H6292 — פִּגּוּל (piggûl)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6292
Original: פִּגּוּל (also spelled פִּגֻּל)
Transliteration: piggûl
Pronunciation: pig-gool
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From an unused root meaning "to stink" (TWOT 1730a); properly "fetid"
Occurrences: 4 verses across 3 books (Leviticus, Isaiah, Ezekiel)
First Occurrence: Lev 7:18 — peace-offering flesh eaten on the third day declared piggûl
Hapax Legomenon: No (4 occurrences), but extremely rare

Lexicon Definition¶

From an unused root meaning to stink; properly, fetid, i.e. (figuratively) unclean (ceremonially): foul thing, refuse. A technical sacrificial term denoting flesh that has become ritually putrid/rejected because it was kept beyond the time permitted by law.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
abominable	2	50%
an abomination	1	25%
of abominable	1	25%

All 4 KJV renderings use "abominable/abomination." The KJV does not preserve the word's distinctive meaning of physical putridity or staleness — it collapses piggûl into the same English term used for the far more common תּוֹעֵבָה (tô'êbâh, H8441, 112x) and שֶׁקֶץ (sheqets, H8263, 11x), obscuring piggûl's narrow, technical sense.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Context
Leviticus	2	Sacrificial law — peace offerings eaten on the third day (7:18; 19:7)
Isaiah	1	Prophetic indictment — broth of piggûl things in idolaters' vessels (65:4)
Ezekiel	1	Priestly protest — Ezekiel refuses to eat piggûl flesh (4:14)

The word is entirely confined to priestly/ritual contexts. Even its prophetic uses (Isaiah, Ezekiel) draw on sacrificial-law terminology.

Morphological Data (BHSA/Text-Fabric)¶

Reference	Hebrew Form	Parsing	Syntactic Function
Lev 7:18	פִּגּ֣וּל	Noun.ms.Abs	Predicate noun: "piggûl it-shall-be" (פִּגּוּל יִהְיֶה)
Lev 19:7	פִּגּ֥וּל	Noun.ms.Abs	Predicate noun: "piggûl it [is]" (פִּגּוּל הוּא)
Isa 65:4	פִּגֻּלִ֖ים	Noun.mp.Abs	Genitive in construct: "broth of piggulim" (מְרַק פִּגֻּלִים)
Ezek 4:14	פִּגּֽוּל	Noun.ms.Abs	Attributive: "piggûl flesh" (בְּשַׂר פִּגּוּל)

The singular absolute form (ms.Abs) appears in 3 of 4 occurrences. Isaiah 65:4 alone uses the masculine plural (פִּגֻּלִים), indicating multiple putrid items (plural of category: "abominable things" generically).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Sacrificial Flesh Kept Beyond the Lawful Time (Leviticus)¶

The core, definitional usage. The peace offering (שֶׁלֶם, shelem) had a prescribed eating window: thanksgiving offerings must be eaten the same day (Lev 7:15); vow/freewill offerings could extend to the second day (Lev 7:16). Any flesh remaining to the third day became piggûl — physically stale and ritually rejected.

Lev 7:18 — "And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination [piggûl], and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity."
Three consequences: (1) the sacrifice is "not accepted" (לֹא יֵרָצֶה, Niphal of רצה — God does not find pleasure in it); (2) it is "not imputed" (לֹא יֵחָשֵׁב — not credited to the offerer's account); (3) whoever eats it "bears iniquity" (עֲוֹנָהּ תִּשָּׂא).
The infinitive absolute + imperfect construction (הֵאָכֹל יֵאָכֵל, "if it be eaten at all") emphasizes certainty and completion.
Lev 19:7 — "And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable [piggûl]; it shall not be accepted."
Same infinitive absolute construction (הֵאָכֹל יֵאָכֵל).
Briefer formulation: piggûl + "not accepted" (לֹא יֵרָצֶה).
Lev 19:8 adds that the eater "hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD" (אֶת־קֹדֶשׁ יְהוָה חִלֵּל) and "shall be cut off" (כָּרַת) — a harsher penalty than Lev 7:18's "bear iniquity."

2. Idolatrous Food (Isaiah — Prophetic Extension)¶

Isaiah extends the sacrificial term metaphorically to describe apostate Israel's pagan food practices.

Isa 65:4 — "Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things [מְרַק פִּגֻּלִים] is in their vessels."
The plural פִּגֻּלִים (piggulim) broadens from a single rejected sacrifice to a category of putrid/forbidden food.
Paired with swine's flesh (בְּשַׂר הַחֲזִיר) — doubly forbidden: both the animal (Lev 11:7) and the preparation method (piggûl broth) are unclean.
Context: necromantic practices (graves, monuments), pagan sacrifices (gardens, brick altars, Isa 65:3), and dietary violations — a catalogue of covenant rebellion.
The word מָרָק (mârâq, H4839, "broth/soup") appears only 3 times in the OT (Judg 6:19–20; Isa 65:4), making "broth of piggulim" an exceptionally rare phrase.

3. Priestly Conscience and Dietary Purity (Ezekiel)¶

Ezekiel invokes piggûl in his personal protest against God's command to eat bread baked over human dung.

Ezek 4:14 — "Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable [piggûl] flesh into my mouth."
Ezekiel groups three categories of forbidden flesh: (1) נְבֵלָה (nᵉbêlâh, H5038) — an animal that died naturally (Lev 17:15; 22:8); (2) טְרֵפָה (ṭᵉrêphâh, H2966) — an animal torn by beasts (Exod 22:31; Lev 7:24); (3) בְּשַׂר פִּגּוּל — piggûl flesh (stale/putrid sacrificial meat).
The triad moves from general dietary law (nebelah, terephah) to specifically sacrificial law (piggûl), showing Ezekiel's comprehensive priestly observance.
His soul is "not polluted" (לֹא מְטֻמָּאָה — Pual participle of טמא, H2930) — piggûl is here explicitly linked to the tame'/unclean system.

Key Syntactic Patterns¶

Predicate declaration: "piggûl it-shall-be" (פִּגּוּל יִהְיֶה, Lev 7:18) / "piggûl it [is]" (פִּגּוּל הוּא, Lev 19:7) — the noun functions as a predicate declaring the status of the meat.
Paired with non-acceptance: In both Levitical occurrences, piggûl is immediately paired with לֹא יֵרָצֶה ("not accepted," Niphal of H7521 רצה). This creates a technical formula: piggûl = not-ratsah.
Construct with בָּשָׂר (flesh): Ezek 4:14 uses בְּשַׂר פִּגּוּל ("piggûl flesh"), making the noun attributive — modifying the flesh as putrid.
Construct with מָרָק (broth): Isa 65:4 uses מְרַק פִּגֻּלִים ("broth of piggulim"), extending from solid flesh to liquid preparation.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אָכַל (ʼâkal)	H398	3/4 verses	"if it be eaten" — piggûl always relates to eating
רָצָה (râtsâh)	H7521	2/4 verses	"not accepted" — divine rejection formula
בָּשָׂר (bâsâr)	H1320	3/4 verses	"flesh" — the material that becomes piggûl
זֶבַח (zebach)	H2077	2/4 verses	"sacrifice" — the offering context
שְׁלָמִים (shᵉlâmîym)	H8002	1/4 verses	"peace offerings" — the specific sacrifice type
יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי (third day)	H3117+H7992	2/4 verses	"the third day" — the temporal boundary
נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)	H5315	2/4 verses	"the soul" — the person who eats/is affected

Cognates¶

No direct cognates survive in biblical Hebrew. The root פגל is unattested as a verb; piggûl is the sole derivative preserved in the OT. The root meaning "to stink" is inferred from the noun's usage and cognate Semitic languages.

Synonyms and Near-Synonyms (Abomination/Uncleanness Domain)¶

Word	Strong's	Occurrences	Shared Translation	Key Difference
תּוֹעֵבַה (tô'êbâh)	H8441	112	"abomination"	Broadest term: moral, social, ritual abomination. Not confined to sacrifice.
שֶׁקֶץ (sheqets)	H8263	11	"abomination"	Dietary/ritual: unclean creatures (Lev 11). Not about time-expired sacrifice.
שִׁקּוּץ (shiqquwts)	H8251	29	"abomination"	Idolatrous cult objects (Dan 9:27). No sacrificial-flesh connection.
טָמֵא (ṭâmêʼ)	H2930/2931	162+78	"unclean/defiled"	The resulting state; piggûl is one cause among many that produces ṭumʼâh.
בָּאַשׁ (bâʼash)	H887	17	—	Verb: "to stink." Shares the root concept of stench with piggûl but is an active verb, not a technical sacrificial term. Used for the stench of dead fish (Exod 7:18), rotting manna (Exod 16:20), and moral repulsiveness (Gen 34:30).

Antonyms¶

רָצָה (râtsâh) H7521 — "to accept, be pleased with." The direct opposite in the piggûl formula: what is piggûl is explicitly "not ratsah."
קֹדֶשׁ (qôdesh) H6944 — "holy/hallowed thing." Lev 19:8 says eating piggûl flesh "profanes the hallowed thing" (חִלֵּל אֶת־קֹדֶשׁ), making piggûl the anti-qodesh.

Semantic Domains¶

Domain Placement¶

Piggûl occupies a narrow intersection of three domains: 1. Sacrificial terminology — exclusively concerns offering flesh and its consumption 2. Ritual impurity — produces the state of ṭumʼâh (uncleanness) in the eater 3. Temporal violation — the uncleanness arises not from the type of animal or manner of death, but from elapsed time

This makes piggûl unique among Hebrew "abomination" words: it is the only one whose trigger is temporal rather than inherent. The flesh was once acceptable; it becomes piggûl by the passage of time past the lawful deadline.

Relationship to the Abomination Word Group¶

Within the broader WG-abomination cluster (see WG-abomination.md): - tô'êbâh = moral/covenantal abomination (broadest) - shiqquwts = idolatrous cult object - sheqets = inherently unclean creature - piggûl = time-expired sacrificial flesh (narrowest, most technical)

Piggûl is the most specialized member of the group — 4 occurrences versus tô'êbâh's 112.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
κρέας (kréas) G2907	3	7.90	"flesh, meat" — the LXX renders the concept as "meat" rather than translating the putridity; piggûl's defilement quality is conveyed by context
ὁ (ho) G3588	4	0.21	Definite article — not a semantic equivalent
οὐ (ou) G3756	3	2.04	Negation particle — from the "not accepted" formula

Unlike the other Hebrew "abomination" words (tô'êbâh, shiqquwts, sheqets), which the LXX consistently renders with βδέλυγμα (bdelygma, G946), piggûl does NOT map to βδέλυγμα. The LXX translators evidently recognized piggûl as a distinct category — spoiled sacrificial flesh — and translated it with the mundane κρέας ("meat/flesh") rather than the loaded "abomination" vocabulary. This confirms piggûl's fundamentally physical/temporal sense rather than the moral/idolatrous sense of the other "abomination" terms.

Theological Significance¶

The Time Boundary as Sacred¶

Piggûl establishes a principle that God's acceptance of a sacrifice has a temporal dimension. The offering is not merely right in kind (correct animal, correct procedure) but right in time. Once the permitted eating window closes, the very same flesh that was holy becomes fetid — not because it has chemically changed (though decomposition may be implied), but because the divine window of acceptance has closed.

Connection to Broader Sacrificial Theology¶

The piggûl law reinforces: - Prompt obedience: The worshipper must act within the appointed time. - No hoarding of grace: The peace offering was a communal meal of fellowship with God; attempting to store it beyond its time perverts the gift into a pollutant. - Imputation logic: Lev 7:18 explicitly says the piggûl sacrifice "shall not be imputed" (לֹא יֵחָשֵׁב) to the offerer — the same verb (חשׁב) used for crediting righteousness (Gen 15:6). A piggûl offering earns no credit.

Ezekiel's Triad of Forbidden Flesh (Ezek 4:14)¶

Ezekiel's threefold protest — nebelah + terephah + piggûl — represents the complete spectrum of flesh a faithful Israelite would refuse: 1. Nebelah (died naturally) — defective in manner of death 2. Terephah (torn by beasts) — defective in manner of death 3. Piggûl (time-expired sacrifice) — defective in manner of handling

The first two concern the animal's death; the third concerns human negligence with sacred things. Together they constitute the comprehensive priestly standard.

Several passages describe rejected or polluted sacrifices without using the word piggûl: - Mal 1:7–8 — "polluted bread" (לֶחֶם מְגֹאָל) and blind/lame offerings: uses H1351 גָּאַל ("stain/pollute"), not piggûl - Hos 9:4 — "their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted": conceptually parallel but uses no piggûl term - Isa 1:11–14 — God rejects sacrifices offered with unclean hands: different vocabulary entirely

These passages share the concept of divine rejection of improper sacrifice but use different vocabulary, confirming piggûl's narrow technical scope.