גָּלָל

# Gālal (H1557): A Simple Hebrew Word for Dung The Hebrew word *gālal* (גָּלָל) refers directly to dung—animal or human waste material. This is a straightforward, literal term without metaphorical extension, based on its definition and minimal biblical presence. The word appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, which indicates it was neither a central theological concept nor a frequently used vocabulary item in biblical Hebrew. The rarity of this word's occurrence suggests that biblical writers either used alternative terms for waste material or that the concept itself was simply not a major focus of scriptural discussion. Its plain, concrete meaning places it among the most basic and unglamorous vocabulary in the Hebrew language—the kind of everyday word that would have been understood by all speakers but required no elaborate explanation or theological weight. Understanding words like *gālal* reminds us that biblical Hebrew, like all languages, contained ordinary terms for ordinary realities that had little literary or religious significance.