חֶ֫רֶב
sword
‘sword’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-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.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H2719 appears in the Book of Ezekiel — 79 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.
Ezekiel
- Ezekiel 5:1 חֶ֣רֶב n c fs You, son of man, take a sharp sword; [as] a barber's razor shall you take it to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
- Ezekiel 5:2 בַ/חֶ֨רֶב֙ וְ/חֶ֖רֶב prep det + n c fs conj + n c fs A third part shall you burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third part, and strike with the sword round about it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
- Ezekiel 5:12 בַּ/חֶ֖רֶב וְ/חֶ֖רֶב prep det + n c fs conj + n c fs A third part of you shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of you; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.
- Ezekiel 5:17 וְ/חֶ֨רֶב֙ conj + n c fs and I will send on you famine and evil animals, and they shall bereave you; and pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword on you: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
- Ezekiel 6:3 חֶ֔רֶב n c fs and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.
- Ezekiel 6:8 חֶ֖רֶב n c fs Yet will I leave a remnant, in that you shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when you shall be scattered through the countries.
- Ezekiel 6:11 בַּ/חֶ֛רֶב prep det + n c fs Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Smite with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
- Ezekiel 6:12 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs He who is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he who is near shall fall by the sword; and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath on them.
- Ezekiel 7:15 הַ/חֶ֣רֶב בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב ptcl def.art + n c fs prep det + n c fs The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within: he who is in the field shall die with the sword: and he who is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
- Ezekiel 11:8 חֶ֖רֶב וְ/חֶ֨רֶב֙ n c fs conj + n c fs You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 11:10 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 12:14 וְ/חֶ֖רֶב conj + n c fs I will scatter toward every wind all who are round about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
- Ezekiel 12:16 מֵ/חֶ֖רֶב prep + n c fs But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they come; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 14:17 חֶ֥רֶב חֶ֚רֶב n c fs n c fs Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and animal;
- Ezekiel 14:21 חֶ֠רֶב n c fs For thus says the Lord Yahweh: How much more when I send my four sore judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil animals, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and animal!
- Ezekiel 16:40 בְּ/חַרְבוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp They shall also bring up a company against you, and they shall stone you with stones, and thrust you through with their swords.
- Ezekiel 17:21 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs All his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and you shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
- Ezekiel 21:3 חַרְבִּ֖/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs and tell the land of Israel, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.
- Ezekiel 21:4 חַרְבִּ֧/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
- Ezekiel 21:5 חַרְבִּ֖/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs and all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.
- Ezekiel 21:9 חֶ֥רֶב חֶ֛רֶב n c fs n c fs Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;
- Ezekiel 21:11 חֶ֨רֶב֙ n c fs It is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer.
- Ezekiel 21:12 חֶ֨רֶב֙ n c fs Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.
- Ezekiel 21:14 חֶ֤רֶב חֶ֣רֶב חֶ֚רֶב n c fs n c fs cs n c fs cs You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one who is deadly wounded, which enters into their chambers.
- Ezekiel 21:15 חָ֑רֶב n c fs I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.
- Ezekiel 21:19 חֶ֣רֶב n c fs cs Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
- Ezekiel 21:20 חֶ֔רֶב n c fs You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
- Ezekiel 21:28 חֶ֣רֶב חֶ֤רֶב n c fs n c fs You, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say you, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;
- Ezekiel 23:10 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they killed with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgments on her.
- Ezekiel 23:25 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs I will set my jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall take away your nose and your ears; and your residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take your sons and your daughters; and your residue shall be devoured by the fire.
- Ezekiel 23:47 בְּ/חַרְבוֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
- Ezekiel 24:21 בַּ/חֶ֥רֶב prep det + n c fs Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.
- Ezekiel 25:13 בַּ/חֶ֥רֶב prep det + n c fs therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, I will stretch out my hand on Edom, and will cut off man and animal from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; even to Dedan shall they fall by the sword.
- Ezekiel 26:6 בַּ/חֶ֖רֶב prep det + n c fs Her daughters who are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 26:8 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs He shall kill with the sword your daughters in the field; and he shall make forts against you, and cast up a mound against you, and raise up the buckler against you.
- Ezekiel 26:9 בְּ/חַרְבוֹתָֽי/ו prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms He shall set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he shall break down your towers.
- Ezekiel 26:11 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all your streets; he shall kill your people with the sword; and the pillars of your strength shall go down to the ground.
