yachol · be able, can

What it means

yachol (יָכֹל) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “be able, can”.

Also prevail, overcome.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To have the strength, the permission or the opportunity to do something.
2. To come out victorious against someone stronger or greater.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Can, be able; also prevail, overcome. BDB: to be able, literally (can) or morally (may).

• “They could not live together”; “he could not see” Genesis 13:61 Samuel 3:2
• “I cannot redeem” Ruth 4:6
• Power over someone: to prevail Genesis 32:25Judges 16:5
• What is not allowed: “You may not” Deuteronomy 12:17Deuteronomy 17:15

How we translate it

“Able” 54 times, “could not” 44, “cannot” 32, “I cannot” 14, “can” 12, “prevail” 11. In the laws, “You may not” expresses a prohibition (Deuteronomy 12:17).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• able ×54
• could not ×44
• cannot ×32
• I cannot ×14
• can ×12
• prevail ×11
• prevailed ×8
• You may not ×4
• could ×4
• he may not ×3
• others ×7

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×22
• Exodus×13
• Numbers×13
• Deuteronomy×16
• Joshua×6
• Judges×7
• Ruth×2
• 1 Samuel×9
• 2 Samuel×3
• 1 Kings×9
• 2 Kings×5
• 1 Chronicles×1
• 2 Chronicles×11
• Ezra×1
• Nehemiah×3
• Esther×3
• Job×4
• Psalms×10
• Proverbs×1
• Ecclesiastes×7
• Song of Songs×1
• Isaiah×12
• Jeremiah×20
• Lamentations×2
• Ezekiel×3
• Daniel×1
• Hosea×3
• Amos×1
• Obadiah×1
• Jonah×1
• Habakkuk×1
• Zephaniah×1

• Genesis 13:6

  But the land could not support them living together, for their possessions were great, and they could not live together.

• Genesis 13:16

  I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

• Genesis 15:5

  He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So will your offspring be.”

• Genesis 19:19

  Look, your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have made great your loyal love that you have shown me by keeping me alive; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me and I die.

• Genesis 19:22

  Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” That is why the name of the city was called Zoar.

• Genesis 24:50

  Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The matter has come from YHWH; we cannot speak to you bad or good.

• Genesis 29:8

  They said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

• Genesis 30:8

  Rachel said, “With wrestlings of Elohim I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

• Genesis 31:35

  She said to her father, “Do not let my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the teraphim.

• Genesis 32:25

  When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.

• Genesis 32:28

  He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with Elohim and with men and have prevailed.”

• Genesis 34:14

  They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.

• Genesis 36:7

  For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they resided as aliens could not support them because of their livestock.

• Genesis 37:4

  His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him and could not speak to him in peace.

• Genesis 43:32

  They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, for the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

• Genesis 44:1

  He commanded the one over his house, saying, “Fill the bags of the men with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his bag.

• Genesis 44:22

  We said to my lord, ‘The young man cannot leave his father; if he leaves his father, he would die.’

• Genesis 44:26

  We said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

• Genesis 45:1

  Then Joseph could not control himself before all who stood by him, and he cried out, “Have everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

• Genesis 45:3

  Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were terrified before him.

• Genesis 48:10

  Now the eyes of Israel were heavy from old age; he could not see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

• Exodus 2:3

  When she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of papyrus, coated it with bitumen and with pitch, put the child in it, and set it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile.

• Exodus 7:21

  The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile; and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.

• Exodus 7:24

  All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink from the water of the Nile.

• Exodus 8:18

  The magicians did the same by their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not. And there were gnats on people and on animals.

• Exodus 9:11

  The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

• Exodus 10:5

  They will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land; and they will eat what is left of what escaped, what remains to you from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you in the field.

• Exodus 12:39

  They baked the dough that they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread, for it was not leavened, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay; nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

• Exodus 15:23

  They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah, because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah.

• Exodus 18:18

  You will surely wear yourself out, both you and this people that is with you; for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.

• Exodus 18:23

  If you do this thing and Elohim so commands you, you will be able to endure, and also all this people will go to their place in peace.”

• Exodus 19:23

  Moses said to YHWH, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”

• Exodus 33:20

  And he said, “You cannot see my face, for no human being can see me and live.”

• Exodus 40:35

  And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, for the cloud dwelt on it, and the glory of YHWH filled the dwelling.

• Numbers 9:6

  But there were men who were unclean through a dead human being, and they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.

• Numbers 11:14

  I am not able by myself to carry all this people, for it is too heavy for me.

• Numbers 13:30

  But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession of it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

• Numbers 13:31

  But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”

• Numbers 14:16

  ‘Because YHWH was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give them, he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

• Numbers 22:6

  And now, come, please, curse this people for me, for they are mightier than I. Perhaps I will be able to strike them and drive them out of the land; for I know that whom you bless is blessed, and whom you curse is cursed.”

And 153 more times.