Bâla‛ (בָּלַע, Strong's #1104), “to swallow, engulf.” Commonly used throughout the history of the Hebrew language, this word is also found in ancient Akkadian, as well as several other Semitic languages. It occurs about 50 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Bâla‛ is first used in Gen. 41:7 in Pharaoh’s dream of seven lean ears of grain “swallowing up” the seven plump ears.
While it is used of the normal physical swallowing of something quite frequently, such as Jonah’s “being swallowed” by the great fish (Jonah 1:17), the word is used more often in the figurative sense, often implying destruction. Thus, the violent “overwhelm” the innocent (Prov. 1:11-12); an enemy “swallows” those he conquers “like a dragon” (Jer. 51:34); and th