5549. salal
Lexical Summary
salal: To lift up, to exalt, to cast up, to build a highway

Original Word: סָלַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: calal
Pronunciation: sah-LAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-lal')
KJV: cast up, exalt (self), extol, make plain, raise up
NASB: build, exalt, highway, lift, pile, prize
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to mound up (especially a turnpike)
2. figurative, to exalt
3. reflexively, to oppose (as by a dam)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cast up, exalt self, extol, make plain, raise up

A primitive root; to mound up (especially a turnpike); figurative, to exalt; reflexively, to oppose (as by a dam) -- cast up, exalt (self), extol, make plain, raise up.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to lift up, cast up
NASB Translation
build (6), exalt (1), highway (1), highway* (1), lift (1), pile (1), prize (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. [סָלַל] verb lift up, cast up (Late Hebrew סִלְסֵל esteem highly, סִלְסוּל loftiness, distinction; סוּלָּם ladder; ᵑ7 סוּלְּמָא id.; MI26 מסלת highway; Phoenician סלמת stair (?) Lzb329; Assyrian sellu, sillu, perhaps breast-works DlHWB 501; Arabic is draw out, forth Lane1395 = שָׁלַל, but ladder (a loan-word according to SchwZMG liii (1899), 197), compare סֻלָּם; see also ‰rry, siege-wall, Egyptian loan-word from סֹלְלָה according to WMMAs.u.Eur.101); —

Qal Imperfect וַיָּסֹ֫לּוּ Job 19:12; Job 30:12; Imperative masculine plural סֹ֫לּוּ Isaiah 57:14 4t.; suffix סָלּוּהָ Jeremiah 50:26 (compare סֶ֫לָה); Passive participle סְלוּלָה Jeremiah 18:15; סְלֻלָה Proverbs 15:19; —

1 cast up a highway: מְסִלָּה ׳ס Isaiah 62:10 (twice in verse), without object Isaiah 57:14 (twice in verse), דֶּרֶךְ לֹא סְלוּלָה Jeremiah 18:15; figurative of path of upright Proverbs 15:19.

2 cast up a way: דֶּרֶךְ with על against, Job 19:12 (of besieger, in figure), ארה Job 30:12 (of besetting foe); Babylonian as a heap of garbage Jeremiah 50:26.

3 lift up (a song) Psalm 68:5, with לְ person ("" שׁיר, זמּר; most as 1).

Pilpel Imperative suffix סַלְסְלֶהָ Proverbs 4:8 exalt her (i.e. Wisdom), i.e. (compare Toy) esteem highly, prize.

Hithpa`el Participle מִסְתּוֺלֵל Exodus 9:17 (J) exalt oneself, with בְּ against (denominative from סֹלְלָה according to Gerber52); compare Ecclus 39:24; Ecclus 40:28.

Topical Lexicon
Concept and Range of Use

סָלַל conveys the action of lifting, raising, or banking up. In Scripture it is applied to military siege ramps, to the construction of raised roadways, to personal self-exaltation, and to the exaltation of God. Across its dozen occurrences the term moves from physical earthworks to spiritual attitudes, creating a rich theological tapestry of elevation—either of the Lord, of wisdom, or of human pride.

Military Engineering

Job 19:12 and Job 30:12 picture hostile forces that “build up their ramp” against Job. The word evokes the common Near-Eastern tactic of piling earth against a fortified wall to breach it. Jeremiah 50:26 uses the same imagery in Babylon’s coming judgment: “Pile her up like heaps of grain; destroy her completely.” In all three texts the raised mound is an instrument of assault, underscoring how what is physically elevated can become morally destructive when directed against the innocent.

Worship and Exaltation

Psalm 68:4 calls the congregation to “Sing to God… Exalt Him who rides on the clouds.” Here סָלַל moves from earthwork to heart-work; the believer lifts high the name of the covenant LORD. The same dynamic appears in Proverbs 4:8 where wisdom’s embrace “will exalt you,” promising that those who treasure divine instruction will themselves be lifted.

Wisdom and Moral Formation

Proverbs 15:19 contrasts a “hedge of thorns” with a “highway” (mesillah, a noun drawn from the root). Laziness leaves life clogged and painful; uprightness clears a raised, direct road. The verse illustrates how moral choices either impede or elevate a person’s way, turning the physical picture of a built-up causeway into an ethical lesson.

Prophetic Highway Motif

Isaiah 57:14 and Isaiah 62:10 repeat the rallying cry: “Build it up, build it up, prepare the way… remove every obstacle.” The prophets envisioned returning exiles traveling on a purpose-built route that Yahweh Himself commands to be raised. Jeremiah 18:15 laments that idolatry diverted the people “not on the highway.” Together these texts set סָלַל within God’s redemptive plan: He levels terrain for His ransomed nation, while sin detours them into ruts and bypaths.

Historical Background

Raised roadways were vital for ancient royal processions and commerce. Large stones and packed earth provided durability during seasonal rains. Siege ramps, likewise, were critical siegecraft, famously exemplified at Lachish. The word therefore carried immediate, concrete resonance for original audiences: whether the king’s parade, the trader’s route, or an army’s assault, the act of building up earth changed destinies.

