אָהֵב
to love
‘to love’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘human love to human object’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem. Here: ‘pl. sf.’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘pl.’
Form
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H157 appears in the Book of Psalms — 39 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Psalms
- Psalms 4:2 תֶּאֱהָב֣וּ/ן Qal impf 2mp + sfx n You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.
- Psalms 5:11 אֹהֲבֵ֥י Qal ptcp.act mp cs But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice, Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.
- Psalms 11:5 וְ/אֹהֵ֣ב conj + Qal ptcp.act ms cs Yahweh examines the righteous, But the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.
- Psalms 11:7 אָהֵ֑ב Qal pf 3ms For Yahweh is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.
- Psalms 26:8 אָ֭הַבְתִּי Qal pf 1cs Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, The place where your glory dwells.
- Psalms 31:23 אֶֽהֱב֥וּ Qal impv 2mp Oh love Yahweh, all you his saints! Yahweh preserves the faithful, And pays back him who deals proudly in full.
- Psalms 33:5 אֹ֭הֵב Qal ptcp.act ms He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of Yahweh.
- Psalms 34:12 אֹהֵ֥ב Qal ptcp.act ms Who is someone who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
- Psalms 37:28 אֹ֘הֵ֤ב Qal ptcp.act ms For Yahweh loves justice, And doesn't forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, But the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
- Psalms 38:11 אֹֽהֲבַ֨/י Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 1cs My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.
- Psalms 40:16 אֹֽ֝הֲבֵ֗י Qal ptcp.act mp cs Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, "Let Yahweh be exalted!"
- Psalms 45:7 אָהַ֣בְתָּ Qal pf 2ms You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
- Psalms 47:4 אָהֵ֣ב Qal pf 3ms He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
- Psalms 52:3 אָהַ֣בְתָּ Qal pf 2ms You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking the truth. Selah.
- Psalms 52:4 אָהַ֥בְתָּ Qal pf 2ms You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.
- Psalms 69:36 וְ/אֹהֲבֵ֥י conj + Qal ptcp.act mp cs The children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein.
- Psalms 70:4 אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י Qal ptcp.act mp cs Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, "Let God be exalted!"
- Psalms 78:68 אָהֵֽב Qal pf 3ms But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
- Psalms 87:2 אֹהֵ֣ב Qal ptcp.act ms Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
- Psalms 88:18 אֹהֵ֣ב Qal ptcp.act ms You have put lover and friend far from me, And my friends into darkness.
- Psalms 97:10 אֹהֲבֵ֥י Qal ptcp.act mp cs You who love Yahweh, hate evil. He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
- Psalms 99:4 אָ֫הֵ֥ב Qal pf 3ms The King's strength also loves justice. You do establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Psalms 109:17 וַ/יֶּאֱהַ֣ב conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn't delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
- Psalms 116:1 אָ֭הַבְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, And my cries for mercy.
- Psalms 119:47 אָהָֽבְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I will delight myself in your commandments, Because I love them.
- Psalms 119:48 אָהָ֗בְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes.
- Psalms 119:97 אָהַ֥בְתִּי Qal pf 1cs How love I your law! It is my meditation all day.
- Psalms 119:113 אָהָֽבְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I hate double-minded men, But I love your law.
- Psalms 119:119 אָהַ֥בְתִּי Qal pf 1cs You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love your testimonies.
- Psalms 119:127 אָהַ֣בְתִּי Qal pf 1cs Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, Yes, more than pure gold.
- Psalms 119:132 לְ/אֹהֲבֵ֥י prep + Qal ptcp.act mp cs Turn to me, and have mercy on me, As you always do to those who love your name.
- Psalms 119:140 אֲהֵבָֽ/הּ Qal pf 3ms + sfx pers 3fs Your promises have been thoroughly tested, And your servant loves them.
- Psalms 119:159 אָהָ֑בְתִּי Qal pf 1cs Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your loving kindness.
- Psalms 119:163 אָהָֽבְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law.
- Psalms 119:165 לְ/אֹהֲבֵ֣י prep + Qal ptcp.act mp cs Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.
- Psalms 119:167 וָ/אֹהֲבֵ֥/ם conj + Qal wimpf 1cs + sfx pers 3mp My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.
- Psalms 122:6 אֹהֲבָֽיִ/ךְ Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 2fs Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Those who love you will prosper.
- Psalms 145:20 אֹהֲבָ֑י/ו Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Yahweh preserves all those who love him, But all the wicked he will destroy.
- Psalms 146:8 אֹהֵ֥ב Qal ptcp.act ms Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind. Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down. Yahweh loves the righteous.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
אהב — transliterated ʼâhab — is a Hebrew verb carrying the sense “to love.” “loveth” is the historic King James Version rendering; modern versions use “love.” See the renderings breakdown. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 195 verses — common. Debuting at Genesis 22:2, it then recurs through the corpus. The verb spans 3 stems, from Qal to Niphal. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H157 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 195
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 195 distinct verses.
