה
NAS: and made it a heap forever,
KJV: and made it an heap for ever,
INT: Ai and made A heap forever A desolation

Joshua 11:13
HEB: הָעֹֽמְדוֹת֙ עַל־ תִּלָּ֔ם לֹ֥א שְׂרָפָ֖ם
NAS: that stood on their mounds, except
KJV: that stood still in their strength, Israel
INT: stood on their mounds did not burn

Jeremiah 30:18
HEB: עִיר֙ עַל־ תִּלָּ֔הּ וְאַרְמ֖וֹן עַל־
NAS: will be rebuilt on its ruin, And the palace
KJV: shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace
INT: and the city on ruin and the palace on

Jeremiah 49:2
HEB: מִלְחָמָ֗ה וְהָֽיְתָה֙ לְתֵ֣ל שְׁמָמָ֔ה וּבְנֹתֶ֖יהָ
NAS: a desolate heap, And her towns
KJV: and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters
INT: of war will become heap A desolate towns

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8510
5 Occurrences

lə·ṯêl — 1 Occ.
têl — 2 Occ.
til·lāh — 1 Occ.
til·lām — 1 Occ.