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).
Page 5 of 5 — showing verses 801–959 of 959 distinct verses where H1 appears in the Construct state, across 31 books. 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.
Nehemiah 13 verses
- Nehemiah 9:34 וַ/אֲבֹתֵ֔י/נוּ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and your testimonies with which you did testify against them.
- Nehemiah 9:36 לַ/אֲבֹתֵ֗י/נוּ prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good of it, behold, we are servants in it.
- Nehemiah 10:34 אֲבֹתֵ֛י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp We cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of Yahweh our God, as it is written in the law;
- Nehemiah 13:18 אֲבֹ֣תֵי/כֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Didn't your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this evil on us, and on this city? yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
Esther 2 verses
- Esther 2:7 אָ֣ב אָבִ֨י/הָ֙ n c ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 3fs He brought up Hadassah, who is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
- Esther 4:14 אָבִ֖י/ךְ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2fs For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish: and who knows whether you haven't come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Job 6 verses
- Job 8:8 אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp "Please inquire of past generations, Find out about the learning of their fathers.
- Job 15:10 מֵ/אָבִ֣י/ךָ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men, Much elder than your father.
- Job 15:18 מֵ/אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp (Which wise men have told From their fathers, and have not hidden it;
- Job 17:14 אָ֣בִ/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs If I have said to corruption, 'You are my father;' To the worm, 'My mother,' and 'my sister;'
- Job 30:1 אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp "But now those who are younger than I, have me in derision, Whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
- Job 42:15 אֲבִי/הֶ֛ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp In all the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job. Their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.
Psalms 18 verses
- Psalms 22:4 אֲבֹתֵ֑י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them.
- Psalms 27:10 אָבִ֣/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs When my father and my mother forsake me, Then Yahweh will take me up.
- Psalms 39:12 אֲבוֹתָֽ/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs "Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don't be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, A foreigner, as all my fathers were.
- Psalms 44:1 אֲבוֹתֵ֥י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp We have heard with our ears, God; Our fathers have told us, What work you did in their days, In the days of old.
- Psalms 45:10 אָבִֽי/ךְ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2fs Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father's house.
- Psalms 45:16 אֲ֭בֹתֶי/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Your sons will take the place of your fathers. You shall make them princes in all the earth.
- Psalms 49:19 אֲבוֹתָ֑י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms He shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.
- Psalms 68:5 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, Is God in his holy habitation.
- Psalms 78:3 וַ֝/אֲבוֹתֵ֗י/נוּ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
- Psalms 78:5 אֲבוֹתֵ֑י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;
- Psalms 78:8 כַּ/אֲבוֹתָ֗/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp And might not be as their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that didn't make their hearts loyal, Whose spirit was not steadfast with God.
- Psalms 78:12 אֲ֭בוֹתָ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
- Psalms 78:57 כַּ/אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
- Psalms 89:26 אָ֣בִ/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs He will call to me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation!'
- Psalms 95:9 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp When your fathers tempted me, Tested me, and saw my work.
- Psalms 106:6 אֲבוֹתֵ֗י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.
- Psalms 106:7 אֲב֘וֹתֵ֤י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Our fathers didn't understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn't remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
- Psalms 109:14 אֲ֭בֹתָי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don't let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Proverbs 18 verses
- Proverbs 1:8 אָבִ֑י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms My son, listen to your father's instruction, And don't forsake your mother's teaching:
- Proverbs 4:3 לְ/אָבִ֑/י prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs For I was a son to my father, Tender and an only child in the sight of my mother.
- Proverbs 6:20 אָבִ֑י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms My son, keep your father's commandment, And don't forsake your mother's teaching.
- Proverbs 15:5 אָבִ֑י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms A fool despises his father's correction, But he who heeds reproof shows prudence.
- Proverbs 17:6 אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Children's children are the crown of old men; The glory of children are their parents.
- Proverbs 17:21 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.
- Proverbs 17:25 לְ֭/אָבִי/ו prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms A foolish son brings grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him.