- Ezekiel 28:7 חַרְבוֹתָ/ם֙ n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp therefore, behold, I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.
- Ezekiel 28:23 בְּ/חֶ֥רֶב prep + n c fs For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her, with the sword on her on every side; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 29:8 חָ֑רֶב n c fs Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off from you man and animal.
- Ezekiel 30:4 חֶ֨רֶב֙ n c fs A sword shall come on Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
- Ezekiel 30:5 בַּ/חֶ֥רֶב prep det + n c fs Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mixed people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
- Ezekiel 30:6 בַּ/חֶ֨רֶב֙ prep det + n c fs Thus says Yahweh: They also who uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Seveneh shall they fall in it by the sword, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 30:11 חַרְבוֹתָ/ם֙ n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
- Ezekiel 30:17 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these [cities] shall go into captivity.
- Ezekiel 30:21 בֶּ/חָֽרֶב prep det + n c fs Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up, to apply [healing] medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.
- Ezekiel 30:22 הַ/חֶ֖רֶב ptcl def.art + n c fs Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong [arm], and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
- Ezekiel 30:24 חַרְבִּ֖/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
- Ezekiel 30:25 חַרְבִּ/י֙ n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out on the land of Egypt.
- Ezekiel 31:17 חָ֑רֶב n c fs They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, [that] lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
- Ezekiel 31:18 חֶ֔רֶב n c fs To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shall you be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 32:10 חַרְבִּ֖/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Yes, I will make many peoples amazed at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for you, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.
- Ezekiel 32:11 חֶ֥רֶב n c fs cs For thus says the Lord Yahweh: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come on you.
- Ezekiel 32:12 בְּ/חַרְב֤וֹת prep + n c fp cs By the swords of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to nothing the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude of it shall be destroyed.
- Ezekiel 32:20 חֶ֖רֶב חֶ֣רֶב n c fs n c fs They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes.
- Ezekiel 32:21 חָֽרֶב n c fs The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with those who help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
- Ezekiel 32:22 בֶּ/חָֽרֶב prep det + n c fs Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword;
- Ezekiel 32:23 בַּ/חֶ֔רֶב prep det + n c fs whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
- Ezekiel 32:24 בַּ/חֶ֜רֶב prep det + n c fs There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.
- Ezekiel 32:25 חֶ֡רֶב n c fs They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of those who are slain.
- Ezekiel 32:26 חֶ֔רֶב n c fs There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living.
- Ezekiel 32:27 חַרְבוֹתָ֜/ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are on their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
- Ezekiel 32:28 חָֽרֶב n c fs But you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with those who are slain by the sword.
- Ezekiel 32:29 חָ֑רֶב n c fs There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the pit.
- Ezekiel 32:30 חֶ֔רֶב n c fs There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
- Ezekiel 32:31 חֶ֨רֶב֙ n c fs Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 32:32 חֶ֗רֶב n c fs For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 33:2 חָ֑רֶב n c fs Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, When I bring the sword on a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;
- Ezekiel 33:3 הַ/חֶ֖רֶב ptcl def.art + n c fs if, when he sees the sword come on the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
- Ezekiel 33:4 חֶ֖רֶב n c fs then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and doesn't take warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be on his own head.
- Ezekiel 33:6 הַ/חֶ֜רֶב חֶ֔רֶב ptcl def.art + n c fs n c fs But if the watchman sees the sword come, and doesn't blow the trumpet, and the people aren't warned, and the sword comes, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
- Ezekiel 33:26 חַרְבְּ/כֶם֙ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2mp You stand on your sword, you work abomination, and you defile everyone his neighbor's wife: and shall you possess the land?
- Ezekiel 33:27 בַּ/חֶ֣רֶב prep det + n c fs Thus shall you tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him who is in the open field will I give to the animals to be devoured; and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
- Ezekiel 35:5 חָ֑רֶב n c fs Because you have had a perpetual enmity, and have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end;
- Ezekiel 35:8 חֶ֖רֶב n c fs I will fill its mountains with its slain: in your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses shall they fall who are slain with the sword.
- Ezekiel 38:4 חֲרָב֖וֹת n c fp and I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords;
- Ezekiel 38:8 מֵ/חֶ֗רֶב prep + n c fs After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them.
- Ezekiel 38:21 חֶ֔רֶב חֶ֥רֶב n c fs n c fs cs I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains, says the Lord Yahweh: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
- Ezekiel 39:23 בַ/חֶ֖רֶב prep det + n c fs The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword.
