H2921 H2921
Spotted, speckled, variegated — of multi-colored livestock; also patched or mended, of worn garments
The verb טָלָא means to be spotted or patched, and its two senses map neatly onto two famous biblical narratives. In its Qal passive participle, it describes the spotted and speckled livestock in Jacob's shrewd bargain with Laban (Gen 30:32-39), where טָלוּא appears alongside נָקֹד ('speckled') and עָקֹד ('streaked') to denote the variegated animals that would become Jacob's wages. In Ezek 16:16 it describes the gaudy, multicolored shrines of idolatry. Its Pual participle appears once in the Gibeonite deception (Josh 9:5), where 'patched sandals' serve as props in an elaborate ruse — the same root that names colorful animal markings now describes threadbare repairs on worn-out shoes.
2. patched, mended (Pual: of garments) — Patched, mended — describing garments or shoes that have been repaired with patches, a Pual intensive-passive participle. Used once in Josh 9:5 to describe the Gibeonites' deceptive disguise: they wore 'patched sandals' (נְעָלוֹת מְטֻלָּאוֹת) to feign a long journey and trick Joshua into a treaty. Spanish 'y remendadas' ('and patched/mended') captures the sense precisely. The semantic bridge from 'spotted' to 'patched' lies in the visual similarity — both involve irregular pieces of contrasting material on a surface. 1×
AR["وَ-مُرَقَّعَةً"]·ben["এবং-তালি-দেওয়া"]·DE["und-patched"]·EN["and-patched"]·FR["et-patched"]·heb["ו-מטולאות"]·HI["और-पैबंद-लगे"]·ID["dan-bertambal"]·IT["e-patched"]·jav["lan-ditambel"]·KO["그리고-기운"]·PT["e-remendadas"]·RU["и-залатанные"]·ES["y-remendadas"]·SW["na-vilivyozibwa"]·TR["ve-yamalı"]·urd["اور-جڑی-ہوئی"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. spotted, speckled, variegated (Qal passive: of animals) — Spotted, speckled, or variegated in color — used as a Qal passive participle describing animals with multicolored markings. All seven occurrences cluster in the Jacob-Laban livestock narrative (Gen 30:32, 33, 35, 39; 31:10, 12), where the spotted goats and sheep are paired with 'speckled' (נָקֹד) and 'streaked' (עָקֹד) animals. Ezek 16:16 extends the image to gaily-colored high-place shrines. Spanish 'manchadas/manchados' ('spotted/stained') and German 'gefleckten' ('speckled') confirm the color-pattern meaning across traditions. 7×
AR["فِي-الْمَعْزِ","مُلَوَّنَةً","وَالْمُبَرْقَشَةَ","وَمُبَرْقَشَةً","وَمُبَرْقَشَةٍ"]·ben["আর-চিত্রতাযুক্ত","বিচিত্র-রঙের"]·DE["[טלאות]","und-die-gefleckten","und-gefleckt","und-gefleckte"]·EN["and-spotted","and-the-spotted","multi-colored"]·FR["et-le-spotted","et-spotted","tacher"]·heb["ו-ה-טלאים","ו-ה-טלאת","ו-טלאים","ו-טלוא","טלואות"]·HI["और-धब्बेदार","रंग-बिरंगे"]·ID["berwarna-warni,","dan-belang","dan-berbercak","dan-yang belang","dan-yang berbintik"]·IT["[טלאות]","e-il-spotted","e-spotted"]·jav["lan-brintik","maneka-warni"]·KO["그리고-그-얼룩이-있는","그리고-얼룩이-있는","얼룩덱룩한"]·PT["coloridos","e-as-malhadas","e-malhado","e-malhados","e-os-malhados"]·RU["и-пёстрое","и-пёструю","и-пёстрых","пёстрые"]·ES["de-colores","y-las-manchadas","y-los-manchados","y-manchada","y-manchadas"]·SW["na-mwenye-mabaka","na-wenye-mabaka","pa-rangi"]·TR["renkli","ve-alacalı"]·urd["اور-چتلا","اور-چتلی","اور-چتلے","رنگ-برنگی"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [טָלָא] vb. patch, spot (NH id., patch)— Qal Pt. pass. טָלוּא Gn 30:32(×2), 33; pl. טְלֻאִים v 35, 39; טְלֻאוֹת Ez 16:16; טְלֻאֹת Gn 30:35; chiefly of spotted, variegated sheep and goats (Jacob & Laban); ‖ נָקֹד, נְקֻדִּים Gn 30:32(×2), 33, 35; ‖ עקדים Gn 30:35; ‖ both, v 39 (all J); of high places, variegated (gaily-coloured shrines) Ez 16:16. Pu. Pt. מְטֻלָּאוֹת patched, of sandals Jos 9:5 (JE).