לָחַם
to fight
also: do battle, make war fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Niphal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”).
Form
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
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).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms 33 distinct
- Verb, Niphal, Infinitive Construct 47 times (27%)
- Verb, Niphal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 20 times (11%)
- Verb, Niphal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 16 times (9%)
- Verb, Niphal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 16 times (9%)
- Verb, Niphal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 11 times (6%)
- Verb, Niphal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 10 times (6%)
- Verb, Niphal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural 8 times (5%)
- Verb, Niphal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural 6 times (3%)
+25 more forms (43 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 177 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H3898 appears — 171 distinct verses across 18 books. 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.
Exodus 6 verses
- Exodus 1:10 וְ/נִלְחַם conj + Niphal wpf 3ms Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies, and fight against us, and escape out of the land."
- Exodus 14:14 יִלָּחֵ֣ם Niphal impf 3ms Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still."
- Exodus 14:25 נִלְחָ֥ם Niphal ptcp.act ms He took off their chariot wheels, and they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, "Let's flee from the face of Israel, for Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians!"
- Exodus 17:8 וַ/יִּלָּ֥חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
- Exodus 17:9 הִלָּחֵ֣ם Niphal impv 2ms Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God's rod in my hand."
- Exodus 17:10 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs So Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Numbers 4 verses
- Numbers 21:1 וַ/יִּלָּ֨חֶם֙ conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
- Numbers 21:23 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel.
- Numbers 21:26 נִלְחַ֗ם Niphal pf 3ms For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon.
- Numbers 22:11 לְ/הִלָּ֥חֶם prep + Niphal inf.cs Behold, the people that is come out of Egypt, it covers the surface of the earth: now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.
Deuteronomy 8 verses
- Deuteronomy 1:30 יִלָּחֵ֣ם Niphal impf 3ms Yahweh your God who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
- Deuteronomy 1:41 וְ/נִלְחַ֔מְנוּ conj + Niphal wpf 1cp Then you answered and said to me, We have sinned against Yahweh, we will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us. You girded on every man his weapons of war, and were forward to go up into the hill-country.
- Deuteronomy 1:42 תִלָּ֣חֲמ֔וּ Niphal impf 2mp Yahweh said to me, Tell them, Don't go up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest you be struck before your enemies.
- Deuteronomy 3:22 הַ/נִּלְחָ֥ם ptcl def.art + Niphal ptcp.act ms You shall not fear them; for Yahweh your God, he it is who fights for you.
- Deuteronomy 20:4 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֥ם prep + Niphal inf.cs for Yahweh your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
- Deuteronomy 20:10 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.
- Deuteronomy 20:19 לְֽ/הִלָּחֵ֧ם prep + Niphal inf.cs When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy the trees of it by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of you?
- Deuteronomy 32:24 וּ/לְחֻ֥מֵי conj + Qal ptcp.pass mp cs [They shall be] wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat Bitter destruction; The teeth of animals will I send on them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
Joshua 17 verses
- Joshua 9:2 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֥ם prep + Niphal inf.cs that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.
- Joshua 10:5 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it.
- Joshua 10:14 נִלְחָ֖ם Niphal pf 3ms There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man: for Yahweh fought for Israel.
- Joshua 10:25 נִלְחָמִ֥ים Niphal ptcp.act mp Joshua said to them, Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall Yahweh do to all your enemies against whom you fight.
- Joshua 10:29 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
- Joshua 10:31 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it:
- Joshua 10:34 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, to Eglon; and they encamped against it, and fought against it;
- Joshua 10:36 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it:
- Joshua 10:38 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it:
- Joshua 10:42 נִלְחָ֖ם Niphal pf 3ms All these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
- Joshua 11:5 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs All these kings met together; and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.
- Joshua 19:47 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֨וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp The border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and lived therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
- Joshua 23:3 הַ/נִּלְחָ֥ם ptcl def.art + Niphal ptcp.act ms and you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you; for Yahweh your God, he it is that has fought for you.
- Joshua 23:10 הַ/נִּלְחָ֣ם ptcl def.art + Niphal ptcp.act ms One man of you shall chase a thousand; for Yahweh your God, he it is who fights for you, as he spoke to you.
- Joshua 24:8 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
- Joshua 24:9 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;
- Joshua 24:11 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֣וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.
Judges 28 verses
- Judges 1:1 לְ/הִלָּ֥חֶם prep + Niphal inf.cs It happened after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?