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.
At its core, חרב (chereb) means “sword.” Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. With 372 verses in 33 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 3:24. Sharing its root, it stands alongside חרב, חרב and חרב. Dig into 372-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2719 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 →
- 372
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 372 distinct verses.
- 33 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 33 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #120
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 120 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 372 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 372 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 276 verses · 74%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 59 verses · 16%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 37 verses · 10%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Sword 340×, Swords 16×, Dagger 3×
- American Standard Version: Sword 316×, Swords 14×, Shall the sword 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: Sword 339×, Swords 26×, Own sword 7×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Sword 319×, Sword of 20×, Swords 15×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2719 across 412 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 36 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2719 across 411 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 65 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 H2719 across 405 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 23 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 7 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2719 across 394 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
12 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 12 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.
- a. sword, as weapon of war Gn 48:22 (E), Ju 7:14, 20 1 S 21:9, and so in all periods; two-edged (short) sword ח׳ וְלָהּ שְׁנֵי פֵיוֹ֖ת גֹּמֶד אָרְכָּהּ Ju 3:16, cf. ח׳ פִּיּוֹת Pr 5:4 (in sim.), ח׳ פִּיפִיּוֹת ψ 149:6; v. also צוּר ח׳ edge of sword ψ 89:44. e.g. Genesis 48:22
- b. gird on sword = חָגַר הח׳ 1 S 17:39; 25:13(×3) ψ 45:4 (ח׳ הח׳ עַל יָרֵך), שִׂים על ירך Ex 32:27, cf. especially 2 S 20:8. e.g. 1 Samuel 17:39
- c. draw the sword הֵרִיק הח׳ Ex 15:9 Lv 26:33 Ez 5:2, 12; 12:14; 28:7, הוציא הח׳ Ez 21:8, 10, פתח הח׳ ψ 37:14 Ez 21:33, נטשׁ Is 21:15 (Gr Che לטשׁ v. infr.); usually שׁלף הח׳ Nu 22:23, 31 Jos 5:13 Ju 3:22; 8:10, 20; 9:54 1 S 17:51; 31:4 = 1 Ch 10:4; 21:16, and as characteristic of warriors שֹׁלֵף ח׳ Ju 20:2, 15, 17, 25, 35, 46 2 S 24:9 2 K 3:26, 1 Ch 21:5(×2); וַתִּדְבַּק יָדוֹ אֶל־הַח׳ 2 S 23:10, ins. also in ‖ 1 Ch 11:13 (Dr). e.g. Exodus 15:9
- d. whet, sharpen the sword לטשׁ הח׳ ψ 7:13 (cf. Is 21:15 supr.), but also שׁנן Dt 32:41 cf. ψ 64:4, הוּחַדָּה Ez 21:14, 16. e.g. Psalms 7:13
- e. put up the sword into the sheath הֵשִׁיב הח׳ אֶל־נְדָנָהּ 1 Ch 21:27 (sheath of sword is elsewhere תַּעַר 1 S 17:51 2 S 20:8 Je 47:6 Ez 21:8). e.g. 1 Chronicles 21:27
