כְּרוּב
Cherub
BDB lists 2 entries for ‘Cherub’ 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 H3743 appears in the Book of Nehemiah — 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.
Nehemiah
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.
The Hebrew name כרוב centers on the idea of “Cherub.” With only 2 verses it sits in the long tail of Hebrew Bible vocabulary. Ezra dominates its distribution — 1 of 2 verses. Debuting at Ezra 2:59, it then recurs through the corpus. Dig into 2-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3743 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 →
- 2
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 2 distinct verses.
- 2 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 2 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4,807
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4,807 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 2 occurrences in the concordance →
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 2 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 2 verses · 100%
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†: Cherub 2×
- American Standard Version†: Cherub 2×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Cherub 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Kerub 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3743 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3743 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3743 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3743 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
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.
כרוב I loc. in Babylonia Esr 2
כרוב II cherub
- 1. the living chariot of the theophanic God; possibly identified with the storm-wind ψ 18:11 = 2 S 22:11 וַיִּרְכַּב עַל־כְּרוּב and he rode upon a cherub (‖ flew swiftly on the wings of the wind). e.g. Psalms 18:11
- 2. as the guards of the garden of Eden Gn 3:24 (J). e.g. Genesis 3:24
- 3. as the throne of Yahweh Sabaoth, in phrase י׳ (צְבָאוֹת) יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרוּבִים Yahweh Sabaoth throned on the cherubim 1 S 4:4; 2 S 6:2 = 1 Ch 13:6; the context shews that the cherubim of the ark of the covenant are referred to, and it is probable that the same reference is in 2 K 19:15 = Is 37:16, ψ 80:2; 99:1. e.g. 1 Samuel 4:4
- 4. P gives an account of:
- a. two cherubim of solid gold upon the slab of gold of the כַּפֹּרֶת facing each other with wings outstretched above, so as to constitute a basis or throne on which the glory of Yahweh appeared, and from whence He spake Ex 25:18–22; 37:7–9; Nu 7:89; e.g. Exodus 25:18
- b. numerous cherubim woven into the texture of the inner curtains of the tabernacle and the veils Ex 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35. e.g. Exodus 26:1
- 5. K and Ch describe the cherubim of the temple:
- a. two gigantic images of olive wood plated with gold, ten cubits high, standing in the דְּבִיר facing the door, whose wings, five cubits each, extended, two of them meeting in the middle of the room to constitute the throne, two of them extending to the walls 1 K 6:23–28; 8:6–7 2 Ch 3:10–13; 5:7–8; Ch (doubtless influenced by Ez) represents them as the chariot of Yahweh 1 Ch 28:18; e.g. 1 Kings 6:23
- b. images of cherubim were carved on the gold plated cedar planks which constituted the inner walls of the temple, and upon the olive wood doors 1 K 6:29–35; 2 Ch 3:7; and on the bases of the portable lavers, interchanging with lions and oxen 1 K 7:29–36; Ch also represents that they were woven in the veil of the דְּבִיר 2 Ch 3:14. e.g. 1 Kings 6:29
- 6. Ezekiel describes the cherubim:
- a. as four living creatures, each with four faces, lion, ox, eagle, and man, having the figure and hands of men, and the feet of calves. Each has four wings, two of which are stretched upward, meeting above and sustaining the throne of Yahweh; two of them stretched downwards so as to cover the creatures themselves. The cherubim never turn but go straight forward, as do the wheels of the cherubic chariot, and they are full of eyes and are like burning coals of fire, Ez 1:5–28; 9:3; 10:1–20; 11:22; the king of Tyre is scornfully compared with one of these, and is assigned a residence in Eden and the mountain of God Ez 28:14, 16; e.g. Ezekiel 1:5
- b. Ez knows of no cherubic statues in the new temple, but represents the inner walls of the temple as carved with alternating palm trees and cherubim, each with two faces, the lion looking on one side, the man on the other. It is evident that the number and the form of the cherubim vary in the representations (cf. Ez 41:18–25). It is probable that the שְׂרָפִים of Is 6:2–6 are another form of the cherubim. The Apoc. of the seals Rev 4–6 combines them in four ζῷα. e.g. Ezekiel 41:18
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.pr.loc. in Babylonia Esr 2:59; Neh 7:61.
