H5930 — עֹלָה (ʻôlâh)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5930
Original: עֹלָה (also עוֹלָה ʻôwlâh)
Transliteration: ʻôlâh
Pronunciation: o-law'
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: Feminine active participle of עָלָה (ʻâlâh, H5927) — "to go up, ascend"
Occurrences: 302 tokens in 262 unique verses across 23 OT books
First Occurrence: Gen 8:20 — "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD... and offered burnt offerings (ʻôlâh) on the altar."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or עוֹלָה (ʻôwlâh); feminine active participle of [עָלָה]; a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke):—ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to.

The name derives from the root עלה "to go up/ascend" — the sacrifice is so-called because it (and/or its smoke) "goes up" entirely to God. Unlike other offerings, no portion is retained by priest or worshipper; the whole animal is consumed on the altar.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
burnt offering(s) (various forms: "a", "the", "for a", possessive)	251	~96%
burnt sacrifice(s) (various forms)	~20	~8%
ascent / "go up to" (non-sacrificial sense)	1–2	<1%
Function-word fragments ("a", "and", "the", "for")	13	~5%

Note: verse counts overlap where multiple translation fragments occur. The overwhelmingly dominant rendering is "burnt offering" (with article/preposition variations), followed by the synonymous "burnt sacrifice." The non-cultic sense "ascent / go up to" (reflecting the underlying root) is preserved in a small handful of contexts (e.g., Ezek 40:26; 2 Sam 15:30 variant reading).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	58	6.8
Numbers	53	4.1
2 Chronicles	24	2.9
Ezra	6	2.1
Exodus	16	1.3
Ezekiel	17	1.3
1 Chronicles	11	1.2
1 Samuel	9	1.1
Judges	6	1.0
Micah	1	1.0
Joshua	6	0.9
1 Kings	7	0.9
2 Kings	6	0.8
2 Samuel	5	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
Deuteronomy	6	0.6
Genesis	7	0.5
Jeremiah	7	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Isaiah	5	0.4
Psalms	7	0.3
Job	2	0.2
Nehemiah	1	0.2

Densest in the Priestly cultic codes (Leviticus, Numbers) and the Chronicler's temple history (2 Chr, Ezra, 1 Chr). Strong presence in Ezekiel's restored-temple vision (ch. 40–46). Sparse but pointed occurrences in the prophets (Isa, Jer, Hos, Amos, Mic), where ʻôlâh often appears in critiques of mere ritual divorced from covenant obedience.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Whole Burnt Offering — Cultic Sacrifice Wholly Consumed¶

The dominant sense: an animal (bullock, ram, lamb, kid, bird) entirely burned on the altar to YHWH, as a "sweet savour" (ריח ניחוח). - Gen 8:20 — Noah's first post-flood worship: burnt offerings of every clean beast and fowl. - Gen 22:2, 7–8, 13 — Abraham instructed to offer Isaac as an ʻôlâh; ram substituted. - Lev 1:3–17 — the founding torah of the burnt offering: male without blemish, hand-laying, flaying, washing of inwards and legs, all burned. - Lev 6:9 — "This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night."

2. Continual / Daily Burnt Offering (ʻôlâh tāmîd)¶

The perpetual morning-and-evening sacrifice that structures Israel's cultic time. - Exo 29:42 — "a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle." - Num 28:3–6, 10, 23, 31 — twice-daily lambs plus added ʻôlôt for sabbaths, new moons, feasts. - Num 29:6, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 38 — the refrain "beside the continual burnt offering." - Ezr 3:5 — the returned exiles resume the "continual burnt offering."

3. Festival and Occasional Burnt Offerings¶

Additional ʻôlôt for new moons, feasts (Passover, Weeks, Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles), royal accessions, and temple dedications. - Num 28:11; 29:2, 8, 13, 36 — festival schedules. - 1 Ki 3:4 — Solomon's thousand burnt offerings at Gibeon. - 1 Ki 8:64; 2 Chr 7:1, 7 — Solomon's temple-dedication ʻôlôt. - 2 Chr 29:27–35 — Hezekiah's reform offerings.

4. Individual and Voluntary Burnt Offerings¶

A worshipper's personal offering — often paired with sin offering for purification, or brought as vow/freewill. - Lev 12:6, 8; 14:19–20, 22, 31; 15:15, 30 — postpartum and purification offerings. - Job 1:5; 42:8 — Job's intercessory ʻôlôt for his children and friends. - Jdg 13:16, 23 — Manoah and the Angel of YHWH. - Eze 46:12 — the prince's "voluntary burnt offering."

5. Burnt Offering with Peace / Meat / Sin Offerings (Covenant Worship Sequence)¶

ʻôlâh collocates heavily with zebach shelamim (peace/fellowship offering), minchah (meal/tribute), and chattaʼth (sin offering) — forming a ritual grammar: atonement → ascent → communion. - Exo 20:24 — "shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings." - Lev 9:22 — Aaron's inaugural sequence: sin, burnt, peace. - 2 Sam 6:17–18; 24:25 — David's burnt + peace offerings at the ark and threshing floor. - 1 Chr 16:1–2, 40; 29:21 — Davidic liturgy.

6. Prophetic Critique — Burnt Offerings Without Obedience¶

The prophets repeatedly subordinate ʻôlâh to covenant fidelity, mercy, and justice; burnt offerings are rejected when divorced from the heart. - 1 Sam 15:22 — "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?" - Isa 1:11 — "I am full of the burnt offerings of rams." - Jer 7:21–22 — "Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh." - Hos 6:6 — "I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." - Mic 6:6–7 — "Shall I come before him with burnt offerings?" - Psa 40:6; 50:8; 51:16–19 — YHWH delights not in ʻôlâh but in a broken spirit / righteousness.

