נֵ֫טֶל

# Netel: A Rare Hebrew Term for Weight The Hebrew word *netel* (H5192) refers to a "weight"—likely a physical object used for measuring or weighing. This is a substantive noun, meaning it denotes a concrete thing rather than an abstract concept. The term appears only once in the biblical text, making it a hapax legomenon (a word occurring only a single time in a corpus), which limits our ability to determine its full semantic range or typical usage patterns from the biblical evidence alone. Because *netel* occurs just once, we cannot determine from biblical usage whether it refers to a standard unit of weight, a specific type of scale or balance weight, or a more general reference to the concept of weighing. The singular attestation also means we cannot assess how common or specialized this particular term was in everyday Hebrew speech versus formal or technical language. The word's appearance suggests that the biblical writer expected readers to understand this term, indicating it held a recognized place in ancient Hebrew vocabulary related to commerce, measurement, or daily life. The rarity of this word in the biblical corpus stands in contrast to other, more frequently used Hebrew terms for related concepts. This single occurrence preserves evidence of Hebrew vocabulary that may have been more prevalent in spoken or practical contexts than in the texts that survived and were included in the biblical canon.