II. n.m. cherub;—כ׳ Ex 25:19 + 26 times; pl. כְּרוּבִים ψ 99:1 + 33 times; כְּרֻבִים Ex 25:18 + 29 times; (NH id.; Aramaic כְּרוּבָא, ܟܪܽܘܒܳܐ; √ dub.; Assyrian karâbu = be gracious to, bless DlHWB 350, but adj. karûbu is great, mighty, Id. ib. 352; on poss. connex. with כְּרוּב cf. Dl in Baer Ezech. xiii.; Assyrian kirubu = šêdu (name of winged bull in Assyrian; v. LenOrigines i. 118, Eng. Tr. 126 DlPar 154) has not been verified, cf. v. F.ZA i. 68 f. Budge Expos. Apr. May, 1885 Teloni ZA vi. 124 ff.; the older view, connecting כ׳ with γρύψ, and deriving from Pers. giriften, griffen, lacks evidence and probability.—Possibly the thunder-cloud underlies the conception);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from כרוב (kᵉrûwb) (H3742) — cherub.
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.
כְּרוּב I
- , however, Schr. KAT2 p. 39; p. 609) [head,] Cherub. Succ. 5ᵇ; Ḥag. 13ᵇ … מאי כ׳ כרַבְיָא וכ׳ what is K’rub?—… ‘Childlike’, for in Babylonia they call a child rabia. Ib. והפכו לכ׳ and he changed it (the face of the ox, Ez. I, 10) into that of a Cherub. Ib. היינו פני כ׳ וכ׳ the face of the Ch. is the same as that of man, the one being large, the other small. Yoma 77ᵃ. Lev. R. s. 32; a. e.—Pl. כְּרוּבִים. Tanḥ. ed. Bub. B’resh. 25 לפיכן נקראו כ׳ שהן רבים (read: רוֹבִים, v. רוֹבֶה) they are called Ch., because they are young (childlike), v. supra. Yoma 54ᵇ מעורים וכ׳ הכ׳ ראה saw the figures of the cherubs twined around each other. Ib. 54ᵃ כ׳ דצורתא וכ׳ painted cherubs were in the Second Temple; a. e. e.g. Ezekiel 1:10
כְּרוּב II
- (v. preced.) [rounded,] cabbage. Ter. X, 11 כ׳ של שקייא cabbage from an irrigated field, opp. כ׳ של בעל, v. בַּעַל 3.—Ber. 44ᵇ קלח של כ׳ cabbage stalk. Ib. כ׳ למזון cabbage is good for a satisfying meal. Ned. VI, 10, v. אִיסְפַּרְגּוֹס; a. fr.
