1098. belil
Lexical Summary
belil: Mixture, mixed, mingled

Original Word: בְּלִיל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: bliyl
Pronunciation: beh-LEEL
Phonetic Spelling: (bel-eel')
KJV: corn, fodder, provender
NASB: fodder
Word Origin: [from H1101 (בָּלַל - To mix)]

1. mixed
2. (specifically) feed (for cattle)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
corn, fodder, provender

From balal; mixed, i.e. (specifically) feed (for cattle) -- corn, fodder, provender.

see HEBREW balal

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from balal
Definition
fodder
NASB Translation
fodder (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
בְּלִיל noun masculineIsaiah 30:24 fodder (Aramaic ; compare Arabic moisture of fresh pasture) — בְּלִיל Isaiah 30:24; suffix בְּלִילוֺ Job 6:5; Job 24:6fodder (strictly, mixed fodder, farrago) Job 6:5; as growing in field Job 24:6 compare Isaiah 30:24.

Topical Lexicon
Agricultural setting

בְּלִיל (belil) denotes the fodder or feed mixture prepared for large domesticated animals. In the Ancient Near Eastern world this consisted of cut grass, chopped grain heads, husks, and salt or oil blended together and moistened so that the ox or donkey could both chew and digest it easily. Because draft animals were the “tractors” of biblical agriculture, the daily preparation of such mash was essential for plowing, threshing, and transport. The presence or absence of adequate belil therefore became a silent indicator of prosperity, famine, righteousness, or oppression.

Occurrences and immediate contexts

Job 6:5 – “Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass, or an ox low over its fodder?”

Job resorts to a stable image: satisfied animals are quiet. When even beasts protest only when deprived of belil, Job implies that his cries result from genuine deprivation, not petulance.

Job 24:6 – “They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.”

Here the powerless poor must steal the fodder that should have been theirs by right of gleaning (Leviticus 19:9-10). Their pursuit of belil underscores systemic injustice that Job insists God will ultimately judge.

Isaiah 30:24 – “The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.”

Isaiah pictures the coming restoration after Judah’s repentance: not only will people eat rich food (Isaiah 30:23), but laboring animals will receive premium belil, seasoned and carefully sifted. Peace with God brings abundance that reaches even the stalls.

Theological reflections

1. Divine providence extends to animals. From creation onward the Lord shows concern for every living creature (Genesis 1:30; Psalm 104:27-28). Each mention of belil reminds readers that God ordains daily bread for beast as well as man, and that human beings are stewards, not owners, of the earth (Proverbs 12:10).
2. The moral order is exposed by how the vulnerable are treated. Job 24 sets exploitation in relief: when the wicked confiscate fields, the defenseless must scavenge fodder meant for cattle. This moral inversion anticipates eschatological reversal, when the wronged “inherit the earth” and oppressors face judgment (Matthew 5:5; James 5:4-5).
3. Messianic restoration reverses scarcity. Isaiah locates rich belil inside a prophetic oracle that culminates in the reign of the King in beauty (Isaiah 33:17). Abundant fodder is one thread in a tapestry of abundance—streams on every high mountain and the defeat of the oppressor—foreshadowing the ultimate fullness in the new creation (Romans 8:19-22).

Ministry significance

Pastoral leaders, farmers, employers, and parents alike find in belil a reminder that those under their care—whether animals, employees, or children—require more than minimum subsistence. Adequate provision, careful preparation, and even seasoning (“salted fodder”) constitute a godly expression of love. The New Testament echoes the principle: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” applied by Paul to support fair wages for laborers in the gospel (1 Timothy 5:18).

Practical stewardship

1. Compassionate husbandry: Providing quality feed aligns with Proverbs 12:10 and mirrors God’s kindness, preparing the heart for worship.
2. Social justice: Job 24 warns communities to guard against economic systems that deny people the fruit of their labor. Churches can advocate policies and practices ensuring fair access to resources, especially for the poor.
3. Hope in adversity: Isaiah 30 encourages believers facing scarcity that covenant faithfulness culminates in plenty. Belil becomes a tangible sign of hope: God’s future includes every mundane need.

Intertextual echoes

While belil itself occurs only three times, its themes reverberate:

Exodus 5:12 records oppressed Israel “gathering stubble for straw,” the negative antithesis of Isaiah’s salted fodder.
Proverbs 27:26-27 links attentive animal care to household provision, paralleling Job’s logic.
Luke 12:24 draws from the same creation theology: “Consider the ravens... God feeds them.”

Conclusion

Belil serves as more than an agricultural detail; it is a lens through which Scripture portrays divine generosity, human responsibility, societal righteousness, and eschatological hope. By attending to the humble fodder in stall and field, believers discern the character of God who “opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16).

Forms and Transliterations
בְּלִ֥יל בְּלִיל֣וֹ בְּלִילֽוֹ׃ בליל בלילו בלילו׃ bə·lî·lōw bə·lîl beLil bəlîl beliLo bəlîlōw
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Job 6:5
HEB: שּׁ֝֗וֹר עַל־ בְּלִילֽוֹ׃
NAS: low over his fodder?
KJV: or loweth the ox over his fodder?
INT: the ox over corn

Job 24:6
HEB: בַּ֭שָּׂדֶה בְּלִיל֣וֹ [יַקְצִירוּ כ]
NAS: They harvest their fodder in the field
KJV: They reap [every one] his corn in the field:
INT: the field their fodder cut down the vineyard

Isaiah 30:24
HEB: עֹֽבְדֵי֙ הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה בְּלִ֥יל חָמִ֖יץ יֹאכֵ֑לוּ
NAS: salted fodder, which
KJV: clean provender, which hath been winnowed
INT: work the ground fodder salted will eat

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1098
3 Occurrences


bə·lîl — 1 Occ.
bə·lî·lōw — 2 Occ.

1097
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