- f. slay with sword הרג בח׳ Jos 10:11; 13:22 +; in ימותו אנשׁים 1 S 2:33, insert בְּחֶרֶב before אנשׁים 𝔊 We Dr; rarely הכה בח׳ Jos 11:10 2 K 19:37 = Is 37:38; very often הִכָּה לְפִי־ח׳ smite according to the mouth of the sword i.e. as the sword can devour (2 S 2:26; 11:25) = without quarter Nu 21:24 (E) Dt 13:16a; 20:13 Jos 11:11, 12, 14 (all D) Ju 18:27; 21:10 1 K 10:25 Jb 1:15, 17; also c. העיר as sole obj. Jos 8:24; 10:28, 30, 32, 35, 37, cf. v 39; 19:47 Ju 1:8, 25; 20:37 1 S 22:19(×2) 2 S 15:14; הרג לפי־ח׳ †Gn 34:26 (J); החרים לפי־ח׳ Dt 13:16b (incl. הָעִיר in obj.), Jos 6:21 1 S 15:8, חלשׁ לפי־ח׳ †Ex 17:13 (E); נפל לפי־ח׳ Jos 8:24 Ju 4:16; וַיָּהָם י׳ … לפי־ח׳ Ju 4:15;—(לפי־ח׳ is chiefly in Jos and Ju (21 times), in Hexat. only JED; but Jb post-ex.). e.g. Joshua 10:11
- g. אכלה הח׳ etc., of the sword as devouring:—תֹּאכֵל חַרְבִּי בָשָׂר Dt 32:42 (poet.), 2 S 2:26; 11:25; 18:8 Is 1:20 Je 2:30 Je 46:10, 14 Na 2:14. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:42
- h. slain by sword is חֲלַל־ח׳ Nu 19:16 (P) and frequently Ez, חַלְלֵי־ח׳ 31:17, 18; 32:21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32; 35:8 מְחֻלְלֵי ח׳ v 26 חללי־ח׳ (on text of 32:20, 22, 31 v. Co). e.g. Numbers 19:16
- i. שְׁבֻיוֹת ח׳ Gn 31:26 are captive of (taken by) sword. e.g. Genesis 31:26
- j. sword frequently agent of י׳ Ju 7:20 Is 34:6 Je 12:12; 47:6 etc.,—so Dt 28:22, but read חֹרֶב v. sub I. חרב (cf. on other hand 1 S 17:47); note especially Gn 3:24 לַהַט הח׳ הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת; poet. לַהַב ח׳ Na 3:3, בְּרַק ח׳ Dt 32:41. k. ח׳ fig. of tongue ψ 57:5 cf. 59:8; fig. of violence, war, etc., Gn 27:40; in sim. Pr 5:4 (of grievous end of dealings with strange women). e.g. Judges 7:20
- 2. knife ח׳ צֻרִים flint knives for use in circumcision Jos 5:2, 3 (v. WeSkizzen iii, 166); Ez 5:1, 2 ח׳ חַדָּה תַּעַר הַגַּלָּבִים (according to Co use of sword as razor is significant). e.g. Joshua 5:2
- 3. of tools used in hewing stone חַרְבְּךָ הֵנַפְתָּ עליה Ex 20:25; יִתֹּץ בח׳ Ez 26:9, according to most = tools, axes, ‘steel’ (Co ‘Eisen’), but poss. swords as implement read to hand; 2 Ch 34:6 Qr בְּחַרְבֹתֵיהֶם with their tools; read perhaps בְּחָרְבֹתֵיהֶם in their ruins, Be, who comp. ψ 109:10; v. חָרְבָּה sub II. חרב (𝔊 𝔙 om. חרב). e.g. Exodus 20:22
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.f. Is 21:15 sword (as weapon; Aramaic חַרְבָּא, ܚܰܪܒܳܐ, Zinj. חרב; Arabic حَرْبَةٌ dart, javelin) —abs. חֶ֫רֶב Gn 3:24 +; חָ֑רֶב Ex 17:13 +; cstr. חֶ֫רֶב Dt 33:29 +; sf. חַרְבִּי Ex 15:9 + 13 times; חַרְבְּךָ Gn 27:40 + 7 times; חַרְבֶּ֑ךָ 1 S 17:33 ψ 17:13; חַרְבּוֹ Nu 22:23 + 24 times; חַרְבְּכֶם Je 2:30 Ez 33:26; חַרְבָּם ψ 37:15; 44:4; pl. חֲרָבוֹת Is 21:15 + 5 times; cstr. חַרְבוֹת Jos 5:2 + 2 times; sf. חַרְבוֹתָיו Ez 26:9; חַרְבוֹתָם Is 2:4 + 5 times; חַרְבֹתֵיהֶם Mi 4:3 + 2 times;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from חרב (chârab) (H2717) — to lay waste.
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.
חָרִב I
- (b. h.) to be burned, dried up, ruined, waste. Snh. 22ᵃ כאלו ח׳ בה"מ וכ׳ as if the Temple had been destroyed in his days. Tosef. Men. XIII, 22 מפני מה חָרְבָה וכ׳ why was Shiloh destroyed?; Yoma 9ᵃ. Kil. IV, 1 (expl. קרחת הכרם) כרם שח׳ באמצעו a vineyard the central part of which is laid waste. Ib. V, 1; a. fr. [Num. R. s. 7, end בבל ח׳ מקדש, read: החריב. Taan. 29ᵃ כשח׳ טורנוס, read: כשחרש, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l.]
- to be destroyed. Erub. 18ᵇ. Yoma 39ᵇ שסופך עתיד לֵיחָרֵב that it is thy final destiny to be destroyed; a. fr.