Ministry and Theological Reflections

1. Elevation belongs to God. Any self-exaltation, as in Pharaoh’s arrogance in Exodus 9:17, invites judgment.
2. God mercifully commands obstacles removed so His people can return. The repeated “build it up” becomes a call to pastoral ministry—shepherds are to clear debris of false doctrine and moral stumbling blocks.
3. Wisdom lifts; folly sinks. Believers are urged to cultivate disciplines that raise life toward holiness rather than mire it in thorns.
4. Spiritual warfare mirrors siegecraft. The enemy still heaps up accusations and pressures against saints, yet Christ is the impregnable fortress.

Practical Application

• Examine personal pride; tear down every ramp of self-exaltation before the Lord does.
• Participate in “highway construction” by making the gospel path plain—discipleship, sound teaching, and acts of justice remove stones from others’ journey.
• In worship, deliberately exalt God. Vocal praise, like earth piled high, elevates His glory in the community.
• Model diligence; refuse the sluggard’s hedge and walk the raised road of integrity.

Through סָלַל Scripture teaches that what is lifted can either oppose God or honor Him, hinder travelers or speed them home. The wise heart chooses to build up what magnifies the Lord and blesses His people.

Forms and Transliterations
וַיָּסֹ֣לּוּ וַיָּסֹ֥לּוּ ויסלו מִסְתּוֹלֵ֣ל מסתולל סְלֻלָֽה׃ סְלוּלָֽה׃ סַלְסְלֶ֥הָ סָלּ֥וּהָ סֹ֖לּוּ סֹ֡לּוּ סֹ֣לּוּ סֹ֤לּוּ סֹֽלּוּ־ סלו סלו־ סלוה סלולה׃ סללה׃ סלסלה mis·tō·w·lêl mistoLel mistōwlêl sāl·lū·hā sal·sə·le·hā salLuha sāllūhā salseLeha salsəlehā sə·lu·lāh sə·lū·lāh seluLah səlulāh səlūlāh sōl·lū sōl·lū- Sollu sōllū sōllū- vaiyaSollu way·yā·sōl·lū wayyāsōllū
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Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 9:17
HEB: עוֹדְךָ֖ מִסְתּוֹלֵ֣ל בְּעַמִּ֑י לְבִלְתִּ֖י
NAS: Still you exalt yourself against My people
KJV: As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people,
INT: Still exalt my people not

Job 19:12
HEB: יָ֘בֹ֤אוּ גְדוּדָ֗יו וַיָּסֹ֣לּוּ עָלַ֣י דַּרְכָּ֑ם
NAS: together, And build up their way
KJV: together, and raise up their way
INT: come his troops and build against their way

Job 30:12
HEB: רַגְלַ֥י שִׁלֵּ֑חוּ וַיָּסֹ֥לּוּ עָ֝לַ֗י אָרְח֥וֹת
NAS: aside my feet and build up against
KJV: my feet, and they raise up against me the ways
INT: my feet thrust and build against their ways

Psalm 68:4
HEB: זַמְּר֪וּ שְׁ֫מ֥וֹ סֹ֡לּוּ לָרֹכֵ֣ב בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת
NAS: to His name; Lift up [a song] for Him who rides
KJV: to his name: extol him that rideth
INT: sing to his name Lift rides the deserts

Proverbs 4:8
HEB: סַלְסְלֶ֥הָ וּֽתְרוֹמְמֶ֑ךָּ תְּ֝כַבֵּ֗דְךָ
NAS: Prize her, and she will exalt
KJV: Exalt her, and she shall promote
INT: Prize will exalt will honor

Proverbs 15:19
HEB: וְאֹ֖רַח יְשָׁרִ֣ים סְלֻלָֽה׃
NAS: of the upright is a highway.
KJV: of the righteous [is] made plain.
INT: the path of the upright highway

Isaiah 57:14
HEB: וְאָמַ֥ר סֹֽלּוּ־ סֹ֖לּוּ פַּנּוּ־
NAS: And it will be said, Build up, build
KJV: And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up,
INT: will be said Build build prepare

Isaiah 57:14
HEB: וְאָמַ֥ר סֹֽלּוּ־ סֹ֖לּוּ פַּנּוּ־ דָ֑רֶךְ
NAS: Build up, build up, prepare
KJV: Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare
INT: will be said Build build prepare the way

Isaiah 62:10
HEB: דֶּ֣רֶךְ הָעָ֑ם סֹ֣לּוּ סֹ֤לּוּ הַֽמְסִלָּה֙
NAS: for the people; Build up, build
KJV: of the people; cast up, cast up
INT: the way the people Build build the highway

Isaiah 62:10
HEB: הָעָ֑ם סֹ֣לּוּ סֹ֤לּוּ הַֽמְסִלָּה֙ סַקְּל֣וּ
NAS: Build up, build up the highway,
KJV: cast up, cast up the highway;
INT: the people Build build the highway Remove

Jeremiah 18:15
HEB: דֶּ֖רֶךְ לֹ֥א סְלוּלָֽה׃
KJV: in paths, [in] a way not cast up;
INT: their ways cast up

Jeremiah 50:26
HEB: פִּתְח֣וּ מַאֲבֻסֶ֔יהָ סָלּ֥וּהָ כְמוֹ־ עֲרֵמִ֖ים
NAS: up her barns, Pile her up like
KJV: her storehouses: cast her up as heaps,
INT: Open her barns Pile like heaps

12 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5549
12 Occurrences


mis·tō·w·lêl — 1 Occ.
sāl·lū·hā — 1 Occ.
sal·sə·le·hā — 1 Occ.
sə·lu·lāh — 2 Occ.
sōl·lū — 5 Occ.
way·yā·sōl·lū — 2 Occ.

5548
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