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).
88 distinct verses where H2719 appears in the Construct state, across 25 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.
Genesis 3 verses
- Genesis 27:40 חַרְבְּ/ךָ֣ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms By your sword will you live, and you will serve your brother. It will happen, when you will break loose, That you shall shake his yoke from off your neck."
- Genesis 34:25 חַרְבּ֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened on the third day, when they were sore, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.
- Genesis 48:22 בְּ/חַרְבִּ֖/י prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow."
Exodus 4 verses
- Exodus 15:9 חַרְבִּ֔/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
- Exodus 18:4 מֵ/חֶ֥רֶב prep + n c fs cs The name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh's sword."
- Exodus 20:25 חַרְבְּ/ךָ֛ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.
- Exodus 32:27 חַרְבּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms He said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."
Numbers 2 verses
- Numbers 22:23 וְ/חַרְבּ֤/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the way.
- Numbers 22:31 וְ/חַרְבּ֥/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
Deuteronomy 3 verses
- Deuteronomy 32:41 חַרְבִּ֔/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs If I whet my glittering sword, My hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to my adversaries, Will recompense those who hate me.
- Deuteronomy 32:42 וְ/חַרְבִּ֖/י conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs I will make my arrows drunk with blood, My sword shall devour flesh; With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the head of the leaders of the enemy.
- Deuteronomy 33:29 חֶ֖רֶב n c fs cs Happy are you, Israel: Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, The shield of your help, The sword of your excellency! Your enemies shall submit themselves to you; You shall tread on their high places.
Joshua 4 verses
- Joshua 5:2 חַֽרְב֣וֹת n c fp cs At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, Make you flint knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
- Joshua 5:3 חַֽרְב֣וֹת n c fp cs Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
- Joshua 5:13 וְ/חַרְבּ֥/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?
- Joshua 24:12 בְ/חַרְבְּ/ךָ֖ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
Judges 4 verses
- Judges 7:14 חֶ֛רֶב n c fs cs His fellow answered, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the host.
- Judges 7:22 חֶ֥רֶב n c fs cs They blew the three hundred trumpets, and Yahweh set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host; and the host fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
- Judges 8:20 חַרְבּ/וֹ֙ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms He said to Jether his firstborn, Up, and kill them. But the youth didn't draw his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
- Judges 9:54 חַרְבְּ/ךָ֙ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, A woman killed him. His young man thrust him through, and he died.
1 Samuel 11 verses
- 1 Samuel 14:20 חֶ֤רֶב n c fs cs Saul and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great confusion.
- 1 Samuel 15:33 חַרְבֶּ֔/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal.
- 1 Samuel 17:39 חַ֠רְבּ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms David girded his sword on his clothing, and he tried to go; for he had not proved it. David said to Saul, I can't go with these; for I have not proved them. David put them off him.
- 1 Samuel 17:51 חַ֠רְבּ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath of it, and killed him, and cut off his head therewith. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
- 1 Samuel 18:4 חַרְבּ֥/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him, and gave it to David, and his clothing, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his sash.
- 1 Samuel 21:8 חָ֑רֶב חַרְבִּ֤/י n c fs n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs David said to Ahimelech, Isn't there here under your hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
- 1 Samuel 21:9 חֶרֶב֩ n c fs cs The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if you will take that, take it; for there is no other except that here. David said, There is none like that; give it me.
- 1 Samuel 22:10 חֶ֛רֶב n c fs cs He inquired of Yahweh for him, and gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
- 1 Samuel 25:13 חַרְבּ֗/וֹ חַרְבּ֔/וֹ חַרְבּ֑/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms David said to his men, Gird you on every man his sword. They girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage.
- 1 Samuel 31:4 חַרְבְּ/ךָ֣ הַ/חֶ֔רֶב n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms ptcl def.art + n c fs Then said Saul to his armor bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it.
- 1 Samuel 31:5 חַרְבּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died with him.
2 Samuel 3 verses
- 2 Samuel 1:22 וְ/חֶ֣רֶב conj + n c fs cs From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan didn't turn back, The sword of Saul didn't return empty.
