H5038 — נְבֵלָה (nebelah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5038
Original: נְבֵלָה
Transliteration: nebelah
Pronunciation: neb-ay-law
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: נָבֵל (nabel, H5034) — to wilt, wither, fall away; hence "a flabby/fallen thing"
Occurrences: 41 unique verses (50 tokens) across 9 books
First Occurrence: Lev 5:2 — "Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A flabby thing, i.e. a carcass or carrion (human or bestial, often collectively); figuratively, an idol. KJV: (dead) body, (dead) carcase, dead of itself, which died, (beast) that (which) dieth of itself.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
carcase/carcases (various forms)	26	63.4%
body/dead body/dead bodies	5	12.2%
that dieth/died of itself	5	12.2%
other phrasings	5	12.2%

The dominant translation is "carcase" (63%), emphasizing the dead body as physical remains. The "dieth of itself" translations (12%) appear specifically in dietary/purity law contexts (Lev 7:24; 17:15; 22:8; Deut 14:21; Ezek 4:14).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	16	1.9
Jeremiah	8	0.6
1 Kings	6	0.7
Deuteronomy	4	0.4
Isaiah	2	0.2
Ezekiel	2	0.2
2 Kings	1	0.1
Joshua	1	0.2
Psalms	1	0.0

Leviticus dominates (39% of all occurrences) at nearly 2 per 100 verses, reflecting the word's primary home in purity legislation. Jeremiah uses it heavily in judgment prophecy (unburied corpses as divine curse). 1 Kings clusters entirely in the ch. 13 narrative of the disobedient prophet's carcass.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Carcass of Unclean Animals (purity/dietary context)¶

The most common usage — dead bodies of ritually unclean creatures whose contact produces defilement. - Lev 5:2 — "a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things" - Lev 11:8 — "Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you" - Lev 11:24-28 — touching the carcass produces uncleanness until evening; bearing it requires washing clothes - Deut 14:8 — "ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase"

2. Carcass of Clean Animals That Die Naturally¶

A clean animal that dies of itself (rather than being slaughtered) also becomes nebelah — the issue is the manner of death and blood retention, not species. - Lev 11:39 — "if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even" - Lev 11:40 — "he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even" - Lev 7:24 — "the fat of the beast that dieth of itself... may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it" - Deut 14:21 — "Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger"

3. Human Corpse (narrative and prophetic)¶

Used for human dead bodies, especially in contexts of judgment, disgrace, or unburied remains. - 1 Ki 13:24-30 — the disobedient prophet's carcase (6 occurrences in one narrative) - 2 Ki 9:37 — "the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field" - Jer 7:33 — "the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven" - Deut 21:23 — "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree... he that is hanged is accursed of God" - Deut 28:26 — "thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air" (covenant curse)

4. Prophetic/Figurative — Judgment and Resurrection¶

Isa 5:25 — "their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets" (divine judgment)
Isa 26:19 — "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise" (resurrection prophecy)
Jer 16:4,18; 19:7; 34:20; 36:30 — unburied carcasses as marks of God's judgment

5. Priestly Prohibition¶

Priests face stricter standards regarding nebelah. - Lev 22:8 — "That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD" - Ezek 44:31 — "The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
טָמֵא (tame)	H2930	12x (29%)	touching nebelah causes uncleanness
אָכַל (akal)	H398	12x (29%)	eating prohibition or judgment context
בְּהֵמָה (behemah)	H929	8x (20%)	"beast" — specifying animal carcasses
עֶרֶב (ereb)	H6153	8x (20%)	"until the even" — duration of uncleanness
נָגַע (naga)	H5060	7x (17%)	"touch" — contact with carcass
עוֹף (owph)	H5775	7x (17%)	"fowl" — birds eating unburied corpses
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	6x (15%)	"give" — including Deut 14:21
שָׁלַךְ (shalak)	H7993	6x (15%)	"cast" — carcass cast out/thrown

The top collocations reveal two primary contexts: (1) purity legislation (tame, ereb, naga = touching produces uncleanness until evening) and (2) judgment prophecy (owph, shalak = unburied corpses exposed to birds/beasts).

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5034 נָבֵל (nabel) — root verb: to wilt, wither, fall, be foolish. The noun nebelah derives from this root, suggesting something that has "fallen" or "wilted" — a body from which life has departed.
H5035 נֵבֶל (nebel) — a skin-bag (wineskin); also a stringed instrument (psaltery). From the same root — something that can go "flabby."
H5036 נָבָל (nabal) — foolish, senseless. Same root — one who has morally "withered."

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
פֶּגֶר (peger)	H6297	both = "carcase/carcases"	peger = corpse as limp/fallen (human or animal); nebelah emphasizes the state of having died (especially naturally) and carries purity implications
מַפֶּלֶת (mappeleth)	H4658	"carcase" (1x for H4658)	mappeleth = ruin/fall; only once used as "carcase"
טְרֵפָה (terephah)	H2966	both appear in dietary/purity contexts	terephah = torn by beasts; nebelah = died naturally. Both produce defilement, but the cause of death differs

Semantic Domain¶

Images/Idols — The lexicon notes figurative use for idols (things that have "fallen" or are lifeless/worthless). This connects to H434 (elil), H457 (elil), H1544 (gillul).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἀκάθαρτος (akathartos) G169	13	15.49	Primary — "unclean"; LXX renders nebelah in purity contexts with the uncleanness word
σῶμα (soma) G4983	6	11.00	"Body" — used for human corpses
νεκρός (nekros) G3498	5	10.59	"Dead" — in judgment/death contexts
κρέας (kreas) G2907	4	7.99	"Flesh/meat" — in dietary contexts
θηρίον (therion) G2342	7	10.88	"Beast" — in contexts where beasts eat the carcass
βρῶσις (brosis) G1035	4	9.56	"Food/eating" — in dietary law contexts

The primary LXX equivalent is akathartos (G169), which translates the purity dimension of nebelah — the carcass as a source of ritual uncleanness. The LXX does NOT render nebelah with a single consistent word but distributes it across several Greek words depending on whether the context emphasizes uncleanness (akathartos), the physical body (soma), death (nekros), or food (brosis/kreas).