4395. meleah
Lexical Summary
meleah: Fullness, abundance

Original Word: מְלֵאָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mle'ah
Pronunciation: meh-LAY-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (mel-ay-aw')
KJV: (first of ripe) fruit, fulness
NASB: all the produce, full produce, harvest
Word Origin: [feminine of H4392 (מָלֵא - full)]

1. something fulfilled, i.e. abundance (of produce)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
first of ripe fruit, fullness

Feminine of male'; something fulfilled, i.e. Abundance (of produce) -- (first of ripe) fruit, fulness.

see HEBREW male'

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from male
Definition
fullness, full produce
NASB Translation
all the produce (1), full produce (1), harvest (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
מְלֵאָה noun feminine fulness, full produce; — ׳מ Numbers 18:27; Deuteronomy 22:9; מְלֵאָֽתְךָ Exodus 22:28; = full produce of field Exodus 22:28, הַזֶּרַע ׳מ the full produce of the seed Deuteronomy 22:9; of winepress Numbers 18:27.

Topical Lexicon
Overview

The term denotes that which is “full,” whether of material produce, moral quality, or overwhelming activity. In its eight occurrences Scripture employs the word to describe agricultural plenty, civic character, and the crushing weight of sin and judgment. The breadth of usage portrays fullness as either God-given blessing or human-brought burden.

Covenantal Worship and Firstfruits

Exodus 22:29 and Numbers 18:27 place the concept squarely in Israel’s cultic life. The grain-filled granary and wine-filled vat belong first to the LORD; withholding them is unfaithfulness to the covenant of provision. By commanding the giving of the “fullness,” God reminds His people that every harvest is His gift and that worship includes tangible gratitude. Pastoral application: faithful stewardship of material increase remains an act of worship that acknowledges divine ownership.

Agricultural Imagery of Abundance

Deuteronomy 22:9 extends the thought to purity of increase. The verse warns that mixing seed defiles “the produce of the vineyard.” Abundance is desirable, but not at the expense of holiness. The idea anticipates Paul’s call to avoid unequal yoking (2 Corinthians 6:14); fullness compromised by syncretism loses its sanctifying purpose.

Battlefield Provision and Deliverance

In 2 Samuel 23:11 Shammah stands his ground in a “plot of ground full of lentils.” What others viewed merely as a field of crops, Shammah recognized as God’s provision for the nation. His defense of that fullness secures food for the people and displays that divine abundance is worth protecting even against overwhelming odds. Ministry insight: safeguarding God’s gifts—physical or spiritual—often requires courageous perseverance.

Moral and Spiritual Fullness

Isaiah twice uses the word to diagnose Jerusalem’s condition. Isaiah 1:21 laments, “She was once full of justice… but now murderers.” The city’s moral fullness has been emptied and replaced by violence. Isaiah 22:2 observes her as “full of commotion,” a revelry masking looming judgment. True fullness is measured not by noise or activity but by righteousness that reflects God’s character.

Nahum 3:1 echoes the prophetic theme: “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder—never without prey.” Here the term intensifies the indictment of Nineveh; abundance of sin draws certain wrath. The same principle applies pastorally: accumulation without godliness invites divine reckoning.

The Crushing Weight of Sin

Amos 2:13 supplies a vivid image: “Behold, I will crush you in your place as a cart full of grain crushes.” Fullness becomes heaviness. What should have been blessing turns into the very means by which God presses the unrepentant. The verse warns that gifts enjoyed apart from gratitude and obedience become instruments of discipline.

Eschatological Hope

The prophets’ denunciations imply a future reversal. If cities once “full of justice” can become corrupt, then under the Messiah they can again be filled with righteousness (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14). Scripture’s trajectory moves from corrupted fullness to ultimate, Spirit-wrought abundance in the new heavens and new earth.

Christological Significance

Colossians 2:9 declares, “In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily.” The imperfect fullnesses of Israel’s history find their consummation in Jesus Christ, who embodies undiminished plenitude. Believers, therefore, “have been made complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10). The Old Testament word prepares the way for this revelation: true, incorruptible fullness is found only in the Son.

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Steward the fullness God entrusts—time, resources, gifts—as acts of worship.
2. Guard spiritual abundance against compromise; purity preserves blessing.
3. Cultivate communities “full of justice” through gospel proclamation and discipleship.
4. Warn that ungrateful abundance can become crushing judgment.
5. Lead believers to fullness in Christ, the only source that cannot be exhausted or corrupted.

Summary

From threshing floors to city streets, the Hebrew concept underscores God as the giver, regulator, and fulfiller of all abundance. Whether material, moral, or spiritual, fullness becomes either a channel of blessing or the weight of judgment, depending on humanity’s response to the covenant Lord.

Forms and Transliterations
הַֽמְלֵאָ֤ה הַֽמְלֵאָ֥ה המלאה וְכַֽמְלֵאָ֖ה וכמלאה מְלֵאֲתִ֣י מְלֵאָ֔ה מְלֵאָ֗ה מְלֵאָ֣ה מְלֵאָתְךָ֥ מלאה מלאתי מלאתך ham·lê·’āh hamlê’āh hamleAh mə·lê·’ā·ṯə·ḵā mə·lê·’ă·ṯî mə·lê·’āh məlê’āh məlê’āṯəḵā məlê’ăṯî meleAh meleateCha meleaTi vechamleAh wə·ḵam·lê·’āh wəḵamlê’āh
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Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 22:29
HEB: מְלֵאָתְךָ֥ וְדִמְעֲךָ֖ לֹ֣א
NAS: You shall not delay [the offering from] your harvest and your vintage.
KJV: Thou shalt not delay [to offer] the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors:
INT: your harvest and your vintage shall not

Numbers 18:27
HEB: מִן־ הַגֹּ֔רֶן וְכַֽמְלֵאָ֖ה מִן־ הַיָּֽקֶב׃
NAS: from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat.
KJV: of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
INT: from the threshing the full from the wine

Deuteronomy 22:9
HEB: פֶּן־ תִּקְדַּ֗שׁ הַֽמְלֵאָ֤ה הַזֶּ֙רַע֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר
NAS: of seed, or all the produce of the seed
KJV: with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed
INT: or will become all of the seed which

2 Samuel 23:11
HEB: חֶלְקַ֤ת הַשָּׂדֶה֙ מְלֵאָ֣ה עֲדָשִׁ֔ים וְהָעָ֥ם
INT: was a plot of ground fruit of lentils and the people

Isaiah 1:21
HEB: קִרְיָ֖ה נֶאֱמָנָ֑ה מְלֵאֲתִ֣י מִשְׁפָּ֗ט צֶ֛דֶק
INT: city the faithful fruit of justice Righteousness

Isaiah 22:2
HEB: תְּשֻׁא֣וֹת ׀ מְלֵאָ֗ה עִ֚יר הֽוֹמִיָּ֔ה
INT: of noise fruit town boisterous

Amos 2:13
HEB: תָּעִיק֙ הָעֲגָלָ֔ה הַֽמְלֵאָ֥ה לָ֖הּ עָמִֽיר׃
INT: down A wagon fruit sheaves

Nahum 3:1
HEB: כַּ֤חַשׁ פֶּ֙רֶק֙ מְלֵאָ֔ה לֹ֥א יָמִ֖ישׁ
INT: of lies pillage fruit never departs

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4395
8 Occurrences


ham·lê·’āh — 2 Occ.
mə·lê·’āh — 3 Occ.
mə·lê·’ā·ṯə·ḵā — 1 Occ.
mə·lê·’ă·ṯî — 1 Occ.
wə·ḵam·lê·’āh — 1 Occ.

4394
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