Bible Word Study
מֵעָל
mêʻâl · (only in plural as singular) the setting (of the sun)
מֵעָל
(only in plural as singular) the setting (of the sun)
Definition
The Hebrew word מֵעָל (mêʻâl) is a rare noun that appears only in the plural form but functions as a singular, meaning 'the setting' or 'going down,' specifically referring to the setting of the sun. Its sole biblical occurrence is in Daniel 6:14, where King Darius labors until the setting of the sun to rescue Daniel from the lions' den. This usage poetically marks the end of the day, emphasizing the urgency and passage of time in the narrative. No other distinct meanings or applications are attested in the Hebrew Bible.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in the Aramaic portion of the book of Daniel (Daniel 6:14). It appears in a narrative context describing the king's frantic efforts before sunset, the deadline set by his own decree. The usage is straightforward, denoting the literal time of day when the sun descends below the horizon, serving as a temporal boundary in the story.
Etymology
The word מֵעָל (mêʻâl) is derived from Aramaic, not classical Hebrew, and comes from the root עֲלַל (ʻălal, H5954), which carries a basic sense of 'to go in' or 'to enter.' This root meaning evolved to describe the sun's 'entering' or 'going down' into its resting place at the horizon. Its presence in Daniel reflects the Aramaic language used in that section of the book.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Near East, the setting of the sun was a natural, daily marker for the end of work and the onset of evening. In Daniel 6:14, it underscores the legal and cultural finality of the king's irrevocable decree, which was tied to a specific time. The king's labor until sunset highlights both his personal distress and the limits of his royal power against the law, a tension central to the story's drama. עֶרֶב (ʻerev, H6153) — a more common Hebrew term for 'evening' or the period following sunset, denoting a broader time frame rather than the precise moment of the sun's descent.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]