- 28 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 28 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #229
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 229 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 195 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Psalms 39 verses 20%
- Proverbs 23 verses 12%
- Deuteronomy 21 verses 11%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 195 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 87 verses · 45%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 69 verses · 35%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 39 verses · 20%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Love 33×, Loveth 24×, Loved 17×
- American Standard Version: Love 26×, Loveth 19×, Loved 13×
- Berean Standard Bible: Love 34×, Loved 17×, Lovers 16×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Love 22×, Loved 15×, Lovers 15×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H157 across 208 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 49 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H157 across 205 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 62 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H157 across 210 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 44 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H157 across 238 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 48 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
10 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 10 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Pf. אָהֵ֑ב Gn 27:9 + 7times; אָהֵ֥ב Gn 27:14; אָהַב Gn 37:3 + 3 times; אֲהֵֽבְךָ Dt 15:16; 3 fs. אָֽהֲבָה Ct 1:7 +, etc.; impf. יֶאֱהַב (־הָ֑ב) Pr 3:12 +; 1 s. אֵהָ֑ב Pr 8:17 (cf. Ew§ 192 d Ges§ 68.1); וָֽאֹהַ֖ב Mal 1:2; וָאֹהֲבֵהוּ Ho 11:1; אֹהֲבֵם Ho 14:5; וָאֹהֲבֵם ψ 119:167; 2 mpl. תְּאֵהֲבוּ Pr 1:22 (cf. KöI p. 394 Ges§ 63 R. 2); תֶּאֱהָ֑בוּ Zc 8:17; תֶּאֱהָבוּן ψ 4:3; Imv. אֱהַב־ Ho 3:1; אֱהָבֶהָ Pr 4:6; אֶהֱבוּ ψ 31:24 Am 5:15; אֱהָ֑בוּ Zc 8:19; inf. cstr. אֱהֹב Ec 3:8; אַהֲבָה Dt 10:12 +; אֲהֲבַת Mi 6:8 + etc.; cf. also sub n. אהבה infr.; Pt. אֹהֵב (אוֹהֵב) Dt 10:18 + 26 times; f. cstr. אֲהֻבַת Ho 3:1 is prob. active cf. BaNB 174 ff; sf. אֹהֲבִי Is 41:8 etc.; f. אֹהֶ֫בֶת Gn 25:28; אֹהַ֫בְתִּי Ho 10:11 etc.; Pt. pass. אָהוּב Ne 13:26; אֲהוּבָה Dt 21:15(×2), 16.—love (mostly c. acc., sq. לִ + obj. Lv 19:18, 34 2 Ch 19:2 (late), sq. בְּ Ec 5:9; abs. Ec 3:8 & v. infr.), (affection both pure & impure, divine & human);— e.g. Genesis 27:9
- 1. human love to human object; abs., opp. hate שָׂנֵא Ec 3:8; of love to son Gn 22:2; 25:28; 37:3, 4; 44:20 (JE) Pr 13:24; so also 2 S 13:21 𝔊 Ew Th We, cf. Dr, of Dvd’s loving Amnon; never to parent, but mother-in-law Ru 4:15; of man’s love to woman; wife Gn 24:67; 29:20, 30 (cf. v 18) 32 (JE), also Dt 21:15(×2), 16 Ju 14:16 1 S 1:5 2 Ch 11:21 Est 2:17 Ho 3:1 Ec 9:9; but also Gn 34:3 (J) Ju 16:4, 15 2 S 13:1, 4, 15 (where of carnal desire) 1 K 11:1 cf. v 2 Ho 3:1; א׳ רֵעַ loving a paramour, v. BaNB 176; woman’s love to man 1 S 18:20 (so v 28 MT, but read וְכִי כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֹהֵב אֹתוֹ 𝔊 We Dr) Ct 1:3, 4, 7; 3:1, 2, 3, 4 (5 times subj. נַפְשִׁי; cf. also fig. of adulterous Judah Je 2:25 Is 57:8 Ez 16:37; of love of slave to master Ex 21:5 (JE) Dt 15:16; inferior to superior 1 S 18:22 cf. v 16; love to neighbour Lv 19:18 (וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעְךָ כָּמוֹ֑ךָ), partic. to stranger Lv 19:34 (both P), Dt 10:18, 19; love of friend to friend 1 S 16:21; 18:1, 3; 20:17(×2) Jb 19:19 Pr 17:17 cf. 2 S 19:7(×2) 2 Ch 19:2; v. also Pr 9:8; 16:13 cf. 15:12; v. especially Pt. infr. e.g. Ecclesiastes 3:8
