אֱלִיל (e.lil)
e.lil
idol
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 17 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew word elil describes something fundamentally empty or devoid of value. Its root meaning points to "nothingness," characterizing objects or people that lack substance and utility. In the Old Testament, it is used broadly to label anything considered futile, from ineffective divination to incompetent leadership, but it finds its most frequent application in discussions of false worship.
When applied to deities, elil serves as a sharp theological critique rather than a neutral term for an object of reverence. The prophets and psalmists use it to strip idols of any perceived power, defining them as "worthless gods" that cannot act or save. This usage appears prominently in Isaiah and the Psalms, where the contrast between the living God and these empty images is central to the argument.
The term’s force lies in its dismissal. By calling an idol elil, the biblical authors are not merely saying it is different from Yahweh; they are asserting that it has no reality or strength at all. It reduces complex pagan religious systems to mere voids, emphasizing that trust placed in such things yields no result.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word elil translates to something fundamentally empty or devoid of value. In the Old Testament, it is used to describe anything that lacks substance and utility, from ineffective divination to incompetent leadership. However, its most frequent application appears in discussions of false worship. When applied to deities, it serves as a sharp theological critique rather than a neutral term for an object of reverence.
The prophets and psalmists use this term to strip idols of any perceived power, defining them as worthless gods that cannot act or save. This usage appears prominently in Isaiah and the Psalms, where the contrast between the living God and these empty images is central to the argument. The term’s force lies in its dismissal.
By calling an idol elil, the biblical authors are not merely saying it is different from Yahweh; they are asserting that it has no reality or strength at all. It reduces complex pagan religious systems to mere voids, emphasizing that trust placed in such things yields no result.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 17 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [the] idols of4×
- idols2×
- [are] worthless idols2×
- worthlessness1×
- worthless idols1×
- the/ idols1×
- the/ idol1×
- in <the>/ worthless idols1×
- and/ to/ idols/ its1×
- and/ the/ idols1×
- and/ an idol1×
- and/ [the] idols of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- אֱלִילֵ֣י3×
- אֱלִילִ֑ים2×
- וֶֽ/אֱלִיל֙1×
- וֶ/אֱלִילֵ֖י1×
- וְ/לֶ/אֱלִילֶ֑י/הָ1×
- וְ/הָ/אֱלִילִ֖ים1×
- הָֽ/אֱלִיל֙1×
- הָֽ/אֱלִילִים֙1×
- הָ֣/אֱלִילִ֔ים1×
- הָ/אֱלִ֑יל1×
- בָּ/אֱלִילִ֑ים1×
- אֱלִילֵ֤י1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 96:5
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.
This verse directly contrasts the empty gods of the peoples with Yahweh, who made the heavens.
-
Isaiah 2:8
Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
Here the prophet describes a land full of idols that people worship as the work of their own hands.
-
Isaiah 19:1
The burden of Egypt. “Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt within it.
The idols of Egypt tremble at Yahweh's presence, showing their inability to withstand His power.
-
Habakkuk 2:18
“What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols?
The prophet asks what value an engraved image has when its maker trusts in a mute idol.