H0441a H0441a
A tame or familiar one; hence a close friend, intimate companion, or (by another derivation) cattle/oxen.
Built on the root aleph-lamed-peh, which evokes taming and familiarity, this word spans a surprisingly warm range. At its heart it describes the trusted intimate -- the friend closer than a neighbor (Mic 7:5), the confidant whose betrayal cuts deepest (Ps 55:13-14). Proverbs 2:17 applies it to a woman's husband as 'the companion of her youth,' and Jeremiah 3:4 boldly uses it of YHWH himself as the husband-friend of Judah. One occurrence in Jeremiah 11:19 preserves the older adjectival sense: 'a tame lamb led to slaughter.' A third usage in Psalm 144:14 likely relates to the homonymous 'eleph (cattle), describing well-laden oxen.
Senses
1. friend, intimate companion — A close friend, trusted companion, or intimate confidant. Spanish 'compañero/íntimo' and the parallel with meyadda' ('acquaintance') in Psalm 55:13 underscore the depth of this bond. Proverbs 16:28 and 17:9 warn that gossip separates even such close friends. In Proverbs 2:17 and Jeremiah 3:4 the term extends to the marriage bond -- a husband as life-companion -- with YHWH himself called Israel's 'allup of her youth.' 7×
AR["بِ-رَفِيقٍ","صاحِبي","صَديقًا-حَميمًا","صَدِيقَ","صَدِيقُ","قَادَةً"]·ben["-এর-সঙ্গী","অন্তরঙ্গে-","ঘনিষ্ঠ-বন্ধুকে","নেতা-","প্রধান-আমার","মিত্রদের"]·DE["[אלוף]","[אלפים]","[באלוף]","mein-companion"]·EN["friend","in-friend","leaders","my-companion","the-companion-of","the-guide"]·FR["[אלוף]","[אלפים]","chef","chêne"]·heb["אלוף","אלופי-","אלופים","ב-אלוף"]·HI["गुरु-पर","मित्र","मित्र-को","सरदारों-को"]·ID["Teman","kepada-sahabat","pemimpin-pemimpin","sahabat-karib","teman"]·IT["[אלוף]","[אלפים]","[באלוף]","amico","capo","il-companion-di"]·jav["dados-pangarsa","ing-mitra","ingkang-maido","kanca","mitra"]·KO["나-의-친구-이","에-지도자-를","지도자들-로","친구-를","친구이십니다","친한-친구를"]·PT["companheiro-de","em-íntimo","líderes","meu-guia","íntimo"]·RU["вождями","друг","друг-мой","друга","на-друга"]·ES["al-compañero-de","en-íntimo","guía-de","jefes","mi-guía","íntimo"]·SW["kiongozi-wangu","marafiki","rafiki","rafiki-wa","rafiki-wa-karibu"]·TR["arkadaşım","dost","dostunu","yakın-dosta-o","yakın-dostu","önderler"]·urd["دوست-کو","رَہنُما-میرا","رہبر","ساتھی","ساتھی-پر","سرداروں-کے-طور-پر"]
2. tame, docile — Tame, gentle, docile -- the adjectival sense preserving the root meaning of being trained or domesticated. Jeremiah 11:19 uses it in the poignant simile 'like a tame lamb led to slaughter,' where Spanish 'manso' and English 'gentle' capture the lamb's trusting innocence. This sense illuminates how intimacy (sense 1) derives metaphorically from tameness. 1×
AR["أَلِيفٍ"]·ben["নম্র"]·DE["[אלוף]"]·EN["gentle"]·FR["[אלוף]"]·heb["אלוף"]·HI["हिले-हुए"]·ID["jinak"]·IT["[אלוף]"]·jav["gemi"]·KO["순한"]·PT["manso"]·RU["кроткий"]·ES["manso"]·SW["mpole"]·TR["uysal"]·urd["حلیم"]
3. cattle, oxen — Cattle or oxen, likely a byform of 'eleph. In Psalm 144:14, 'our cattle are heavy-laden' (allupenu mesubbalim) describes agricultural prosperity. Multilingual evidence confirms this reading: English 'our cattle,' Spanish 'nuestros bueyes,' and German 'unser Vieh' all translate as livestock, distinct from the 'friend' or 'chief' senses found elsewhere. 1×
AR["ثِيرَانُنَا"]·ben["গোরু-আমাদের"]·DE["unser-Vieh"]·EN["our-cattle"]·FR["chef"]·heb["אלופינו"]·HI["हमारे-बैल"]·ID["lembu-lembu-kami"]·IT["capo"]·jav["Sapi-sapi-kita"]·KO["우리의-소들이"]·PT["Nossos-bois"]·RU["волы-наши"]·ES["Nuestros-bueyes"]·SW["ng'ombe-wetu"]·TR["öküzlerimiz"]·urd["ہمارے-بیل"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. אַלּוּף adj. tame—א׳ abs. Mi 7:5 +; cstr. Pr 2:17 +; sf. אַלּוּפִי ψ 55:14; pl. אַלֻּפִים Je 13:21, sf. אַלּוּפֵינוּ ψ 144:14, etc.;— 1. tame, docile, כֶּבֶשׂ אַלּוּף a docile (gentle) lamb Je 11:19. 2. n.m. friend, intimate ψ 55:14 (‖ מְיֻדָּע) Mi 7:5 (‖ רֵעַ) Pr 16:28; 17:9 Je 13:21; of a woman’s husband א׳ נְעוּרֶיהָ Pr 2:17; fig. of י׳ as husband of Judah, id., Je 3:4. 3. i.q. 1. אֶלֶף; אַלּוּפֵינוּ מְסֻבָּלִים ψ 144:14 (i.e. cows).