זוּל
zul
to lavish/despise
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of זוּל (zul) The Hebrew root זוּל (zul) appears only twice in the biblical text, which severely limits what can be definitively stated about its semantic range. The lexicon provides two seemingly opposite definitions—"to lavish" and "to despise"—suggesting the word carries contrasting meanings depending on context. This polarity is not unusual in Hebrew, where a single root can express opposing concepts through different constructions or interpretive frameworks. With only two occurrences in the entire biblical corpus, זוּל remains an extremely rare term. The scarcity of attestation makes it difficult to establish clear patterns of usage or to determine whether both meanings appear in actual biblical texts or whether one definition represents a theoretical or secondary sense. For scholars and translators, such rare words often present challenges in interpretation, as context becomes the primary tool for determining which sense applies in each instance. The limited data provided does not permit detailed analysis of this word's significance within biblical literature or its relationship to similar Hebrew roots. A complete understanding would require consulting the specific passages where זוּל appears and examining the broader textual context of each occurrence.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences across the text
Some pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver in the balance. They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god. They fall down— yes, they worship.
Lamentations 1:8Jerusalem has grievously sinned. Therefore she has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness. Yes, she sighs, and turns backward.