- Judges 1:3 וְ/נִֽלָּחֲמָה֙ conj + Niphal coh 1cp Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot. So Simeon went with him.
- Judges 1:5 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
- Judges 1:8 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֤וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
- Judges 1:9 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the lowland.
- Judges 5:19 נִלְחָ֔מוּ נִלְחֲמוּ֙ Niphal pf 3cp Niphal pf 3cp The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan. In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: They took no gain of money.
- Judges 5:20 נִלְחָ֑מוּ נִלְחֲמ֖וּ Niphal pf 3cp Niphal pf 3cp From the sky the stars fought, From their courses they fought against Sisera.
- Judges 8:1 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs The men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you served us thus, that you didn't call us, when you went to fight with Midian? They did chide with him sharply.
- Judges 9:17 נִלְחַ֥ם Niphal pf 3ms (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
- Judges 9:38 וְ/הִלָּ֥חֶם conj + Niphal impv 2ms Then said Zebul to him, Where is now your mouth, that you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that you have despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
- Judges 9:39 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
- Judges 9:45 נִלְחָ֣ם Niphal ptcp.act ms Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
- Judges 9:52 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
- Judges 10:9 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֛ם prep + Niphal inf.cs The children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
- Judges 10:18 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs The people, the princes of Gilead, said one to another, What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
- Judges 11:4 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֥וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp It happened after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
- Judges 11:5 נִלְחֲמ֥וּ Niphal pf 3cp It was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob;
- Judges 11:6 וְ/נִֽלָּחֲמָ֖ה conj + Niphal coh 1cp and they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
- Judges 11:8 וְ/נִלְחַמְתָּ֖ conj + Niphal wpf 2ms The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore are we turned again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
- Judges 11:9 לְ/הִלָּחֵם֙ prep + Niphal inf.cs Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and Yahweh deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
- Judges 11:12 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֥ם prep + Niphal inf.cs Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you are come to me to fight against my land?
- Judges 11:20 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms But Sihon didn't trust Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
- Judges 11:25 נִלְחֹ֥ם נִלְחַ֖ם Niphal inf.abs Niphal pf 3ms Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?
- Judges 11:27 לְ/הִלָּ֣חֶם prep + Niphal inf.cs I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me: Yahweh, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
- Judges 11:32 לְ/הִלָּ֣חֶם prep + Niphal inf.cs So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh delivered them into his hand.
- Judges 12:1 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn't call us to go with you? we will burn your house on you with fire.
- Judges 12:3 לְ/הִלָּ֥חֶם prep + Niphal inf.cs When I saw that you didn't save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand: why then are you come up to me this day, to fight against me?
- Judges 12:4 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.
1 Samuel 21 verses
- 1 Samuel 4:9 וְ/נִלְחַמְתֶּֽם conj + Niphal wpf 2mp Be strong, and behave yourselves like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
- 1 Samuel 4:10 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֣וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp The Philistines fought, and Israel was struck, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
- 1 Samuel 8:20 וְ/נִלְחַ֖ם conj + Niphal wpf 3ms that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
- 1 Samuel 12:9 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp But they forgot Yahweh their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.
- 1 Samuel 13:5 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs The Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth Aven.
- 1 Samuel 14:47 וַ/יִּלָּ֣חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and wherever he turned himself, he put [them] to the worse.
- 1 Samuel 15:18 וְ/נִלְחַמְתָּ֣ conj + Niphal wpf 2ms and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
- 1 Samuel 17:9 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֤ם prep + Niphal inf.cs If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall you be our servants, and serve us.
- 1 Samuel 17:10 וְ/נִֽלָּחֲמָ֖ה conj + Niphal coh 1cp The Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
- 1 Samuel 17:19 נִלְחָמִ֖ים Niphal ptcp.act mp Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 17:32 וְ/נִלְחַ֖ם conj + Niphal wpf 3ms David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
- 1 Samuel 17:33 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
- 1 Samuel 18:17 וְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם conj + Niphal impv 2ms Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give you as wife: only be valiant for me, and fight Yahweh's battles. For Saul said, Don't let my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him.
- 1 Samuel 19:8 וַ/יִּלָּ֣חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms There was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and killed them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.
- 1 Samuel 23:1 נִלְחָמִ֣ים Niphal ptcp.act mp They told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing floors.
- 1 Samuel 23:5 וַ/יִּלָּ֣חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
- 1 Samuel 25:28 נִלְחָ֔ם Niphal ptcp.act ms Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid: for Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of Yahweh; and evil shall not be found in you all your days.
