אָב
father
‘father’ is one of 9 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
- Particle
- A short function word — article, negation, interrogative, the sign of the direct object, and the like.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
64 verses where H1 appears in the Construct state in the Book of 1 Chronicles. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
1 Chronicles
- 1 Chronicles 2:17 וַ/אֲבִ֣י conj + n c ms cs Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs Afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he took [as wife] when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub.
- 1 Chronicles 2:23 אֲבִי n c ms cs Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath, and the villages of it, even sixty cities. All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.
- 1 Chronicles 2:24 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs After that Hezron was dead in Caleb Ephrathah, then Abijah Hezron's wife bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
- 1 Chronicles 2:42 אֲבִי אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs n c ms cs The sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.
- 1 Chronicles 2:44 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs Shema became the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam; and Rekem became the father of Shammai.
- 1 Chronicles 2:45 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs The son of Shammai was Maon; and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.
- 1 Chronicles 2:49 אֲבִ֣י אֲבִ֥י וַ/אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs n c ms cs conj + n c ms cs She bore also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbena, and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50 אֲבִ֖י n c ms cs These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim,
- 1 Chronicles 2:51 אֲבִ֣י אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs n c ms cs Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Beth Gader.
- 1 Chronicles 2:52 אֲבִ֖י n c ms cs Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim had sons: Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth.
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs The families of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
- 1 Chronicles 4:3 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs These were [the sons of] the father of Etam: Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi;
- 1 Chronicles 4:4 אֲבִ֣י אֲבִ֣י אֲבִ֖י n c ms cs n c ms cs n c ms cs and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.
- 1 Chronicles 4:5 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
- 1 Chronicles 4:11 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs Chelub the brother of Shuhah became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.
- 1 Chronicles 4:12 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs Eshton became the father of Beth Rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash. These are the men of Recah.
- 1 Chronicles 4:14 אֲבִי֙ n c ms cs Meonothai became the father of Ophrah: and Seraiah became the father of Joab the father of Ge Harashim; for they were craftsmen.
- 1 Chronicles 4:17 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs The sons of Ezrah: Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon; and she bore Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
- 1 Chronicles 4:18 אֲבִ֤י אֲבִ֣י אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs n c ms cs n c ms cs His wife the Jewess bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. These are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.
- 1 Chronicles 4:19 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
- 1 Chronicles 4:21 אֲבִ֣י אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs n c ms cs The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;
- 1 Chronicles 4:38 אֲב֣וֹתֵי/הֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp these mentioned by name were princes in their families: and their fathers' houses increased greatly.
- 1 Chronicles 5:1 אָבִ֔י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn; but, because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
- 1 Chronicles 5:13 אֲבוֹתֵי/הֶ֗ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Their brothers of their fathers' houses: Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jacan, and Zia, and Eber, seven.
- 1 Chronicles 5:15 אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of their fathers' houses.
- 1 Chronicles 5:24 אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp These were the heads of their fathers' houses: even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses.
- 1 Chronicles 5:25 אֲבוֹתֵי/הֶ֑ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp They trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the prostitute after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
- 1 Chronicles 6:19 לַ/אֲבוֹתֵי/הֶֽם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' [houses].
- 1 Chronicles 7:2 אֲבוֹתָ/ם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp The sons of Tola: Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, [to wit], of Tola; mighty men of valor in their generations: their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred.
- 1 Chronicles 7:4 אֲבוֹתָ֗/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp With them, by their generations, after their fathers' houses, were bands of the host for war, thirty-six thousand; for they had many wives and sons.
- 1 Chronicles 7:9 אֲבוֹתָ֔/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp They were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers' houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand two hundred.
- 1 Chronicles 7:14 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bore: she bore Machir the father of Gilead:
- 1 Chronicles 7:22 אֲבִי/הֶ֖ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.
- 1 Chronicles 7:31 אֲבִ֥י n c ms cs The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
- 1 Chronicles 8:29 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs In Gibeon there lived the father of Gibeon, [Jeiel], whose wife's name was Maacah;
- 1 Chronicles 9:9 אָב֖וֹת אֲבֹתֵי/הֶֽם n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp and their brothers, according to their generations, nine hundred fifty-six. All these men were heads of fathers' [houses] by their fathers' houses.
- 1 Chronicles 9:13 אֲבוֹתָ֔/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp and their brothers, heads of their fathers' houses, one thousand seven hundred sixty; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
- 1 Chronicles 9:19 אָבִ֣י/ו וַ/אֲבֹֽתֵי/הֶם֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers, of his father's house, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent: and their fathers had been over the camp of Yahweh, keepers of the entry.
