יֶ֫לֶק (ye.leq)
ye.leq
locust
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun yeleq refers specifically to a young locust, particularly in its early developmental stages before it grows wings. Lexical sources describe it as a caterpillar-like creature that devours vegetation with intense hunger. This specific life stage is distinct from the adult flying locust, highlighting a particular vulnerability and destructive phase in the insect's cycle.
Although it appears only five times in Scripture, its presence is significant in prophetic and poetic texts like Joel and Jeremiah. In these contexts, the yeleq often symbolizes an overwhelming plague or judgment. The imagery relies on the creature’s relentless consumption of crops, serving as a vivid metaphor for devastation that strips the land bare.
Translators typically render this word as "locust" or "caterpillar," depending on whether the context emphasizes the insect form or its larval stage. The consistent thread across these occurrences is the theme of sudden, consuming destruction. By focusing on this specific creature, the biblical text captures the terrifying efficiency of a swarm that leaves nothing behind.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word yeleq points to a specific stage in the life of a locust, often understood as a young, wingless larva that moves across the ground before developing flight. In the ancient Near East, this creature represented a terrifying threat because its hunger was insatiable and its movement relentless. When Scripture uses this image, it is not merely describing an insect but evoking the feeling of being overwhelmed by forces that strip away security and provision.
For your faith life, this imagery reminds us that destruction can feel sudden and total. Yet, the biblical narrative does not leave us in the shadow of this devastation. In Joel 2:25, the same God who allows the swarm also promises to restore what was lost. This offers a profound hope: no matter how complete the loss may seem, divine restoration is possible. We are invited to trust that even in seasons of barrenness, there is a promise of renewal and return.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ locust[s]3×
- like/ a locust1×
- like <the>/ locust1×
- and/ locust[s]1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- כַּ/יֶּ֔לֶק1×
- כְּ/יֶ֥לֶק1×
- וְ֝/יֶ֗לֶק1×
- הַ/יָּ֑לֶק1×
- הַ/יֶּ֖לֶק1×
- הַ/יֶּ֔לֶק1×
Key Verses
-
Joel 1:4
What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
This verse lists the yeleq as the final stage in a sequence of destruction, showing how total the devastation becomes when each phase of the plague consumes what remains.
-
Joel 2:25
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.
Here, God explicitly names the yeleq among the 'great army' He sent, but immediately follows with a promise to restore the years that this specific creature has eaten.
-
Psalms 105:34
He spoke, and the locusts came with the grasshoppers, without number.
In this historical recounting, the yeleq appears alongside grasshoppers as an instrument of judgment against Egypt, highlighting its role in executing divine will.