H4392 H4392
Full, filled, complete — whether of physical contents, wholeness of measure, pregnancy, or vocal intensity.
An adjective describing the state of being filled to capacity or possessing something in full measure. The tabernacle offerings of Numbers 7 repeat it dozens of times — bowls 'full of' (מְלֵאִים) fine flour and spoons 'full of' incense — a liturgical drumbeat of abundance. Beyond physical fullness, the word stretches to mean 'complete' or 'whole,' as when Abraham insists on paying the 'full price' (כֶּסֶף מָלֵא) for Sarah's burial cave (Gen 23:9). Two rare specialized uses round out the picture: 'full with child' (pregnant) in Eccl 11:5 and the vivid idiom 'at full voice' in Jer 12:6.
Senses
1. full of, filled with — The dominant sense (50x): containing something to capacity or abounding in a specified substance or quality. Nearly always construed with a genitive complement telling what fills the container — bowls full of flour, spoons full of incense (Num 7:13–86), houses full of goods (Deut 6:11), a cage full of birds (Jer 5:27). The multilingual translations uniformly reach for 'full of' constructions: Spanish 'llena de,' French 'plein de,' German 'voll von.' The construction is so formulaic in Numbers 7 that it appears in 24 consecutive verses. 50×
AR["مَمْلُوئَانِ","مَمْلُوئَةٌ"]·ben["পূর্ণ"]·DE["voll-von"]·EN["full-of"]·FR["plein-de"]·heb["מלאה","מלאים"]·HI["भरी-हुई","भरे-हुए"]·ID["penuh"]·IT["pieno-di"]·jav["kebak"]·KO["가득한"]·PT["cheia","cheios"]·RU["полная","полные"]·ES["llena-de","llenos"]·SW["kimejaa","zimejaa"]·TR["dolu"]·urd["بھرا-ہوا","بھرے-ہوئے"]
2. complete, whole, full measure — An absolute use meaning 'complete, whole, full measure' without a genitive complement (6x). When Abraham offers 'full silver' (כֶּסֶף מָלֵא, Gen 23:9) or David insists on the 'full price' (1 Chr 21:22, 24), the sense is entirety and completeness rather than physical filling. Ruth 1:21 captures this poignantly: Naomi left 'full' (מְלֵאָה) but returned empty. Spanish shifts to 'completa/completamente' and English to 'fully/fullness,' reflecting the move from container-metaphor to abstract totality. 6×
AR["تَامٍّ","كَامِلَةٍ","مَليئَةٍ","مُمْتَلِئَةً"]·ben["পরিপূর্ণ","পূর্ণ"]·DE["[מלאה]","fuellte","fullness","volles","von-nicht"]·EN["full","fullness","fully"]·FR["[מלא]","de-ne...pas","plein"]·heb["מלא","מלאה"]·HI["पूरी","पूरी-तरह","भरपूर","भरी"]·ID["penuh","sepenuhnya."]·IT["[מלא]","da-non","pieno"]·jav["jangkep","kebak"]·KO["가득한","가득히","충분한"]·PT["cheia","cheias","completa","completamente","plena"]·RU["полная","полное","полные"]·ES["completa","completamente","llena","lleno","plena"]·SW["itaka","kabisa","kamili","mengi"]·TR["dolu","tam"]·urd["بھرا-ہوا","بھری","پوری","پورے-طور-پر"]
3. pregnant, with child — A rare biological specialization (1x): 'pregnant, with child,' where fullness refers to carrying an unborn child. In Eccl 11:5 — 'you do not know the way of the spirit in the bones of the pregnant woman (הַמְּלֵאָה).' English renders 'the pregnant woman,' Spanish 'la encinta,' confirming a recognized idiomatic extension from physical fullness to gestation. 1×
AR["هَ-مِّلِيئَه"]·ben["পরিপূর্ণের"]·DE["[המלאה]"]·EN["the-pregnant-woman"]·FR["le-plein"]·heb["ה-מלאה"]·HI["भरी-हुई-के"]·ID["yang-penuh"]·IT["il-il-pregnant-donna"]·jav["ingkang-kebak"]·KO["가득-찬-그"]·PT["a-grávida"]·RU["полной -"]·ES["la-encinta"]·SW["mjamzito"]·TR["gebe-olanin"]·urd["حاملہ-کے"]
4. at full voice, loudly — An adverbial idiom (1x): 'at full voice, loudly,' from the phrase מָלֵא קוֹל in Jer 12:6 where even the prophet's own family 'called after him at full voice.' Spanish 'a plena voz' mirrors the Hebrew construction exactly. This is a frozen expression rather than a productive adjectival use. 1×
AR["مِلْءً"]·ben["পরিপূর্ণ"]·DE["fuellte"]·EN["loudly"]·FR["plein"]·heb["מלא"]·HI["भरपूर"]·ID["penuh"]·IT["riempi"]·jav["kebak"]·KO["가득히"]·PT["plenamente;"]·RU["громко"]·ES["a-plena-voz"]·SW["kwa-sauti-kubwa"]·TR["dolu"]·urd["بھرپور"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מָלֵא adj. full;—מ׳ Gn 23:9 + 15 times; cstr. מְלֵא Je 6:11; f. מְלֵאָה Nu 7:14 + 20 times; cstr. מְלֵאֲתִי Is 1:21 cf. Ges§ 90, 3 a.; pl. מְלֵאִים Nu 7:13 + 18 times; f. מְלֵאוֹת (-אֹת) Gn 41:7 + 4 times;—full, abs. of ears of corn Gn 41:7, 22; of value, price, Gn 23:9 1 Ch 21:22, 24; of wind (= strong) Je 4:12 sq. acc. mat., bowls of fine flour (סֹלָת) Nu 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61,…