- 1 Chronicles 9:35 אֲבִֽי n c ms cs In Gibeon there lived the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maacah:
- 1 Chronicles 12:17 אֲבוֹתֵ֖י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp David went out to meet them, and answered them, If you be come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit to you; but if [you be come] to betray me to my adversaries, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it.
- 1 Chronicles 12:28 אָבִ֥י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms and Zadok, a young man mighty of valor, and of his father's house twenty-two captains.
- 1 Chronicles 12:30 אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses.
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 אֲבֹתֶ֔י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms It shall happen, when your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
- 1 Chronicles 19:2 אָבִ֤י/ו אָבִ֑י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shown kindness to me. So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.
- 1 Chronicles 19:3 אָבִ֨י/ךָ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Think you that David does honor your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Aren't his servants come to you to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?
- 1 Chronicles 21:17 אָבִ֔/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs David said to God, Isn't it I who commanded the people to be numbered? It is even I who have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Yahweh my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued.
- 1 Chronicles 23:24 אֲבֹתֵי/הֶ֜ם הָ/אָב֣וֹת n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp ptcl def.art + n c mp These were the sons of Levi after their fathers' houses, even the heads of the fathers' [houses] of those of those who were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and upward.
- 1 Chronicles 24:2 אֲבִי/הֶ֔ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.
- 1 Chronicles 24:4 אָבוֹת֙ אֲבוֹתָ֖/ם n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp There were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and [thus] were they divided: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers' houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers' houses, eight.
- 1 Chronicles 24:19 אֲבִי/הֶ֑ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp This was the ordering of them in their service, to come into the house of Yahweh according to the ordinance [given] to them by Aaron their father, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
- 1 Chronicles 24:30 אֲבֹתֵי/הֶֽם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after their fathers' houses.
- 1 Chronicles 25:3 אֲבִי/הֶ֤ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Of Jeduthun; the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising Yahweh.
- 1 Chronicles 25:6 אֲבִי/הֶ֨ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of Yahweh, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God; Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman being under the order of the king.
- 1 Chronicles 26:6 אֲבִי/הֶ֑ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born, who ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor.
- 1 Chronicles 26:10 אָבִ֖י/הוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief),
- 1 Chronicles 26:13 אֲבוֹתָ֖/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp They cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers' houses, for every gate.
- 1 Chronicles 28:4 אָבִ֗/י אָבִ֑/י אָבִ֔/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs However Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever: for he has chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel;
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 אָבִ֜י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- 1 Chronicles 29:10 אָבִ֔י/נוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
- 1 Chronicles 29:15 אֲבֹתֵ֑י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.
- 1 Chronicles 29:18 אֲבֹתֵ֔י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart to you;
- 1 Chronicles 29:20 אֲבֹֽתֵי/הֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp David said to all the assembly, Now bless Yahweh your God. All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped Yahweh, and the king.
- 1 Chronicles 29:23 אָבִ֖י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
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.
“father” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun אב (ʼâb). Its meaning spans more than one sense — see its full sense range. It turns up in 1,060 verses across 31 books, one of the most common footprint. Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 2:24. It clusters with אב, אוב and אבי under a shared root. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1 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 →
- 1,060
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 1,060 distinct verses.
- 31 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 31 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #30
- by frequency
- Top 50 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 30 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 1,060 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Genesis 170 verses 16%
- 2 Chronicles 110 verses 10%
- 1 Chronicles 87 verses 8%
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 1,060 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 413 verses · 39%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 351 verses · 33%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 296 verses · 28%
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).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Father 517×, Fathers 417×, Father's 93×
- American Standard Version†: Father 532×, Fathers 397×, According to their fathers 12×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Father 482×, Fathers 327×, Father’s 120×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Father 608×, Fathers 443×, Father of 68×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1 across 1,212† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 117 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 3 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1 across 1,212† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 172 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 H1 across 1,165† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 77 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 46 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1 across 1,203† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 25 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
9 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
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 9 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.
