עָלָה (a.lah)
a.lah
to ascend: rise
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 736 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb alah describes the action of going up, ascending, or rising. It appears in over seven hundred verses, covering a wide range of physical and spiritual movements. In its most basic sense, it refers to climbing a hill or moving from a lower place to a higher one. This literal movement forms the foundation for many of its other uses in Scripture.
Beyond simple geography, alah carries significant ritual weight. It is frequently used to describe bringing offerings or sacrifices up to the altar. The sources note that this usage connects the physical act of lifting an item with the spiritual act of presenting it to God. This specific application highlights how the word bridges the gap between earthly actions and heavenly worship.
The word also extends into natural processes and personal conduct. Vegetation is described as springing up, while natural phenomena like dawn are said to rise. In a figurative sense, arrogance or thoughts can go up before God. This versatility allows alah to describe everything from the growth of plants to the exaltation of kings, always maintaining the core idea of upward movement.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word alah captures the simple yet profound action of going up or rising. In Scripture, this movement is never just physical geography. It describes smoke from sacrifices reaching heaven, Jacob’s ladder connecting earth and sky, and Joseph being lifted from a pit. These images remind us that our daily lives are part of a larger spiritual narrative where the earthly meets the divine.
When you read about offerings going up to God, it highlights how worship bridges the gap between human action and heavenly presence. This word invites you to see your own steps—whether climbing a hill or rising from difficulty—as meaningful acts of faith. It suggests that every ascent, literal or metaphorical, points toward a higher purpose and a closer relationship with God.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 736 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ he went up66×
- go up48×
- and/ they went up39×
- to/ go up18×
- and/ he offered up17×
- it will go up14×
- he came up14×
- they went up13×
- and/ it went up13×
- it went up12×
- come up12×
- to/ offer up11×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וַ/יַּ֥עַל19×
- וַ/יַּ֣עַל17×
- וַ/יַּ֨עַל14×
- עָלָ֣ה12×
- יַעֲלֶ֣ה12×
- וַ/יַּעֲל֥וּ12×
- וַ/יַּעֲל֣וּ11×
- יַעֲלֶ֖ה9×
- עָלָ֥ה8×
- עֲלֵ֣ה8×
- וַ/יַּ֤עַל8×
- וַ/יַּ֙עַל֙8×
Key Verses
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Genesis 28:12
He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
This verse uses the word to describe angels ascending Jacob’s ladder, symbolizing the connection between heaven and earth.
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Genesis 8:20
Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Here it describes Noah offering burnt offerings, linking the physical act of sacrifice with spiritual reverence.
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Genesis 35:1
God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
God commands Jacob to go up to Bethel, showing how ascent is tied to specific places of divine encounter and memory.
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Genesis 41:2
Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass.
The cattle coming up from the river illustrates the word’s use in describing natural phenomena that carry prophetic meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Hebrew word alah mean?
How is alah different from other words for rising?
Where does this word appear most often?
Every Occurrence (736 verses across 34 books)
Genesis 46 verses
but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Genesis 8:20Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on…
Genesis 13:1Abram went up out of Egypt—he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him—into the South.
Genesis 17:22When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
Genesis 19:15When the morning came, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are…
Genesis 19:28He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up…
Genesis 19:30Lot went up out of Zoar, and lived in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to live in Zoar.…
Genesis 22:2He said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a…
Genesis 22:13Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham…
Genesis 24:16The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin. No man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her…
Genesis 26:23He went up from there to Beersheba.
Genesis 28:12He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were…
Genesis 31:10During mating season, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which leaped on the flock…
Genesis 31:12He said, ‘Now lift up your eyes, and behold, all the male goats which leap on the flock are streaked, speckled, and…
Genesis 35:1God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you…
Genesis 35:3Let’s arise, and go up to Bethel. I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was…
Genesis 35:13God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.
Genesis 37:28Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the…
Genesis 38:12After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to…
Genesis 38:13Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
Genesis 40:10and in the vine were three branches. It was as though it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.
Genesis 41:2Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass.
Genesis 41:3Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the…
Genesis 41:5He slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.
Genesis 41:18and behold, seven fat and sleek cattle came up out of the river. They fed in the marsh grass;
Genesis 41:19and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of…
Genesis 41:22I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good;
Genesis 41:27The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted…
Genesis 44:17He said, “Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he will be my slave; but as…
Genesis 44:24When we came up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
Genesis 44:33Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy, my lord’s slave; and let the boy go up with his…
Genesis 44:34For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn’t with me?—lest I see the evil that will come on my father.”
Genesis 45:9Hurry, and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says, “God has made me lord of all Egypt.…
Genesis 45:25They went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father.
Genesis 46:4I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”
Genesis 46:29Joseph prepared his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell…
Genesis 46:31Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father’s house, “I will go up, and speak with Pharaoh, and will tell him, ‘My…
Genesis 49:4Boiling over like water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to…
Genesis 49:9Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness.…
Genesis 50:5‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying. Bury me in my grave which I have dug for myself in the land of…
Genesis 50:6Pharaoh said, “Go up, and bury your father, just like he made you swear.”
Genesis 50:7Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, all the…
Genesis 50:9Both chariots and horsemen went up with him. It was a very great company.
Genesis 50:14Joseph returned into Egypt—he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried…
Genesis 50:24Joseph said to his brothers, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land…
Genesis 50:25Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones…