HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H4208
מַזָּלוֹת
maz.za.lah — constellation
1) constellations 1a) signs of zodiac (maybe)
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Constellation
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H3685
כְּסִיל
ke.sil — Orion
Constellation of Orion
4 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H3598
כִּימָה
ki.mah — Pleiades
Pleiades, a constellation of seven stars
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H5906
עַ֫יִשׁ
a.yish — Bear
The constellation 1a) Great Bear, Ursa Major 1b) (TWOT) Arcturus
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H4216
מַזָּרוֹת
maz.za.rah — Mazzaroth
1) Mazzaroth 1a) the 12 signs of the Zodiac and their 36 associated constellations
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
A cluster of stars, or stars which appear to be near each other in the heavens, and which astronomers have reduced to certain figures (as the “Great Bear,” the “Bull,” etc.) for the sake of classification and of memory. In Isa. 13:10, where this word only occurs, it is the rendering of the Hebrew kesil, i.e., “fool.” This was the Hebrew name of the constellation Orion (Job 9:9; 38:31), a constellation which represented Nimrod, the symbol of folly and impiety. The word some interpret by “the giant” in this place, “some heaven-daring rebel who was chained to the sky for his impiety.”
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.
Compare other reference traditions
Look up Constellation in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and ISBE →