7. Non-Cultic "Ascent / Step" Sense (Rare)¶

The root meaning "going up" surfaces where the noun denotes a literal ascent or stairway. - Eze 40:26 — "seven steps to go up to it" (ʻôlâh as stairway in the temple-vision gate). - Some commentators also read 2 Sam 15:30 and Ezek 40 terminology in this line.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occ	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה Yᵉhôvâh	H3068	123x (47%)	"burnt offering unto the LORD" (recipient formula)
עַל ʻal	H5921	92x (35%)	"upon [the altar]" — locative of sacrifice
מִזְבֵּחַ mizbêach	H4196	67x (26%)	"altar of burnt offering" (construct pair)
עָלָה ʻâlâh (root)	H5927	64x (24%)	"offered up / caused to go up a burnt offering" — cognate verb
בֵּן bên	H1121	63x (24%)	"lamb/bullock of the first year" (בן־שנה)
עָשָׂה ʻâsâh	H6213	58x (22%)	"prepare / offer / make a burnt offering"
חַטָּאָה chaṭṭâʼâh	H2403	47x (18%)	"sin offering and burnt offering" (ritual pair)
זֶבַח zebach	H2077	43x (16%)	"burnt offerings and sacrifices" (paired genres)
מִנְחָה minchâh	H4503	43x (16%)	"burnt offering and meat offering" (paired genres)
אַיִל ʼayil (ram)	H352	41x (16%)	"a ram for a burnt offering"
שֶׁלֶם shelem	H8002	37x (14%)	"burnt offerings and peace offerings" (covenant pair)
כֶּבֶשׂ kebes (lamb)	H3532	37x (14%)	"lamb of the first year for a burnt offering"
כֹּהֵן kôhên (priest)	H3548	35x (13%)	priestly agency in offering
פַּר par (bullock)	H6499	35x (13%)	"bullock for a burnt offering"
בָּקָר bâqâr (herd)	H1241	34x (13%)	"of the herd" (species source)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5927 עָלָה (ʻâlâh) — root verb: "to go up, ascend" (the sacrifice that goes up)
H4609 מַעֲלָה (maʻălâh) — noun: step, stair, degree, ascent
H5929 עָלֶה (ʻâleh) — leaf, foliage (lit. "that which sprouts up")
H5945 עֶלְיוֹן (ʻelyôn) — Most High (the One above)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H5930.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H5930.

Easily Confused Words (other sacrificial terms)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared field	Key Difference
זֶבַח zebach	H2077	general "sacrifice" — partially eaten	ʻôlâh is wholly consumed on the altar; zebach is shared with worshippers
שֶׁלֶם shelem	H8002	"peace/fellowship offering"	shelem is eaten by priest + offerer (covenant meal); ʻôlâh is entirely burned
חַטָּאָה chaṭṭâʼâh	H2403	"sin offering" — purification	chaṭṭâʼâh targets specific sin/impurity; ʻôlâh is general devotion/atonement
אָשָׁם ʼâshâm	H817	"trespass/guilt offering" — restitution	ʼâshâm includes reparation payment; ʻôlâh does not
מִנְחָה minchâh	H4503	"tribute / meal offering" — grain	minchâh is grain/flour (bloodless); ʻôlâh is animal (blood)
כָּלִיל kâlîl	H3632	also "whole" burnt offering	kâlîl emphasizes "entire"; often poetic/parallel term for ʻôlâh
קָרְבָּן qorbân	H7133	generic "offering/gift"	qorbân is the superordinate category; ʻôlâh is one species within it

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002003002020] Sacrifice — the primary semantic field for the burnt offering as a distinct sacrificial category.
[001002006] Animals — reflects the animal victims regularly supplied for the ʻôlâh.
[001002008001008] Furnishings — captures the altar/temple-furnishing contexts in which the burnt offering is presented.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ὁλοκαύτωμα (holokaútōma)	G3646	163	6.32	Primary and dominant bridge — "whole-burnt" (holos + kaio); ~62% of ʻôlâh tokens
ἀναφέρω (anaphérō)	G399	57	5.24	"to offer up / bring up" — the action verb for ʻôlâh
θυσία (thysía)	G2378	77	4.53	"sacrifice" generically (sometimes renders ʻôlâh when in lists)
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastḗrion)	G2379	65	4.18	"altar" (construct collocation, not gloss)
μόσχος (móschos)	G3448	38	3.99	"calf/bullock" (co-text, victim)
ἀμνός (amnós)	G286	35	5.08	"lamb" (co-text, victim)
ἄμωμος (ámōmos)	G299	21	4.69	"unblemished" (qualifier)
εὐωδία (euōdía)	G2175	22	5.32	"sweet savour" (result formula)
ὀσμή (osmḗ)	G3744	22	5.10	"odour/fragrance" (result formula)
σωτήριον (sōtḗrion)	G4992	27	4.25	"peace/salvation offering" (paired genre)

Primary LXX gloss is clearly ὁλοκαύτωμα (G3646) — from which English "holocaust" derives. This is the standard Septuagintal rendering and the term used in Hebrews and in quotations of the prophetic critiques in the NT (e.g., Heb 10:6, 8, quoting Psa 40:6).