H5766a H5766a
Injustice, unrighteousness; moral wrong or deviation from what is fair, often opposed to tzedaqah (righteousness).
The standard Hebrew noun for injustice as a moral quality, 'avel stands as the direct opposite of tzedaqah (righteousness). Leviticus 19 uses it twice in laws against crooked judgment and false measures (vv. 15, 35), grounding it in the concrete sphere of courts and commerce. Ezekiel employs it more than any other biblical author, repeatedly warning that the righteous person who turns to 'avel will die (3:20; 18:24, 26; 33:13, 15, 18). Deuteronomy 32:4 makes the theological foundation explicit: God has no 'avel in Him — faithfulness and justice are His nature. Spanish 'injusticia' and German 'Unrecht' mirror the word's core meaning with precision.
Senses
1. injustice, unrighteousness — The abstract moral quality of injustice or unrighteousness — deviation from what is right, fair, and just. This overwhelmingly dominant sense (21 of 22 occurrences) appears in legal contexts like Lev 19:15 ('do no injustice in judgment') and Lev 19:35 ('do no injustice in measurement'), in Ezekiel's repeated warnings about righteous persons turning to do 'avel (3:20; 18:24, 26; 33:13–18), and in the confession of God's perfect justice: 'there is no 'avel' in Him (Deut 32:4; Job 34:10). The opposition to tzedaqah and parallelism with terms like tô'evah (abomination) reinforce its character as a settled moral disposition rather than a single act. 21×
AR["إِثْمًا", "إِثْمٌ", "إِثْمٍ", "الظُّلْمَ", "بِإِثْمِ", "ظُلماً", "ظُلْمًا", "ظُلْمٌ", "ظُلْمٍ", "فِي-ظُلْمِهِ", "مِنَ-الظُّلمِ", "مِنَ-الظُّلْمِ", "وَبِإِثْمِهِ"]·ben["অধর্ম", "অন্যায়", "অন্যায়-থেকে", "অন্যায়ভাবে", "অন্যায়ে", "অন্যায়ের", "আর-তার-অন্যায়ে", "তার-অন্যায়ে"]·DE["Missetat", "Unrecht", "[מעול]", "[עול]", "in-Unrecht", "injustice", "und-Unrecht", "unjustly", "von-Unrecht"]·EN["and-in-his-injustice", "by-unrighteousness-of-", "from-iniquity", "from-injustice", "in-iniquity-his", "iniquity", "injustice", "unjustly", "unrighteousness"]·FR["de-iniquité", "et-iniquité", "iniquité", "injustice"]·heb["ב-עוול", "ב-עוולו", "ו-ב-עוולו", "מ-עוול", "עוול", "עוולה", "עול"]·HI["अधर्म", "अन्याय", "अन्यायी", "आना", "उसकी", "जो", "में-अधर्म-अपने", "में-अन्याय", "से-अधर्म"]·ID["dalam-kecurangan-nya", "dan-dalam-ketidakadilan-nya", "dari-kejahatan", "dari-kelaliman", "dengan-kejahatan-", "kecurangan", "kejahatan", "kelaliman", "ketidakadilan,", "tidak-adil"]·IT["da-da-injustice", "da-ingiustizia", "e-ingiustizia", "ingiustizia", "iniquita", "injustice", "nell'ingiustizia"]·jav["awon", "duraka", "durèka", "ing-duraka", "kanthi-culika", "lan-ing-piawonipun", "mboten-adil", "piawon", "saking-duraka", "saking-piawon", "wonten-ing-durakanipun"]·KO["그리고-그의-불의-안에서", "불의", "불의-로부터", "불의-를", "불의가", "불의로-", "불의를", "불의에서-", "불의의", "악을", "자기-불의에서-"]·PT["com-iniquidade-de", "de-iniquidade", "de-injustiça", "e-em-iniquidade-dele", "em-sua-iniquidade", "iniquidade", "injustamente", "injustiça", "pec"]·RU["беззаконие", "за-беззаконие-своё", "и-за-беззаконие-его", "неправдою", "неправду", "неправды", "неправедно", "несправедливости", "несправедливый", "от-беззакония", "от-неправды"]·ES["de-injusticia", "iniquidad", "injusticia", "injusticia,", "injusticia;", "por-la-injusticia-de", "por-su-injusticia", "y-en-su-injusticia"]·SW["kutoka-dhuluma", "kutoka-uovu", "kwa-udhalimu", "kwa-udhalimu-wa", "kwa-uovu-wake", "na-katika-uovu-wake", "udhalimu", "uovu"]·TR["haksız", "haksızlık", "haksızlıkla", "haksızlıktan", "haksızlığında", "ve-haksızlığında"]·urd["اور-اپنی-بدی-میں", "اپنی-بدکاری-میں", "بدکاری", "بدکاری-سے", "بدی", "بَ-ظلم", "بے انصافی", "بے-انصافی", "ظالم", "ظُلم", "ناانصافی"]
2. wickedness, iniquitous deed — A single occurrence in Ps 7:3 where the context suggests a concrete act of wickedness or iniquitous deed rather than the abstract quality. The psalmist protests: 'if there is 'avel in my hands' — meaning a specific wrongful act he can be accused of. Multilingual glosses shift noticeably here: Spanish 'maldad' (wickedness/evil), German 'Schuld' (guilt/fault), and French 'injustice' each color the word toward the tangible and personal rather than the systemic, reflecting the forensic self-defense context of this individual lament psalm. 1×
AR["ظُلْمٌ"]·ben["অন্যায়"]·DE["Schuld"]·EN["iniquity"]·FR["injustice"]·heb["עוול"]·HI["अधर्म"]·ID["ketidakadilan"]·IT["ingiustizia"]·jav["piawon"]·KO["불의-가"]·PT["injustiça"]·RU["неправда"]·ES["maldad"]·SW["uovu"]·TR["haksızlık"]·urd["ناانصافی"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עָ֫וֶל n.m. injustice, unrighteousness (opp. צְדָקָה);—ע׳ Lv 19:15 +; cstr. עֶ֫וֶל Ez 28:18 (van d. H. עָוֶל, but v. Baer Ginsb); sf. עַוְלוֹ 18:26; 33:13;—עשׂה עול Lv 19:15, 35 (H) Dt 25:16; Ez 3:20; 18:24, 26(×2); 33:13(×2), 15, 18; פעל ע׳ Jb 34:32; הִתְעִיבוּ ע׳ ψ 53:2 (‖ עֲלִילָה 14:2); שׁפט ע׳ 82:2; אישׁ ע׳ Pr 29:27; ע׳ בְּכַפַּי ψ 7:4; מצא ע׳ בְּ Je 2:5, read prob. also Ez 28:15 (for MT…