Biblical Lexicon

קֳבֵל29 H6903

Prep-l | 29× in 2 senses

Aramaic preposition: because of, on account of (causal); also before, in front of (spatial/locative).

An Aramaic preposition found exclusively in the books of Daniel and Ezra, where it serves primarily as a causal connector meaning 'because of' or 'on account of.' In its less frequent spatial sense it means 'before' or 'in front of,' indicating position relative to a person or object. The causal usage dominates the Aramaic court narratives, introducing grounds for royal decrees and divine actions. German weil ('because') and Spanish a pesar de que consistently reflect the causal force, while the spatial occurrences in Daniel 2:31 and 5:1 describe physical positioning before a statue or at a feast.

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Senses

1. because of, on account of (causal) — The causal sense — 'because of, on account of, therefore' — accounts for the vast majority of occurrences (27x). It introduces reasons in official correspondence (Ezra 4:14, 16) and narrative explanations in Daniel's court tales (Ezra 6:13; 7:14, 17). German weil and French parce que consistently reflect this causal logic. The construction laqobel denah ('on account of this') functions as a standard Aramaic discourse marker linking cause to consequence in imperial administrative language. 27×

DISCOURSE_NAMES › Discourse Markers › Conjunctions and Contrast

AR["قُبَالَةَ","قُدَّامَ","لِأَجْلِ"]·ben["-সামনে","কারণে"]·DE["weil"]·EN["as","because","before","of"]·FR["[לקבל]","parce-que"]·heb["בגלל","לנגד"]·HI["कारण","के-कारण","के-सामने","क्योंकि"]·ID["di-hadapan","ia","itu","oleh","sebab","semua"]·IT["perché"]·jav["amargi","ing-ngajengipun","jalaran","margi"]·KO["까닭-에","까닭-은","때문에","앞에"]·PT["apesar-de","causa-de","conforme","diante-de","por-causa-de","porque"]·RU["потому","потому-что","против","так"]·ES["a-pesar-de-que","como","esto","frente-a","lo-cual","por-cuanto","porque","según"]·SW["hili","kwa-hiyo","kwa-sababu-","mbele-ya","mmeona","ya-"]·TR["karşısında","karşısında-","yüzden","yüzünden"]·urd["اِس-لیے-کہ","سامنے","وجہ-سے-اس-کے","کہ"]

Ezra 4:14, Ezra 4:16, Ezra 6:13, Ezra 7:14, Ezra 7:17, Dan 2:8, Dan 2:10, Dan 2:12, Dan 2:24, Dan 2:40, Dan 2:41, Dan 2:45 (+15 more)

2. before, in front of (spatial/locative) — The spatial sense — 'before, in front of, facing' — appears only twice, both in Daniel. At Daniel 2:31, the great statue stood laqoblakh, 'before you,' in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. At Daniel 5:1, Belshazzar drinks wine 'before' his thousand nobles. Spanish frente a ti and English 'before you' capture this locative meaning. The Syriac cognate luqbal preserves the same spatial force, confirming the original concrete sense of 'facing, opposite' from which the causal meaning developed. 2×

PROPERTIES_RELATIONS › Nature, Class, Example › Geography and Space

AR["أَمَامَ-كَ","وَ-قُبَالَةَ"]·ben["-আপনার-সামনে","এবং-সামনে-"]·DE["und-weil","weil"]·EN["and-before","before-you"]·FR["[ולקבל]","[לקבלך]"]·heb["ו-ל-נגד","לנגדך"]·HI["और-के-सामने","तेरे-सामने"]·ID["dan-di-hadapan","di-hadapanmu"]·IT["e-perché","perché"]·jav["ing-ngarsanipun","lan-ing-ngarsaning"]·KO["그리고-앞-에서","앞에-당신"]·PT["diante-de-ti","e-diante-de"]·RU["и-перед","против-тебя"]·ES["frente-a-ti","y-delante-de"]·SW["mbele-yako","na-mbele-ya"]·TR["karşında","ve-karşısında"]·urd["اور-سامنے","تیرے-سامنے"]

Dan 2:31, Dan 5:1

BDB / Lexicon Reference

קֳבֵל29 subst. front, as prep. in front of, before, because of; sq. דִּי as conj. because that (perhaps in form a dimin., Bev Dn 2:8; 𝔗 קְבֵיל, c. לְ, לִקְבֵיל, sf. לְקִבְלִי, etc., in front of (Dalm§ 47:7); Syriac ܩܒܽܘܠ, ܩܽܘܒܠܴܐ aspect, ܡܶܢ ܩܒܽܘܠ in front, ܠܽܘܩܒܰܠ, sf. ܠܩܽܘܒܠܶܗ in front (of), opposite (to), cf. Gn 15:10 𝔗 𝔖; Palm. לקבל before (Cooke321, cf. 193));—cstr. לָקֳבֵל Dn 2:8 + sf.…