זֶ֫בַח
sacrifice
‘sacrifice’ is one of 8 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
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
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).
Every verse where H2077 appears in the Book of 2 Kings — 4 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.
2 Kings
- 2 Kings 5:17 וָ/זֶ֨בַח֙ conj + n c ms Naaman said, If not, yet, please let there be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth; for your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 10:19 זֶ֨בַח n c ms Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
- 2 Kings 10:24 זְבָחִ֣ים n c mp They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed him eighty men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, [he who lets him go], his life shall be for the life of him.
- 2 Kings 16:15 זֶ֖בַח n c ms King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meal-offering, and the king's burnt offering, and his meal-offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: but the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by.
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.
זבח (zebach) is a Hebrew noun most often rendered “sacrifice.” Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. With 153 verses in 25 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. It first appears in Genesis 31:54. It clusters with זבח, דבח and מזבח 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 H2077 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 →
- 153
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 153 distinct verses.
- 25 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 25 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #283
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 283 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 153 occurrences in the concordance →
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 153 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 68 verses · 44%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 58 verses · 38%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 27 verses · 18%
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†: Sacrifice 83×, Sacrifices 48×, Offerings 6×
- American Standard Version†: Sacrifice 76×, Sacrifices 43×, Peace-offerings 11×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Sacrifices 52×, Sacrifice 42×, Offerings 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Sacrifice 47×, Sacrifice of 46×, Sacrifices 40×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2077 across 162† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 18 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 H2077 across 169† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 35 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 H2077 across 121† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 11 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 18 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2077 across 166† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 12 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
11 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 11 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.
זבח I
- I. general name for all sacrifices eaten at feasts:* Ph. זבח of an offering of bread and oil CIS i. 165. 12; 167. 8, cf. RSSem 205 (2nd ed. 222)—
- 1. of the God of Israel Gn 46:1 Ex 10:25; 18:12 (E) Ho 3:4; 6:6; 9:4 Am 5:25 Is 1:11; 19:21 Dt 12:27; 18:3 1 S 2:13, 29; 3:14; 6:15; 9:12, 13; 15:22(×2); 16:3, 5(×2) 2 S 15:12 1 K 8:62; 12:27 2 K 5:17; 16:15 ψ 40:7; 50:8; 51:18, 19 Pr 15:8; 21:3, 27 Is 43:23, 24; 56:7 Je 6:20; 7:21, 22; 17:26; 33:18 Ez 40:42; 44:11 1 Ch 29:21, 21 2 Ch 7:1, 4, 5, 12 Ne 12:43 Dn 9:27 Ec 4:17. They should be זִבְחֵי צֶדֶק sacrifices of righteousness (offered in righteousness by the righteous) Dt 33:19 ψ 4:6; 51:21; זִבְחֵי הַבְהָבַי sacrifices of gifts to me (י׳) Ho 8:13; the temple is בֵּית זָ֑בַח 2 Ch 7:12; they should not be ז׳ רִיב sacrifices of strife, where strife prevails Pr 17:1. e.g. Genesis 46:1
- 2. of other deities Ex 34:15 Nu 25:2 Dt 32:38 (JE) Ju 16:23 2 K 10:19, 24 Ho 4:19 Is 57:7 Ez 20:28; these are זִבְחֵי מֵתִים sacrifices to dead things (lifeless gods, opp. to י׳ as living) ψ 106:28. e.g. Exodus 34:15
- II. there are several kinds of זְבָחִים which are gradually distinguished:
- 1. the covenant sacrifice, between Jacob and Laban Gn 31:54 (E), with God ψ 50:5 (cf. Ex 24:5 1 S 11:5). e.g. Genesis 31:54
- 2. the passover זֶבַח חַג הַפֶּסַח Ex 34:25 (JE), זבח פסח Ex 12:27 (J); and prob. also זבחי Ex 23:18 (JE) = 34:25 (id.) e.g. Exodus 34:25
- 3. annual sacrifice זֶבַח הַיָּמִים 1 S 1:21; 2:19; 20:6, cf. ז׳ מִשְׁפָּחָה sacrifice of the clan 1 S 20:29. e.g. 1 Samuel 1:21
- 4. thank offering ז׳ (הַ)תּוֹדָה Lv 7:12; 22:29 ψ 107:22; 116:17, which is given as ז׳ קָרְבָּנוֹ, זִבְחוֹ, הַזָּבַח Lv 7:16, 17; and as a variety of שְׁלָמִים Lv 7:13, 15; it is implied in זִבְחֵי תְרוּעָה ψ 27:6; yet זֶבַח is generic with תּוֹדָה 2 Ch 29:31(×2). e.g. Leviticus 7:12