- 1 Samuel 28:1 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs It happened in those days, that the Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with Israel. Achish said to David, Know you assuredly, that you shall go out with me in the host, you and your men.
- 1 Samuel 28:15 נִלְחָמִ֣ים Niphal ptcp.act mp Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disquieted me, to bring me up? Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.
- 1 Samuel 29:8 וְ/נִלְחַ֔מְתִּי conj + Niphal wpf 1cs David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what have you found in your servant so long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
- 1 Samuel 31:1 נִלְחָמִ֣ים Niphal ptcp.act mp Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.
2 Samuel 9 verses
- 2 Samuel 2:28 לְ/הִלָּחֵֽם prep + Niphal inf.cs So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.
- 2 Samuel 8:10 נִלְחַ֤ם Niphal pf 3ms then Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to Greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. [Joram] brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
- 2 Samuel 10:17 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.
- 2 Samuel 11:17 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֣וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp The men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people, even of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
- 2 Samuel 11:20 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֑ם prep + Niphal inf.cs it shall be that, if the king's wrath arise, and he tells you, 'Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Didn't you know that they would shoot from the wall?
- 2 Samuel 12:26 וַ/יִּלָּ֣חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
- 2 Samuel 12:27 נִלְחַ֣מְתִּי Niphal pf 1cs Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yes, I have taken the city of waters.
- 2 Samuel 12:29 וַ/יִּלָּ֥חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
- 2 Samuel 21:15 וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֥וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. David grew faint;
1 Kings 9 verses
- 1 Kings 12:21 לְ/הִלָּחֵם֙ prep + Niphal inf.cs When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
- 1 Kings 12:24 תִלָּ֨חֲמ֜וּ/ן Niphal impf 2mp + sfx n Thus says Yahweh, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they listened to the word of Yahweh, and returned and went their way, according to the word of Yahweh.
- 1 Kings 14:19 נִלְחַ֖ם Niphal pf 3ms The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
- 1 Kings 20:1 וַ/יִּלָּ֖חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
- 1 Kings 20:23 נִלָּחֵ֤ם Niphal impf 1cp The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
- 1 Kings 20:25 וְ/נִֽלָּחֲמָ֤ה conj + Niphal coh 1cp and number you an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. He listened to their voice, and did so.
- 1 Kings 22:31 תִּלָּ֣חֲמ֔וּ Niphal impf 2mp Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
- 1 Kings 22:32 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֑ם prep + Niphal inf.cs It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
- 1 Kings 22:45 נִלְחָ֑ם Niphal pf 3ms Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shown, and how he warred, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
2 Kings 12 verses
- 2 Kings 3:21 לְ/הִלָּ֣חֶם prep + Niphal inf.cs Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all who were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border.
- 2 Kings 6:8 נִלְחָ֖ם Niphal ptcp.act ms Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
- 2 Kings 8:29 בְּ/הִלָּ֣חֲמ֔/וֹ prep + Niphal inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
- 2 Kings 9:15 בְּ/הִלָּ֣חֲמ֔/וֹ prep + Niphal inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, If this be your mind, then let none escape and go forth out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel.
- 2 Kings 10:3 וְ/הִֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal impv 2mp look you out the best and meet of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
- 2 Kings 12:17 וַ/יִּלָּ֥חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 13:12 נִלְחַ֔ם Niphal pf 3ms Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 14:15 נִלְחַ֔ם Niphal pf 3ms Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 14:28 נִלְחָ֔ם Niphal pf 3ms Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, [which had belonged] to Judah, for Israel, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 16:5 לְ/הִלָּחֵֽם prep + Niphal inf.cs Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
- 2 Kings 19:8 נִלְחָ֖ם Niphal ptcp.act ms So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
- 2 Kings 19:9 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs When he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against you, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,
1 Chronicles 3 verses
- 1 Chronicles 10:1 נִלְחֲמ֣וּ Niphal pf 3cp Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.
- 1 Chronicles 18:10 נִלְחַ֤ם Niphal pf 3ms he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to Greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and struck him; (for Hadarezer had wars with Tou;) and [he had with him] all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
- 1 Chronicles 19:17 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came on them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.
