חֹרֵב
Horeb
BDB lists 2 entries for ‘Horeb’ 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
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H2722 appears in the Book of Psalms — 1 distinct verse. 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.
Psalms
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 (Chôrêb) means “Horeb.” The word gravitates to Deuteronomy (53%), then Exodus and 1 Kings. It appears 17 verses across 6 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its uncommon vocabulary. First canonically at Exodus 3:1, it enters the text early. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2722 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 →
- 17
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 17 distinct verses.
- 6 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 6 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #1,671
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 1,671 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 17 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Deuteronomy 9 verses 53%
- Exodus 3 verses 18%
- 1 Kings 2 verses 12%
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 17 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 12 verses · 71%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 3 verses · 18%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 2 verses · 12%
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 3 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†: Horeb 14×
- American Standard Version†: Horeb 14×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Horeb 17×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Horeb 17×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2722 across 17† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 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 H2722 across 17† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 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 H2722 across 17† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2722 across 17† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
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 3 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.
חרב I
- 1. dryness Ju 6:37, 39, 40 (all of absence of dew); Je 50:38 (‖ יָבֵשׁ); so read also Zc 11:17 (for MT חֶרֶב, see v b and StaZAW i. 1881, 29), a drying up upon his arm (i. e. a withering) and upon his right eye. e.g. Judges 6:37
- 2. drought Hg 1:11 + Dt 28:22 v. supr. e.g. Haggai 1:11
- 3. parching heat (of sun) Gn 31:40 (opp. קֶ֫רַח), Je 36:30 (opp. id.); Is 4:6; 25:4, 5(×2) of fever Jb 30:30. e.g. Genesis 31:40
חרב II [m.] desolation
חרב III mont. Horeb (waste, desert)
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. Gn 31:40 dryness, drought, heat, abs. ח׳ Gn 31:40 + 11 times + Dt 28:22 (for MT חֶרֶב; v. Di, sq. 𝔙; 𝔊 and 𝔊L om.);—
II. n.[m.] desolation;—עָרֵי ח׳ Is 61:4 cities of desolation (‖ שֹׁמֲמוֹת, and, in v a, חָרְבוֹת); cf. Zp 2:14 (but read עֹרֵב, 𝔊 We al.) Je 49:13; מִצְרַיִם חָרְבוֹת ח׳ Ez 29:10 Egypt shall be wastes of desolation (but 𝔊 𝔙 Co wastes of the sword, חֶרֶב for חֹרֶב); + Ez 38:8 Co, who reads מֵחֹרֶב (or מֵחָרְבָּה).
I. n.pr.mont. Horeb (waste, desert)—𝔊 Χωρηβ (v. LagBN 85); אֶל־הַר הָאֱלֹהִים חֹרֵ֑בָה Ex 3:1 (E), cf. עַד הַר הָאֱלֹהִים חֹרֵב 1 K 19:8; הַצּוּר בִּחֹרֵב Ex 17:6, הַר חוֹרֵב 33:6 (both E); מֵחֹרֵב, בְּחֹרֵב Dt 1:2, 6, 19; 4:10, 15; 5:2; 9:8; 18:16; 28:69; 1 K 8:9 2 Ch 5:10 ψ 106:19 Mal 3:22; the sacred mountain of the wilderness, no geograph. diff. from סִינַי discoverable, but synonym of it in E and (especially) D (except poem Dt 33:2; vid. סִינַי P).
— 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 13 distinct written forms H2722 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.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| בְּ/חֹרֵ֑ב | Noun, Proper | 1 Kings 8:9 | 3 |
| בְּ/חֹרֵֽב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 5:2 | 2 |
| בְּ/חֹרֵב֒ | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 4:10 | 2 |
| בְ/חֹרֵב֙ | Noun, Proper | Malachi 4:4 | 1 |
| בְּ/חֹרֵ֔ב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 18:16 | 1 |
| בְּ/חֹרֵ֖ב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 4:15 | 1 |
| בְּ/חֹרֵ֣ב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:6 | 1 |
| וּ/בְ/חֹרֵ֥ב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 9:8 | 1 |
| חֹרֵֽב | Noun, Proper | 1 Kings 19:8 | 1 |
| חֹרֵֽבָ/ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 3:1 | 1 |
| חוֹרֵֽב | Noun, Proper | Exodus 33:6 | 1 |
| מֵ/חֹרֵ֗ב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:19 | 1 |
| מֵֽ/חֹרֵ֔ב | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:2 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2722, 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
- חרב chărab H2718 to dry up
- חרב chereb H2719 sword
- חרב chârêb H2720 desolate
- חרבון chărâbôwn H2725 drought
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 6 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Horeb). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
Desert or mountain of the dried-up ground, a general name for the whole mountain range of which Sinai was one of the summits (Ex. 3:1; 17:6; 33:6; Ps. 106:19, etc.). The modern name of the whole range is Jebel Musa. It is a huge mountain block, about 2 miles long by about 1 in breadth, with a very spacious plain at its north-east end, called the Er Rahah, in which the Israelites encamped for nearly a whole year. (See SINAI.)
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
(desert). [Sinai, Or Sinai]
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary · Roswell D. Hitchcock, 1869
desert; solitude; destruction
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 16 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 17 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
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.