- 5. in ritual of H & P זבחים are defined by שׁלמים (q.v.) Lv 3:1 + 39 times Lv Nu, 1 S 10:8 1 K 8:63 2 Ch 30:22; 33:16 Pr 7:14, but sometimes (rarely) ז׳ alone is used in this sense, with or without suffix, where the meaning is plain from the context: Lv 17:5, 7, 8; 19:6; 23:37 (H) Nu 15:3, 5, 8 Jos 22:26, 29 (all P). These ritual offerings are of three varieties תּוֹדָה, נֶדֶר and נְדָבָה Lv 7:12, 16 (P); in the several lists זבחים are distinguished from תודות Am 4:4f. 2 Ch 29:31, from נדרים Nu 15:8 (P) Dt 12:6, 11 Jon 1:16, from נדבות Am 4:4 f. Dt 12:6 and from the more comprehensive שׁלמים Nu 15:8 Jos 22:27 (P). So also the sacrifice at the institution of the covenant at Horeb Ex 24:5 (JE) and the sacrifice at the installation of Saul 1 S 11:15 are defined as †זבחים שׁלמים. Thus ז׳ seems not only to be used for all these special forms but also to include other festal sacrifices not defined in the codes of law. The ritual was the same for the entire class. They were all sacrifices for feasts in which the flesh of the victim was eaten by the offerers, except so far as the officiating priests had certain choice pieces and the blood and fat pieces went to the altar for God. The sacrifice at the institution of the covenant at Horeb, the Passover victim, and the ram of consecration, were special, in that there was an application of a portion of the blood to the persons and things which were to be consecrated, Ex 12:22; 24:8 Lv 8:23. e.g. Leviticus 3:1
- 6. the slaughter of hostile nations is also a זֶבַח offered by God Himself, in which the vultures devour the flesh of the victims Is 34:6 Je 46:10 Ez 39:17(×2), 19 Zp 1:7, 8. e.g. Isaiah 34:6
- 7. the verb used with זֶבַח is ordinarily זָבַח but others also are found e.g. †עָשָׂה Nu 6:17; 15:3, 5, 8 Jos 22:23 (P) 1 K 12:27; 2 K 5:17; 10:24 Je 33:18 (cf. Sab. עסי דֿבח Hal 148 DHMZMG 1888, 374); †הֵבִיא Am 4:4 Dt 12:6, 11 Je 17:26, †הִגִּישׁ Am 5:25, †הִקְרִיב Lv 7:11, 16; 22:21 (all P), †עָבַד Is 19:21, †נָתַן Ec 4:17, יַעֲלָה עֹלָה אוֹ זֶבַח Lv 17:8 (H), בִּשֵּׁל ז׳ Ez 46:24, שָׁחַט אֶת־הָעוֹלָה וְהַזָּ֑בַח Ez 40:42 cf. 44:11. e.g. Numbers 6:17
זבח II m. a Midianite king Ju 8
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
I. n.m. Ju 16:23 sacrifice, ז׳ abs. Gn 31:54 +; cstr. Ex 34:25 +; זָ֑בַח Lv 17:8 + 16 times; sf. זִבְחוֹ Lv 7:16 Ez 34:15, זִבְחֲכֶם Lv 19:6; pl. זְבָחִים Gn 46:1 +; cstr. זִבְחֵי Lv 17:5 +; sf. 3 mpl. זִבְחֵיהֶם Lv 17:5, זְבָחֵימוֹ Dt 32:38, זִבְחוֹתָם †Ho 4:19 etc.;—the common and most ancient sacrifice, whose essential rite was eating the flesh of the victim at a feast in which the god of the clan shared by receiving the blood and fat pieces. In the older literature it is distinguished from מִנְחָה and עֹלָה, in the later literature from חַטָּאת and אָשָׁם.
II. n.pr.m. a Midianite king Ju 8:5, 6, 7, 10, 12(×2), 15(×2), 18, 21(×2) ψ 83:12, 𝔊 Ζεβεε.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from זבח (zâbach) (H2076) — to sacrifice.
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.
זָבַח
- [to give a feast,] to slaughter, sacrifice. Ḥull. II, 3 (ref. to Deut. XXVII, 7) מה שאתה זוֹבֵחַ וכ׳ thou mayest eat what thou (a human hand) cuttest. Snh. 60ᵇ בזובח לעכו"ם of one sacrificing to an idol; a. fr.—Part. pass. זָבוּחַ. Lev. R. s. 10 (play on מזבח, Ex. XXXII, 5) מֵהַזָּ׳ לפניו וכ׳ he was afraid on account of him who lay killed before him (Hur); a. fr. e.g. Deuteronomy 27:7
- same. Snh. 62ᵃ ז׳ וקיטר וכ׳ if he slaughtered a sacrifice, and burnt &c. (to an idol). Ib. VII, 6 (60ᵇ) המְזַבֵּחַ Talm. ed. (Mish. הזובח) he who offers an animal (to an idol), a. fr.—V. זָבַל
- to be sacrificed, to be slaughtered; to die as a martyr. Zeb. I, 1 שנִזְבְּחוּ שלא לשמן which were offered not for the purpose for which they were dedicated. Y. Snh. X, 29ᶜ top (play on עלי זבח, Ps. L, 5) שעילו אותי ונזבחו על שמי who raised me and sacrificed themselves for my name’s sake; a. fr. e.g. Psalms 50:5
זֶבַח
- preced.) a slaughtering, sacrifice, esp. (festive) peace-offering (חֲגִיגָה). Pes. X, 9. Tosef. ib. X, 14. Tosef. Ber. V, 22; a. fr.—Pl. זְבָחִים, constr. זִבְחֵי. Ib. Zeb. I, 1 כל הז׳ all animalic offerings; a. fr.—Z’baḥim, name of a treatise of the Mishnah, Tosefta and Talmud Babli (also called שְׁחִיטַת קָדֳשִׁים).
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 86 distinct written forms H2077 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; 26 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2077, 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.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 146 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 153 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 31:54
- Exodus 10:25
- Leviticus 3:1
- Numbers 6:17
- Deuteronomy 12:6
- Joshua 22:23
- Judges 16:23
- 1 Samuel 1:21
- 2 Samuel 15:12
- 1 Kings 8:62
- 2 Kings 5:17
- 1 Chronicles 29:21
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.