- Proverbs 19:13 לְ֭/אָבִי/ו prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms A foolish son is the calamity of his father. A wife's quarrels are a continual dripping.
- Proverbs 20:20 אָבִ֣י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
- Proverbs 22:28 אֲבוֹתֶֽי/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Don't move the ancient boundary stone, Which your fathers have set up.
- Proverbs 23:22 לְ֭/אָבִי/ךָ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Listen to your father who gave you life, And don't despise your mother when she is old.
- Proverbs 23:24 אֲבִ֣י n c ms cs The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
- Proverbs 23:25 אָבִ֥י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Let your father and your mother be glad! Let her who bore you rejoice!
- Proverbs 27:10 אָבִ֡י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Don't forsake your friend and your father's friend. Don't go to your brother's house in the day of your disaster: Better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.
- Proverbs 28:7 אָבִֽי/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Whoever keeps the law is a wise son; But he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.
- Proverbs 28:24 אָ֘בִ֤י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Whoever robs his father or his mother, and says, "It's not wrong." He is a partner with a destroyer.
- Proverbs 29:3 אָבִ֑י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; But a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- Proverbs 30:11 אָבִ֣י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms There is a generation that curses their father, And doesn't bless their mother.
Isaiah 17 verses
- Isaiah 3:6 אָבִ֔י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, "You have clothing, you be our ruler, And let this ruin be under your hand."
- Isaiah 7:17 אָבִי/ךָ֒ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
- Isaiah 8:4 אָבִ֣/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.
- Isaiah 9:6 אֲבִי n c ms cs For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 14:21 אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they not rise up, and possess the earth, and fill the surface of the world with cities.
- Isaiah 22:23 אָבִֽי/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house.
- Isaiah 22:24 אָבִ֗י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms They shall hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the pitchers.
- Isaiah 37:12 אֲבוֹתַ֔/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Telassar?
- Isaiah 38:5 אָבִ֔י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Go, and tell Hezekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will add to your days fifteen years.
- Isaiah 39:6 אֲבֹתֶ֛י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says Yahweh.
- Isaiah 43:27 אָבִ֥י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Your first father sinned, and your teachers have transgressed against me.
- Isaiah 51:2 אֲבִי/כֶ֔ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 2mp Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many.
- Isaiah 58:14 אָבִ֔י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms then shall you delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
- Isaiah 63:16 אָבִ֔י/נוּ אָבִ֔י/נוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn't know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us: you, Yahweh, are our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
- Isaiah 64:8 אָבִ֣י/נוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
- Isaiah 64:11 אֲבֹתֵ֔י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste.
- Isaiah 65:7 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶ֤ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, says Yahweh, who have burned incense on the mountains, and blasphemed me on the hills; therefore will I first measure their work into their bosom.
Jeremiah 55 verses
- Jeremiah 2:5 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶ֥ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp thus says Yahweh, What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
- Jeremiah 2:27 אָ֣בִ/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs who tell a stock, You are my father; and to a stone, You have brought me forth: for they have turned their back to me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
- Jeremiah 3:4 אָבִ֑/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs Will you not from this time cry to me, My Father, you are the guide of my youth?
- Jeremiah 3:18 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶֽם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance to your fathers.
- Jeremiah 3:19 אָבִ/י֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs But I said, How I will put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, You shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
- Jeremiah 3:24 אֲבוֹתֵ֖י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
- Jeremiah 3:25 וַ/אֲבוֹתֵ֔י/נוּ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God.
- Jeremiah 7:7 לַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forevermore.
- Jeremiah 7:14 וְ/לַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם conj + prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
- Jeremiah 7:22 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp For I didn't speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
- Jeremiah 7:25 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
- Jeremiah 7:26 מֵ/אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp yet they didn't listen to me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers.
- Jeremiah 9:14 אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them;
- Jeremiah 9:16 וַֽ/אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.
