StrongerBible

yeled

יֶלֶד

HebrewH3206child, boy, ...

Appears 89 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 4:23Gen 21:8Gen 21:14Gen 21:15Gen 21:16Gen 30:26Gen 32:22(23)Gen 33:1Gen 33:2 (2×)Gen 33:5 (2×)Gen 33:6Gen 33:7Gen 33:13Gen 33:14Gen 37:30Gen 42:22Gen 44:20Exo 1:17Exo 1:18Exo 2:3Exo 2:6 (2×)Exo 2:7Exo 2:8Exo 2:9 (2×)Exo 2:10Exo 21:4Exo 21:22Rut 1:5Rut 4:161Sa 1:2 (2×)2Sa 6:232Sa 12:152Sa 12:182Sa 12:192Sa 12:221Ki 12:81Ki 12:101Ki 12:141Ki 14:122Ki 4:12Ki 4:182Ki 4:262Ki 4:34Ezr 10:1Job 21:11Job 38:41Job 39:3Ecc 4:13Isa 2:6Isa 9:6(5)
Word studyYEH-lednoun

What yeled means

a child or young person: one who has been born, from a newborn infant to a young man

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

The word yeled names a person at the early stage of life. Its range runs from a newborn in arms (the infant Moses placed in a basket; the baby of David and Bathsheba who died in infancy) through a growing boy (the Shunamite's son who went out to the reapers and then died) to a teenager or young man (Daniel and his companions selected for Nebuchadnezzar's court; the young advisors around Rehoboam).

The two senses track this age range. The first covers the infant and child stage, where the focus is vulnerability and dependence: these are babies cried over, carried, nursed, revived. The second covers the youth and young man stage, where the focus shifts to vigor, inexperience, or inexpert counsel: the "young men who grew up with" Rehoboam, the "youths" set apart for royal education in Babylon.

The word shares its root with the verb ילד (to bear, to beget) and carries a sense of "one born": a person whose origin in birth is still in view. Animals' young are also described with this word (Job 38:41; 39:3), reinforcing the basic sense of offspring, one newly produced. The closely related word ולד (walad), an archaic alternate spelling, carries the same meaning and appears once (Genesis 11:30: "she had no child").

Nuances

1ainfant, child: a baby or young boy still in childhood
Gen 21:14Gen 21:15Gen 21:16Exo 2:3Exo 2:6 (2×)Exo 2:7Exo 2:8Exo 2:9 (2×)Exo 2:10Rut 4:162Sa 12:152Sa 12:18
1byouth, young man: a teenager or young adult, often in contrast to older men
1Ki 12:81Ki 12:101Ki 12:142Ch 10:82Ch 10:102Ch 10:14Ecc 4:13Dan 1:4Dan 1:10Dan 1:13Dan 1:15Dan 1:17
1cthe young of an animal: an animal's offspring, such as a young bird, calf, or cub, rather than a human child
Job 38:41Job 39:3Isa 11:7

What scholars say about yeled

Standard lexica (HALOT, BDB, DCH) agree that yeled names a person at the early stage of life, with a range from newborn infant to young adult. HALOT distinguishes "child, boy" from "youth, young man" as the main semantic zones, and BDB similarly separates the infant-to-boy range from the older youth usage. TDOT (vol. 6) treats the word under the ילד root, noting that yeled emphasizes origin through birth and is used both for human children and animal young (Job 38:41). The Daniel 1 usage is especially important for understanding the upper end of the range: the "youths" selected for Babylonian court training were likely adolescents around 14-16 years old, showing that yeled extended well beyond early childhood. TWOT (entry 867) notes the connection to the verbal root and the word's overlap with na'ar.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. יֶלֶדlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. יֶלֶד, pp. 409-410lexicon
  • DCH, vol. 4, s.v. יֶלֶדlexicon
  • TDOT, vol. 6, s.v. יָלַד (H. Haag)dictionary
  • TWOT, entry 867, s.v. יֶלֶד (R. D. Culver)dictionary
  • NIDOTTE, vol. 2, s.v. יֶלֶדdictionary

All attested forms of יֶלֶד

m s absolute

יֶּלֶד, יָּלֶד, יֶלֶד, יָלֶד

Gen 21:8, Gen 21:14, Gen 21:15, Gen 37:30, Gen 42:22, Exo 2:3, Exo 2:6, Exo 2:9

m p absolute

יְלָדִים, וִילָדִים

Gen 33:1, Gen 33:5, Gen 33:5, Gen 33:13, Gen 33:14, Exo 1:17, Exo 1:18, 1Sa 1:2

m p construct

יַלְדֵיהֶן

Gen 33:2, Gen 33:6, Job 39:3, Isa 11:7, Lam 4:10

m p construct

וִילָדֶיהָ, יְלָדֶיהָ

Gen 33:2, Gen 33:7, Exo 21:4, Exo 21:22, Rut 1:5

m p construct

יַלְדֵי, יִלְדֵי, יַּלְדֵי

Isa 2:6, Hos 1:2, Isa 57:4, Exo 2:6

m p construct

יְלָדָיו

Gen 32:22, Job 38:41, Isa 29:23

m p construct

יְלָדַי

Gen 30:26, 2Ki 4:1

m s construct

יֶלֶד

Gen 44:20, Jer 31:20

m p construct

יַלְדֵיהֶם

Job 21:11