- 1. father of individual Gn 2:24 (+ אֵם) 11:28, 29(×2); 19:31, 32, 33, + often (mostly JED); of father as commanding Gn 50:16 (J) Je 35:6 f Pr 6:20 (cf. Gn 18:19 J 28:1, 6 P 1 S 17:20 1 K 2:1); instructing מוסר Pr 1:8; 4:1 (cf. Dt 8:5); specif. as begetter, genitor Pr 23:22 Zc 13:3(×2) (+ אֵם) Is 45:10; cf. Gn 49:4 (J) Lv 18:7, 8, 11 (P); rebuking Gn 37:10; loving Gn 37:4; 44:20 (JE; cf. 22:2; 25:28; 37:3 2 S 14:1); pitying ψ 103:13 (in sim. cf. 2 S 18:5); blessing Gn 27:41 (JE cf. 27:4 also 28:1 P +); as glad Pr 10:1; 15:20 cf. 29:3; grieving Gn 37:35 (JE; cf. 2 S 12:22; 19:1, 2 f) etc. Also as obj. of honour, obedience, love Ex 20:12 (E) = Dt 5:16; Ex 21:15, 17 (E) Dt 21:18, 19 Gn 28:7 (P), 50:1, 5 1 K 19:20 (all + אֵם) (J) Mal 1:6 etc. Hence metaph. of intimate connection Jb 17:14 to corruption I cry, My father art thou (‖ אִמִּי וַאֲחֹתִי לָֽרִמָּה). e.g. Genesis 2:24
- 2. of God as father of his people (v. RSSem 42), who constituted, controls, guides and lovingly watches over it: Dt 32:6 Je 3:4, 19; 31:9 Is 63:16(×2); 64:7 Mal 1:6; 2:10 (cf. Ex 4:22; 19:4 (JE) Dt 32:11 Ho 11:1); cf. Je 2:27 (of idolatr. Isr.) אֹמְרִים לָעֵץ אָבִי אַתָּה וְלָאֶבֶן אַתְּ ילדתני׃; especially God as father of Davidic line 2 S 7:14 ψ 89:27; f. of needy (late) ψ 68:6 (cf. 103:13) (in n.pr., f. of individ., cf. infr.) e.g. Deuteronomy 32:6
- 3. head of household, family or clan; בֵּית אָבִי as abode Gn 38:11(×2) Lv 22:13 +; = family Gn 24:40 (‖ מִשְׁפַחְתִּי) 41:51; 46:31 + cf. Nu 18:1, 2 Jos 2:12, 18; 6:25; especially techn. of divisions of Isr. בֵּית אָב לְמִשְׁפָּחוֹת Nu 3:30, 35 = a father’s house, i.e. a family or clan; more often pl. (אבותם, אבותיו) בֵית אָבוֹת = fathers’ houses = families, clans (cf. Di on Ex 6:14) Ex 6:14; 12:3 Nu 1:2, 18 ff. (often in Nu) Jos 22:14(×2) without בית Jos 14:1; 19:51; 21:1(×2) (always P in Hex.); also 1 Ch 5:13, 15 + often in Ch; cf. רָאשֵׁי אבות הלוים (= ר׳ בית א׳) Ex 6:25 cf. 1 K 8:1 1 Ch 6:4; 7:11 + often Ch Ezr Ne. e.g. Genesis 38:11
- 4. ancestor (a) of individual; grandfather (instead of precise term) Gn 28:13; 32:10 (J; where used of Abr. & Isaac); greatgr. 1 K 15:3; gr.-greatgr. 1 K 15:11, 24 etc.; cf. 2 K 14:3; 15:38; 16:2; 18:3; 22:2; often pl. (= fathers, forefathers) Gn 15:15; 46:34 (JE) 1 K 19:4; 21:3, 4 2 K 19:12; 20:17 +; particularly שׁכב עם אבותיו 1 K 1:21; 2:10; 11:21; 22:40 +; joined with ויקבר עם אב׳ 1 K 14:31; 15:24; 22:51 2 K 8:24; 15:38 cf. v 7, 16:20 + (all of kings of Judah); intens., אֲבֹתֶיךָ וַאֲבוֹת אֲבֹתֶיךָ Ex 10:6 cf. Dn 11:24; (b) of people Gn 10:21 (J) 17:4, 5 (P) 19:37, 38 (J) 36:9, 43 (P) Dt 26:5 Is 51:2; 43:27 (where אביך הראשׁון thy first father, v. Che) cf. also Ez 16:3, 45 + often; pl. Ex 3:13, 15, 16 (E) Dt 1:8 Jos 1:6 Ju 2:1 1 S 12:6 +; 1 S 12:15 ad fin read וּבְמַלְכְּכֶם 𝔊 We Dr. e.g. Genesis 28:13
- 5. originator or patron of a class, profession, or art Gn 4:20, 21. e.g. Genesis 4:20
- 6. fig. of producer, generator Jb 38:28 הֲיֵשׁ לַמָּטָר אָ֑ב (‖ מִי־הוֹלִיד אֶגְלֵי־טָֽל׃). e.g. Job 38:28
- 7. fig. of benevolence & protection Jb 29:16 אָב אָֽנֹכִי לָֽאֶבְיוֹנִים, cf. 31:18; of Eliakim Is 22:21; perhaps also of gracious Mess. king אֲבִי עַד Is 9:5 everlasting father (Ge Ew De Che Brd Di)—others divider of spoil (Abarb Hi Kn KueBrMP). e.g. Job 29:16
- 8. term of respect & honour (Abbas, Pater, Papa, Pope); appl. to master 2 K 5:13; priest Ju 17:10; 18:19; prophet 2 K 2:12(×2); 6:21; 13:14(×2) cf. 8:9; counsellor Gn 45:8 (E; cf. δευτέρου πατρός 𝔊 add. Est 3:13; τῷ πατρί 1 Mac 11:32); king 1 S 24:12; artificer 2 Ch 2:12; 4:16. e.g. 2 Kings 5:13