- Jeremiah 11:4 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֡ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall you be my people, and I will be your God;
- Jeremiah 11:5 לַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֗ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp that I may establish the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then answered I, and said, Amen, Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 11:7 בַּ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֗ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp For I earnestly protested to your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even to this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
- Jeremiah 11:10 אֲבוֹתָ֜/ם אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; and they are gone after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
- Jeremiah 12:6 אָבִ֗י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms For even your brothers, and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; even they have cried aloud after you: don't believe them, though they speak beautiful words to you.
- Jeremiah 14:20 אֲבוֹתֵ֑י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp We acknowledge, Yahweh, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you.
- Jeremiah 16:3 אֲבוֹתָ֛/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became the father of them in this land:
- Jeremiah 16:7 אָבִ֖י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms neither shall men break [bread] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
- Jeremiah 16:11 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶ֤ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Then shall you tell them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, says Yahweh, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
- Jeremiah 16:12 מֵ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp and you have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, you walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you don't listen to me:
- Jeremiah 16:13 וַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there shall you serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.
- Jeremiah 16:15 לַ/אֲבוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp but, As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them. I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.
- Jeremiah 16:19 אֲבוֹתֵ֔י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, [even] vanity and things in which there is no profit.
- Jeremiah 17:22 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶֽם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day holy, neither do any work: but make the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
- Jeremiah 19:4 וַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/הֶ֖ם conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it to other gods, that they didn't know, they and their fathers and the kings of Judah; and have filled this place with the blood of innocents,
- Jeremiah 20:15 אָבִ/י֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs Cursed be the man who brought news to my father, saying, A man-child is born to you; making him very glad.
- Jeremiah 22:11 אָבִ֔י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms For thus says Yahweh touching Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, [and] who went forth out of this place: He shall not return there any more.
- Jeremiah 22:15 אָבִ֜י/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Shall you reign, because you strive to excel in cedar? Didn't your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him.
- Jeremiah 23:27 אֲבוֹתָ֛/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp who think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgot my name for Baal.
- Jeremiah 23:39 וְ/לַ/אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶ֖ם conj + prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave to you and to your fathers, away from my presence:
- Jeremiah 24:10 וְ/לַ/אֲבוֹתֵי/הֶֽם conj + prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, until they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.
- Jeremiah 25:5 וְ/לַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם conj + prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp saying, Return you now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forevermore;
- Jeremiah 30:3 לַ/אֲבוֹתָ֖/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp For, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will turn again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, says Yahweh; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
- Jeremiah 31:32 אֲבוֹתָ֔/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 32:22 לַ/אֲבוֹתָ֖/ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp and gave them this land, which you did swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
- Jeremiah 34:5 אֲ֠בוֹתֶי/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms you shall die in peace; and with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so shall they make a burning for you; and they shall lament you, [saying], Ah Lord! for I have spoken the word, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 34:13 אֲב֣וֹתֵי/כֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,
- Jeremiah 34:14 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp At the end of seven years you shall let go every man his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you: but your fathers didn't listen to me, neither inclined their ear.
- Jeremiah 35:6 אָבִ֗י/נוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever:
- Jeremiah 35:8 אָבִ֔י/נוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;
- Jeremiah 35:10 אָבִֽי/נוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cp but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
- Jeremiah 35:14 אֲבִי/הֶ֑ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father's commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.
- Jeremiah 35:15 וְ/לַ/אֲבֹֽתֵי/כֶ֑ם conj + prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don't go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
- Jeremiah 35:16 אֲבִי/הֶ֖ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me;
- Jeremiah 35:18 אֲבִי/כֶ֑ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 2mp Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;
- Jeremiah 44:3 וַ/אֲבֹתֵי/כֶֽם conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, [and] to serve other gods, that they didn't know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.
- Jeremiah 44:9 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶ֜ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
- Jeremiah 44:10 אֲבוֹתֵי/כֶֽם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
- Jeremiah 44:17 וַ/אֲבֹתֵ֨י/נוּ֙ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.
- Jeremiah 44:21 וַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֛ם conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, didn't Yahweh remember them, and didn't it come into his mind?
- Jeremiah 50:7 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/הֶ֖ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness, even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.
Lamentations 1 verse
Ezekiel 18 verses
- Ezekiel 2:3 וַ/אֲבוֹתָ/ם֙ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp He said to me, Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.