- 2 Samuel 2:16 וְ/חַרְבּ/וֹ֙ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms They caught everyone his fellow by the head, and [thrust] his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: therefore that place was called Helkath Hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
- 2 Samuel 12:9 בַ/חֶ֔רֶב בְּ/חֶ֖רֶב prep det + n c fs prep + n c fs cs Why have you despised the word of Yahweh, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
1 Kings 1 verse
2 Kings 1 verse
1 Chronicles 5 verses
- 1 Chronicles 10:4 חַרְבְּ/ךָ֣ הַ/חֶ֔רֶב n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms ptcl def.art + n c fs Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it.
- 1 Chronicles 21:12 וְ/חֶ֣רֶב חֶ֣רֶב conj + n c fs cs n c fs cs either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days the sword of Yahweh, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.
- 1 Chronicles 21:16 וְ/חַרְבּ֤/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
- 1 Chronicles 21:27 חַרְבּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Yahweh commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath of it.
- 1 Chronicles 21:30 חֶ֖רֶב n c fs cs But David couldn't go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Yahweh.
2 Chronicles 1 verse
Nehemiah 2 verses
- Nehemiah 4:13 חַרְבֹתֵי/הֶ֛ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Therefore set I in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I set [there] the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
- Nehemiah 4:18 חַרְבּ֛/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms and the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me.
Job 1 verse
Psalms 8 verses
- Psalms 7:12 חַרְבּ֣/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms If a man doesn't relent, he will sharpen his sword; He has bent and strung his bow.
- Psalms 17:13 חַרְבֶּֽ/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Arise, Yahweh, Confront him, cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
- Psalms 37:15 חַ֭רְבָּ/ם n c fs cs + sfx pers 3mp Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
- Psalms 44:3 בְ/חַרְבָּ֡/ם prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3mp For they didn't get the land in possession by their own sword, Neither did their own arm save them; But your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, Because you were favorable to them.
- Psalms 44:6 וְ֝/חַרְבִּ֗/י conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs For I will not trust in my bow, Neither shall my sword save me.
- Psalms 45:3 חַרְבְּ/ךָ֣ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Gird your sword on your thigh, mighty one: Your splendor and your majesty.
- Psalms 89:43 חַרְבּ֑/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, And haven't supported him in battle.
- Psalms 149:6 וְ/חֶ֖רֶב conj + n c fs cs May the high praises of God be in their mouths, And a two-edged sword in their hand;
Proverbs 1 verse
Song of Solomon 1 verse
Isaiah 5 verses
- Isaiah 2:4 חַרְבוֹתָ֜/ם חֶ֔רֶב n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c fs He will judge between the nations, And will decide concerning many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.
- Isaiah 27:1 בְּ/חַרְב֨/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms In that day Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will kill the monster that is in the sea.
- Isaiah 34:5 חַרְבִּ֑/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky: behold, it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, to judgment.
- Isaiah 41:2 חַרְבּ֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Who has raised up one from the east, whom he calls in righteousness to his foot? he gives nations before him, and makes him rule over kings; he gives them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.
- Isaiah 66:16 וּ/בְ/חַרְבּ֖/וֹ conj + prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms For by fire will Yahweh execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and the slain of Yahweh shall be many.
Jeremiah 5 verses
- Jeremiah 2:30 חַרְבְּ/כֶ֛ם n c fs cs + sfx pers 2mp In vain have I struck your children; they received no correction: your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
- Jeremiah 20:4 בְּ/חֶ֥רֶב בֶּ/חָֽרֶב prep + n c fs cs prep det + n c fs For thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself, and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it; and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall kill them with the sword.
- Jeremiah 46:16 חֶ֥רֶב n c fs cs He made many to stumble, yes, they fell one on another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from the oppressing sword.
- Jeremiah 48:10 חַרְבּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Cursed be he who does the work of Yahweh negligently; and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood.
- Jeremiah 50:16 חֶ֣רֶב n c fs cs Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.
Lamentations 1 verse
Ezekiel 18 verses
- 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 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 21:14 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 21:19 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 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 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 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 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 30:24 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 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 32:27 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 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 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.
Micah 1 verse
Zephaniah 1 verse
Haggai 1 verse
Zechariah 1 verse
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.
