יוּבַל
yu.val
stream
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of יוּבַל (yuval) – "Stream" The Hebrew word יוּבַל appears only once in the biblical text, making it a rare lexical item. Its definition as "stream" indicates a flowing body of water, likely smaller than a major river but significant enough to merit its own specific terminology in biblical Hebrew. The singular occurrence limits our ability to observe how the word was used across different contexts or to identify any semantic variations. Given that Hebrew possessed multiple words for water bodies (such as נָהָר for river), the existence of this particular term suggests that ancient speakers distinguished between different categories of flowing water. The rarity of יוּבַל in the biblical corpus may indicate either that it was a specialized or regional term, or that other, more common synonyms were preferred by the biblical authors. Without additional occurrences, we cannot determine whether it held any metaphorical or theological significance beyond its literal meaning. Its single appearance makes definitive conclusions about its range of usage or cultural importance impossible based solely on the biblical evidence.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text