- Ezekiel 5:10 אָב֞וֹת אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of you, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you; and the whole remnant of you will I scatter to all the winds.
- Ezekiel 16:3 אָבִ֥י/ךְ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2fs and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your birth and your birth is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was your father, and your mother was a Hittite.
- Ezekiel 16:45 וַ/אֲבִי/כֶ֖ן conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2fp You are the daughter of your mother, who loathes her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
- Ezekiel 18:14 אָבִ֖י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father's sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;
- Ezekiel 18:17 אָבִ֖י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms who has withdrawn his hand from the poor, who has not received interest nor increase, has executed my ordinances, has walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
- Ezekiel 18:18 אָבִ֞י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity.
- Ezekiel 20:4 אֲבוֹתָ֖/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;
- Ezekiel 20:18 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp I said to their children in the wilderness, Don't you walk in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
- Ezekiel 20:24 אֲבוֹתָ֔/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
- Ezekiel 20:27 אֲב֣וֹתֵי/כֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
- Ezekiel 20:30 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֖ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Therefore tell the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Do you pollute yourselves after the manner of your fathers? and play you the prostitute after their abominations?
- Ezekiel 20:36 אֲב֣וֹתֵי/כֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 20:42 לַ/אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶֽם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp You shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers.
- Ezekiel 22:11 אָבִ֖י/ו n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter.
- Ezekiel 36:28 לַ/אֲבֹֽתֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
- Ezekiel 37:25 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp They shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children's children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever.
- Ezekiel 47:14 לַ/אֲבֹֽתֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for inheritance.
Daniel 6 verses
- Daniel 9:6 וַ/אֲבֹתֵ֑י/נוּ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
- Daniel 9:8 וְ/לַ/אֲבֹתֵ֑י/נוּ conj + prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
- Daniel 9:16 אֲבֹתֵ֔י/נוּ n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are become a reproach to all who are round about us.
- Daniel 11:24 אֲבֹתָי/ו֙ וַ/אֲב֣וֹת אֲבֹתָ֔י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms conj + n c mp cs n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms In time of security shall he come even on the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yes, he shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.
- Daniel 11:37 אֲבֹתָי/ו֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all.
- Daniel 11:38 אֲבֹתָ֗י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers didn't know shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
Hosea 1 verse
Joel 1 verse
Amos 2 verses
- Amos 2:4 אֲבוֹתָ֖/ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; Because they have rejected Yahweh's law, And have not kept his statutes, And their lies have led them astray, After which their fathers walked;
- Amos 2:7 וְ/אָבִ֗י/ו conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And deny justice to the oppressed; And a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name;
Micah 1 verse
Zechariah 6 verses
- Zechariah 1:2 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֖ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp "Yahweh was very displeased with your fathers.
- Zechariah 1:4 כַ/אֲבֹֽתֵי/כֶ֡ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Don't you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Return now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;' but they did not hear, nor listen to me, says Yahweh.
- Zechariah 1:5 אֲבֽוֹתֵי/כֶ֖ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
- Zechariah 1:6 אֲבֹתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn't they overtake your fathers? "Then they repented and said, 'Just as Yahweh of Hosts determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.'"
- Zechariah 8:14 אֲבֹֽתֵי/כֶם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp For thus says Yahweh of hosts: "As I thought to do evil to you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath," says Yahweh of Hosts, "and I didn't repent;
- Zechariah 13:3 אָבִ֨י/ו אָבִ֧י/הוּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms It will happen that, when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will tell him, 'You must die, because you speak lies in the name of Yahweh;' and his father and his mother who bore him will stab him when he prophesies.
Malachi 3 verses
- Malachi 2:10 אָ֤ב אֲבֹתֵֽי/נוּ n c ms n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cp Don't we all have one father? Hasn't one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
- Malachi 3:7 אֲבֹתֵי/כֶ֜ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says Yahweh of Hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?'
- Malachi 4:6 אָבוֹת֙ אֲבוֹתָ֑/ם n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."
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.