- 9. specif., ruler, chief (late) 1 Ch 2:24, 42(×2) etc. (cf. Ew§ 273b). See also EwGesch. i. 524 H i. 365. On the force of אָב in proper names (in many prob. a divine title), v. CheEncy. Bib., abi, names with Nöib., names, §§ 44, 45. e.g. 1 Chronicles 2:24
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
n.m. father (Ph. אב, Assyrian abu, Arabic أَبٌ, Sab. אב CISiv, 1. 37 1. 2 al. Ethiopic አብ Aramaic אַבָּא, ܐܰܒܳܐ )—abs. אָב Gn 44:19 + 47 times; cstr. אַב Gn 17:4, 5 (cf. in אַבְרָהָם ib. & elsewhere in n.pr. On Hal’s proposes אֲבִר v. אברהם); אֲבִי (cf. Ge§§ 90, 3b, 96) Gn 4:20 +; sf. אָבִי Gn 19:34 + (MI אבי); אָבִיךָ Gn 12:1 +; אָבִיו Gn 2:24 +; אָבִ֫יהוּ Ju 14:10 + 6 times; pl. אָבוֹת Ex 12:3 +; cstr. אֲבוֹת Ex 6:25 + 7 times; sf. אֲבוֹתַי (אֲבֹתַי, אֲבוֹתָ֑י) Gn 47:9 + 15 times; אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם 1 Ch 4:38 + 32 times (late); אֲבוֹתָם Ex 4:5 + 106 times etc.;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a 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.
אַב־
- a prefix of words of Greek origin answering to αὐ-, au-, e.g. אבטומטוס = αὐτόματος; or to εὐ, e.g. אבגינוס = εὐγενής.
אָב I
- (Assyr. A-bu, Schr. K. A. T., p. 247) Ab, the fifth month of the Jewish calendar (of thirty days) beginning between the eighth of July and the seventh of August, and ending between the sixth of August and the fifth of September. R. Hash. I, 3, על אב וכ׳ for announcing the beginning of Ab messengers are sent out, for the sake of the fast. Ib. 18ᵇ ט׳ באב the ninth of Ab, anniversary of Temple destruction. Taan. IV, 6 משנכנס אב with the beginning of Ab. Ib. 29ᵇ לישתמיט מיניה באב let him try to be relieved of (the law-suit) in Ab. Meg. 5ᵇ; a. e.
אָב II
- , const. אֲבִי, אַב [embracer], father, ancestor, progenitor; teacher; chief, leader; author, originator. Ex. R. s. 46 end המגדל אב the educator is the real father. Lev. R. s. 1 אבי החכמה וכ׳, the father of all wisdom, … the father of prophets. Y. Ned. V, 39ᵇ; a. fr.—אַב בית דין (abbr. אב"ד) president of the Court (Great Sanhedrin), next in dignity to the Nassi. Taan. II, 1; a. fr.—Metaph. origin, cause. Num. R. s. 10 (play on אֲבוֹי, Prov. XXIII, 29) א׳ אוי the cause of woe (sin).—אב מלאכה (for which also עיקר) one of the chief labors forbidden on the Sabbath, opp. תולדה a labor the prohibition of which is based on the ground of its being a species of the former, or derived from the former. Sabb. VII, 1 sq.; a. fr.—[Y. Sabb. II, 5ᵃ, אב שלה, sub. מלאכה.]—אב הטומאה one of the original or direct causes of levitical uncleanness, opp. ולד (child) secondary cause. Toh. I, 5; a. fr.—א׳ הנזק v. Pl.—בנין א׳ creation of a class, i.e. a conclusion, by analogy, from a case explicitly stated in the bibl. law on all similar cases not specified in detail. Sifra introd.—Ib. K’doshim, end, ch. 11 (ref. to Lev. XX, 27) זה ב׳ א׳ לכל דמיהם בם this forms the rule for all cases in which the Bible uses the word d’mēhem bam (that the penalty is stoning to death); a. fr.; v. also בֵּית אב.—Pl. אָבוֹת־, const. אֲבוֹת, e.g. Proverbs 23:29
- 1. fathers, ancestors, patriarchs &c. Ber. 26ᵇ prayers א׳ תקנום have been instituted by the Patriarchs; a. fr.—אבות בתי דינין, v. supra. Ḥag. II, 2.—בת א׳ a woman of noble descent. Num. R. s. 1; a. e.—Metaph. principal, chief א׳ מלאכות, v. supra. א׳ הטומא׳ Kel. I, 1; v. supra.—א׳ נזיקין (sing. אב הנזק) the chief actionable injuries or damages, from which the subordinate are deduced (תולדות). B. Kam. I, 1; a. e.