רוֹב
- multitude; larger portion; majority. Meg. 15ᵇ (ref. to Esth. V, 11) וכמה ר׳ בניו how large was the multitude of his sons? Bekh. VI, 8 ר׳ המדבר וכ׳ the larger portion of the anterior part of the tongue. Keth. 15ᵃ הולכין אחר ר׳ העיר we are guided by the legal status of the majority of the inhabitants of the town; ר׳ סיעה the majority of the members of the caravan that encamped near the town. Ib.; Ḥull. 95ᵃ, a. e. בנמצא הלך אחר הר׳ when a piece of meat is found, we go by the majority of the meat stalls (to decide whether it be kasher or not). Ib. 3ᵇ, a. e. ר׳ מצויין וכ׳ most of those engaged in slaughtering are experts. Sabb. 118ᵇ רוּבָּן של צדיקים וכ׳ most righteous men die from bowel diseases. Ḥull. II, 1 רוּבֹּו של אחד כמוהו if one cuts through the larger portion of the organ (v. סִימָן), it is considered as if he had cut it through. Hor. 3ᵇ בכל התורה … רובו ככולו in the entire Law we adopt the rule that a majority (or the larger portion) are legally equal to an entirety; Naz. 42ᵃ; a. v. fr.—Gitt. 60ᵇ ר׳ בכתב וכ׳ the majority of the halakhic decisions rests on the Scripture (is derived from the text by interpretation), and the minority on tradition; v. Y. Peah I, 17ᵃ bot.—[Y. Yeb. IV, 6ᵇ top עד שיפרש לו רובו, read: רַבֹּו.] e.g. Esther 5:11
רִיב I
- (b. h.) to contend, strive; to plead. Meg. 21ᵇ הרָב את ריבנו who pleaded our cause.
- same. Tanḥ. Naso 12 כל זמן … אינה מְרִיבָה as long as she was engaged in it, she did not quarrel, v. רָנַן. Y. Taan. IV, 68ᵈ, v. מְסַרְבַּיי. Mekh. B’shall., Vayassʿa, s. 6 כל … מְרִיבִין וכ׳ whenever you strive with me, you tempt God. Tanḥ. Mick. 10 עד … מֵרִיב עמו while he was yet in his mother’s womb, Esau was contending with him. Num. R. s. 5 שלא יָרִיבוּ זה עם זה that they might not quarrel with one another; היה זה מריב וכ׳ this one contended and said, I want to load here &c.; a. fr.
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.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3743, 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
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Cherub). 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
Plural cherubim, the name of certain symbolical figures frequently mentioned in Scripture. They are first mentioned in connection with the expulsion of our first parents from Eden (Gen. 3:24). There is no intimation given of their shape or form. They are next mentioned when Moses was commanded to provide furniture for the tabernacle (Ex. 25:17-20; 26:1, 31). God promised to commune with Moses "from between the cherubim" (25:22). This expression was afterwards used to denote the Divine abode and presence (Num. 7:89; 1 Sam. 4:4; Isa. 37:16; Ps. 80:1; 99:1). In Ezekiel's vision (10:1-20) they appear as living creatures supporting the throne of God. From Ezekiel's description of them (1;10; 41:18, 19), they appear to have been compound figures, unlike any real object in nature; artificial images possessing the features and properties of several animals. Two cherubim were placed on the mercy-seat of the ark; two of colossal size overshadowed it in Solomon's temple. Ezekiel (1:4-14) speaks of four; and this number of "living creatures" is mentioned in Rev. 4:6. Those on the ark are called the "cherubim of glory" (Heb. 9:5), i.e., of the Shechinah, or cloud of glory, for on them the visible glory of God rested. They were placed one at each end of the mercy-seat, with wings stretched upward, and their faces "toward each other and toward the mercy-seat." They were anointed with holy oil, like the ark itself and the other sacred furniture.
The cherubim were symbolical. They were intended to represent spiritual existences in immediate contact with Jehovah. Some have regarded them as symbolical of the chief ruling power by which God carries on his operations in providence (Ps. 18:10). Others interpret them as having reference to the redemption of men, and as symbolizing the great rulers or ministers of the church. Many other opinions have been held regarding them which need not be referred to here. On the whole, it seems to be most satisfactory to regard the interpretation of the symbol to be variable, as is the symbol itself.
Their office was, (1) on the expulsion of our first parents from Eden, to prevent all access to the tree of life; and (2) to form the throne and chariot of Jehovah in his manifestation of himself on earth. He dwelleth between and sitteth on the cherubim (1 Sam. 4:4; Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 1:26, 28).
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
apparently a place in Babylonia from which some persons of doubtful extraction returned to Judea with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61)
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1 verse that also exists in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 2 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.