- 2. less often of appetite, obj. food, Gn 27:4, 9, 14 (JE) Ho 3:1; drink Pr 21:17; husbandry 2 Ch 26:10; cf. fig. of Ephraim Ho 10:11 sq. inf.; length of life ψ 34:13; of cupidity Ho 9:1 Is 1:23 Ec 5:9(×2); of love of sleep Pr 20:13 cf. fig. of sluggish watchmen (sq. inf.)Is 56:10; also c. obj. abstr. wisdom (personif.), knowledge, righteousness, etc. Pr 4:6; 8:17, 21; 12:1; 22:11; 29:3 Am 5:15 Mi 6:8 (inf. ‖ infinitives) Zc 8:19 cf. Pr. 19:8 קֹנֶה לֵב אֹהֵב נַפְשׁוֹ; obj. folly, evil, etc., Mi 3:2 ψ 4:3; 11:5; 52:5, 6; 109:17 Pr 1:22; 8:36 17:19(×2), cf. 18:21 Zc 8:17, w. כֵּן Je 5:3 Am 4:5†, sq. inf. Ho 12:8 Je 14:10, especially of idolatry Ho 4:18 (where del. הֵבוּ cf. KöI, p. 395) Je 8:2. e.g. Genesis 27:4
- 3. love to God Ex 20:6 (JE) elsewhere Hex only Dt 5:10; 6:5; 7:9 + 9 times Dt + Jos 22:5; 23:11; also Ju 5:31 1 K 3:3 Ne 1:5 Dn 9:4 especially in (late) ψ 31:24; 97:10; 116:1; 145:20, but usually sq. name, law, etc. of י׳ ψ 5:12; 26:8; 40:17; 69:37; 70:5; 119:47 + 11 times ψ 119; cf. Is 56:6; cf. also of love to Jerusalem Is 66:10 ψ 122:6. e.g. Exodus 20:6
- 4. especially Pt. אֹהֵב = (a) lover, La 1:2 (fig. of Jerus.); (b) friend Hiram of David 1 K 5:15, cf. Je 20:4, 6 Est 5:10, 14; 6:13 ψ 38:12 (‖ רֵעַ) so 88:19, & Pr 14:20; also 18:24; 27:6 Abr. of God Is 41:8 2 Ch 20:7. e.g. Lamentations 1:2
- 5. of divine love (a) to individual men Dt 4:37 2 S 12:24 Pr 3:12; 15:9 ψ 146:8 Ne 13:26; (b) to people Israel, etc. Dt 7:8, 13; 23:6 Ho 3:1; 9:15 11:1; 14:5 1 K 10:9 2 Ch 2:10; 9:8 Is 43:4; 48:14 Je 31:3 Mal 1:2(×3) ψ 47:5; to Jerusalem ψ 78:68; 87:2; (c) to righteousness, etc. ψ 11:7; 33:5; 37:28; 45:8; 99:4 Is 61:8 Mal 2:11. e.g. Deuteronomy 4:37
Niphal
- Pt. pl. הַנֶּאֱהָבִים 2 S 1:23 lovely, loveable of Saul & Jonath. (‖ הַנְּעִימִם). e.g. 2 Samuel 1:23
Piel
- Pt. pl. sf. מְאַהֲבַי (־בָ֑י) Ho 2:7 + 3 times; מְאַהֲבַיִךְ (־בָ֑יִךְ) Je 22:20 + 6 times; מְאַהֲבֶיהָ Ho 2:9 + 4 times e.g. Hosea 2:7
- 1. friends Zc 13:6; e.g. Zechariah 13:6
- 2. lovers in fig. of adulter. Isr. Ho 2:7, 9, 12, 14, 15 Ez 23:5, 9; Judah Je 22:20, 22; 30:14 La 1:19 Ez 16:33, 36, 37; 23:22. e.g. Hosea 2:7
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
אָהַב
- to love. Y. Ab. Zar. II beg. 40ᶜ אוֹהֲבָהּ her lover; a. fr. אוהב את הבריות philanthropist. Aboth I, 12; a. fr.—Part. pass. אָהוּב, f. אֲהוּבָה. Yeb. 23ᵃ א׳ בנשואיה beloved (worth loving) for her well chosen marriage. [Y. Ab. Zar. l. c. איהבתו read אוֹהַבְתֹּו.]
- , Hithpa. הִתְאָהֵב to be beloved, popular. Lev. R. s. 32, beg., these blows (of persecution) had the effect להֵאָהֵב וכ׳ to make me beloved of my Father in heaven. Yoma 86ᵃ שיהא ש"ש מִתְאָהֵב וכ׳ that the Divine Name may be beloved through thee (that thy doings may favorably reflect on thy religion).—
- to make beloved, popular. Tan. d’be El. I, 28 תהא מְאָהֵב ש"ש וכ׳ make the Divine Name &c. (v. supra).—Part. Pu. מְאוּהָב popular. Yalk. Deut. 837.—Cant. R. to I, 1 להַאֲהִיבָן (לאָהֲבָן) לקרבן וכ׳ to make them beloved (of God), draw them nigh (to God) &c. Ib. to V, 1.—Yalk. Cant. 981 הֶאֱהַבְנוּ לך עלמות הרבה we have made many maiden beloved of thee (converted them).
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 158 distinct written forms H157 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 98 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H157, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 167 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 195 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 22:2
- Exodus 20:6
- Leviticus 19:18
- Deuteronomy 4:37
- Joshua 22:5
- Judges 5:31
- Ruth 4:15
- 1 Samuel 1:5
- 2 Samuel 1:23
- 1 Kings 3:3
- 2 Chronicles 11:21
- Esther 2:17
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
