Definition

an elevation, i.e. (concretely) acclivity or platform; abstractly (the relation or state) a rise or (figuratively) priority

Etymology

from H5927 (עָלָה);

Where the KJV renders it

• ascent
• before
• chiefest
• cliff
• that goeth up
• going up
• hill
• mounting up
• stairs

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.