- 2. Aboth, the first section of the Prayer of Benedictions (v. תְּפִלָּה), so called because it alludes to the Patriarchs. R. Hash. IV, 5; a. fr.
- 3. Aboth, name of a treatise of the Mishnah, containing sayings of Talmudic authorities and belonging to the fourth section, נזיקין, of the Mishnah collection (משניות); also styled פִּרְקֵי א׳ a. מְסֶכֶת א׳. A similar collection of a later date is contained in Talmud Babli editions, named א׳ דרבי נתן Aboth d’Rabbi Nathan. [Y. Yoma VIII, 44ᵈ top אב בית נפש v. אֲבֵידָה.]
אָב II ²
- ch., v. אַבָּא
אֵב
- swelling, spreading, whence
- 1. the young shoots of a tree, opp. to the branches growing directly from the trunk. B. Kam. 81ᵃ אִיבּוֹ של אילן ed. (Ar. a. Ms. חובו, v. חוֹב II, cmp. Rashi a. l.). [Y. Erub. III, 21ᵃ top איבו; Y. Succ. II, 53ᵃ צידו.]
- 2. pl. אִבִּין, אִיבִּין state of growth, development. Ḥull. 58ᵃ cascuta which became wormy באִבֶּיהָ during its growth. Ib. 127ᵇ figs which shrunk באִבֵּיהֶן during development. Y. Sabb. VII, 10ᶜ bot. he who presses olives מאִבֵּיהֶן from where they grow (before they are ripe to be taken off). [Tosef. Maasr. I, 4 איבין אדומים, Var. אובין, read אוּגִין, v. אוֹג.] Ib. 5 they differ על האיבין concerning the plants in their growing state (between ripening [גמר] and blossoming [הנץ]; Var. אוֹנין incorr.); cmp. יָבַן. Ch. v. אִיבָּא I.
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 406 distinct written forms H1 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’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; 346 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1, 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
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- אבי ʼĂbîy H21 Abi
- אביאל ʼĂbîyʼêl H22 Abiel
- אביאסף ʼĂbîyʼâçâph H23 Abiasaph
- אבי גבעון ʼĂbîy Gibʻôwn H25 father of Gibeon
- אביגיל ʼĂbîygayil H26 Abigail
- אבידן ʼĂbîydân H27 Abidan
- אבידע ʼĂbîydâʻ H28 Abida
- אביה ʼĂbîyâh H29 Abijah
- אביהוא ʼĂbîyhûwʼ H30 Abihu
- אביהוד ʼĂbîyhûwd H31 Ahihud
- אביהיל ʼĂbîyhayil H32 Abihail
- אביטוב ʼĂbîyṭûwb H36 Abitub
- אביטל ʼĂbîyṭâl H37 Abital
- אבים ʼĂbîyâm H38 Abijam
- אבימאל ʼĂbîymâʼêl H39 Abimael
- אבימלך ʼĂbîymelek H40 Abimelech
- אבינדב ʼĂbîynâdâb H41 Abinadab
- אבינעם ʼĂbîynôʻam H42 Abinoam
- אביעזר ʼĂbîyʻezer H44 Abiezer
- אביעלבון ʼĂbîy-ʻalbôwn H45 Abialbon
- אבירם ʼĂbîyrâm H48 Abiram
- אבישג ʼĂbîyshag H49 Abishag
- אבישוע ʼĂbîyshûwaʻ H50 Abishua
- אבישור ʼĂbîyshûwr H51 Abishur
+7 more proper names from this root (not shown).
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 34 — not the complete family. 31 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1,020 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 1,060 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 2:24
- Exodus 2:16
- Leviticus 16:32
- Numbers 1:2
- Deuteronomy 1:8
- Joshua 1:6
- Judges 1:14
- Ruth 2:11
- 1 Samuel 2:25
- 2 Samuel 2:32
- 1 Kings 1:6
- 2 Kings 2:12
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.