- same. Pesik. R. s. 31 שיִתְחָרֵב. [Pirké d’R. El. ch. XXXIII, v. חָרַךְ.]
- to destroy, lay waste. Tosef. M. Kat. I, 5 מַחֲרִיבִין חורי וכ׳ you may destroy ant-stores (during the festive week). Num. R. s. 7, end שהֶחֱרִיבוּ בה"מ for they (the Romans) destroyed the Temple; a. fr.
- to be destroyed. Pes. 42ᵇ (ref. to Ez. XXVI, 2) אי מלאה זו הָחְרְבָה זו Ms. M. (ed. חרבה, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 9) when the one (Jerusalem) is populated, the other (Caesarea) is laid waste; Yalk. Gen. 110 חֲרֵיבָה. e.g. Ezekiel 26:2
חֲרֵב
- Targ. Ez. XXVI, 2. Targ. Hos. XIII, 15. Targ. Is. XIX, 5; a. fr.—Naz. 32ᵇ דח׳ בה"מ that the Temple has been destroyed. Ib. דיִחְרוֹב that it will be destroyed. Gitt. 56ᵃ דלא לִיחֲרוֹב וכ׳ that Jerusalem may not be destroyed. Y. Ber. II, 5ᵃ top דברגליה חריב with whose arrival it was destroyed; a. fr.
- to destroy, lay waste. Targ. Is. XLII, 15. Targ. Jud. XVI, 24; a. fr.—Yoma 69ᵇ דאַחְרְבֵיה וכ׳ who destroyed the Temple. Taan. 29ᵃ top לאַחְרוּבֵי Ms. M. a. Rashi (ed. לַחְרוּבֵי); Gitt. 56ᵃ לַחְרוּבֵי; a. fr.
- to be destroyed. Y. Ber. l. c.
חָרֵב II
- preced. wds.)
- 1. ruined. Y. Ber. IV, 8ᵃ. Yalk. Gen. 110, p. חָרֵב I; a. fr.—Pl. חֲרֵבִים, חֲרֵי׳; f. חֲרֵבוֹת, חֲרֵי׳. Ex. R. s. 31 (ref. to Num. XXIV, 5) ומַשְׁכנותיך כשהם ח׳ thy pledges, when they are in ruins, v. מַשְׁכּוֹן; a. fr. e.g. Numbers 24:5
- 2. dry. Y. Sot. III, beg. 18ᶜ ח׳ של חטין the dry (oil-less) offering of wheat, opp. בלול. Kidd. 62ᵃ top; a. e.
חָרֵב
- ch., v. חָרוֹב
חֶרֶב
- 1. sword. Ḥull. 3ᵃ, v. חָלָל I. B. Bath. 8ᵇ ח׳ קשה וכ׳ death in war is a greater affliction than natural death. Snh. 116ᵃ מהם הרגו בח׳ some of them they put to death by the sword. Tanḥ. Balak 8; Num. R. s. 20 אא"כ שלף חַרְבּוֹ without drawing his sword. Ib. בח׳ חייהם live on their sword. Taan. III, 5 על הח׳ on the sword, i.e. when armies are passing the country. Ib. 22ᵃ ח׳ של שלום a friendly army passing; a. fr.
- 2. the sword-shaped handle of a plough. Kel. XXI, 2. Tosef. Kel. B. Bath. I, 7.—Pl. חֲרָבוֹת. Pesik. R. s. 21 ח׳ מכאן וכ׳ (soldiers with) swords here &c.; a. e.
חָרֶב
- same. Targ. Gen. XXXIV, 26. Ib. III, 24; a. fr.—Sabb. 123ᵇ, v. אוּשְׁכָּפָא; (Ar. scraping knife).
חָרֶב ²
- (חרב) dry eruption. Targ. Y. Deut. XXVIII, 27 Ar. ed. Koh. חרב (oth. ed. חרבא, חרבונא; Targ. ed. גרבא; h. text גרב).
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 130 distinct written forms H2719 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; 70 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2719, 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
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.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 7 — 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 338 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 372 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 3:24
- Exodus 5:3
- Leviticus 26:6
- Numbers 14:3
- Deuteronomy 13:15
- Joshua 5:2
- Judges 1:8
- 1 Samuel 13:19
- 2 Samuel 1:12
- 1 Kings 1:51
- 2 Kings 3:26
- 1 Chronicles 5:18
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.