2 Chronicles 14 verses
- 2 Chronicles 11:1 לְ/הִלָּחֵם֙ prep + Niphal inf.cs When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
- 2 Chronicles 11:4 תִלָּ֨חֲמ֜וּ Niphal impf 2mp Thus says Yahweh, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they listened to the words of Yahweh, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
- 2 Chronicles 13:12 תִּלָּֽחֲמ֛וּ Niphal juss 2mp Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don't you fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper.
- 2 Chronicles 17:10 נִלְחֲמ֖וּ Niphal pf 3cp The fear of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
- 2 Chronicles 18:30 תִּלָּ֣חֲמ֔וּ Niphal impf 2mp Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 18:31 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֑ם prep + Niphal inf.cs It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned about to fight against him: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him; and God moved them [to depart] from him.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs You shall not need to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand you still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; don't be afraid, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them: for Yahweh is with you.
- 2 Chronicles 20:29 נִלְחַ֣ם Niphal pf 3ms The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Yahweh fought against the enemies of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 22:6 בְּ/הִלָּ֣חֲמ֔/וֹ prep + Niphal inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms He returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
- 2 Chronicles 26:6 וַ/יִּלָּ֣חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms He went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in [the country of] Ashdod, and among the Philistines.
- 2 Chronicles 27:5 נִלְחַ֞ם Niphal pf 3ms He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. The children of Ammon gave him the same year one hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render to him, in the second year also, and in the third.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8 וּ/לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם conj + prep + Niphal inf.cs with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is Yahweh our God to help us, and to fight our battles. The people rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 35:20 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֥ם prep + Niphal inf.cs After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.
- 2 Chronicles 35:22 לְ/הִלָּחֵֽם לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs prep + Niphal inf.cs Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and didn't listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
Nehemiah 3 verses
- Nehemiah 4:8 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.
- Nehemiah 4:14 וְ/הִֽלָּחֲמ֗וּ conj + Niphal impv 2mp I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Don't be you afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
- Nehemiah 4:20 יִלָּ֥חֶם Niphal impf 3ms in whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, resort you there to us; our God will fight for us.
Psalms 5 verses
- Psalms 35:1 לְ֝חַ֗ם לֹֽחֲמָֽ/י Qal impv 2ms Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 1cs Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.
- Psalms 56:1 לֹחֵ֥ם Qal ptcp.act ms Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.
- Psalms 56:2 לֹחֲמִ֖ים Qal ptcp.act mp My enemies want to swallow me up all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.
- Psalms 109:3 וַ/יִּֽלָּחֲמ֥וּ/נִי conj + Niphal wimpf 3mp + sfx pers 1cs They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.
- Psalms 141:4 אֶ֝לְחַ֗ם Qal impf 1cs Don't incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don't let me eat of their delicacies.
Proverbs 4 verses
- Proverbs 4:17 לָ֭חֲמוּ Qal pf 3cp For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
- Proverbs 9:5 לַחֲמ֣וּ Qal impv 2mp "Come, eat some of my bread, Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!
- Proverbs 23:1 לִ/לְח֣וֹם prep + Qal inf.cs When you sit to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently what is before you;
- Proverbs 23:6 תִּלְחַ֗ם Qal juss 2ms Don't eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, And don't crave his delicacies:
Isaiah 7 verses
- Isaiah 7:1 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֥ם prep + Niphal inf.cs It happened in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
- Isaiah 19:2 וְ/נִלְחֲמ֥וּ conj + Niphal wpf 3cp I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, [and] kingdom against kingdom.
- Isaiah 20:1 וַ/יִּלָּ֥חֶם conj + Niphal wimpf 3ms In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;
- Isaiah 30:32 נִלְחַם Niphal pf 3ms Every stroke of the appointed staff, which Yahweh shall lay on him, shall be with [the sound of] tambourines and harps; and in battles with the brandishing [of his arm] will he fight with them.
- Isaiah 37:8 נִלְחָ֖ם Niphal ptcp.act ms So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
- Isaiah 37:9 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֣ם prep + Niphal inf.cs He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight against you. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
- Isaiah 63:10 נִלְחַם Niphal pf 3ms But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] himself fought against them.
Jeremiah 16 verses
- Jeremiah 1:19 וְ/נִלְחֲמ֥וּ conj + Niphal wpf 3cp They shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you: for I am with you, says Yahweh, to deliver you.
- Jeremiah 15:20 וְ/נִלְחֲמ֥וּ conj + Niphal wpf 3cp I will make you to this people a fortified brazen wall; and they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 21:2 נִלְחָ֣ם Niphal ptcp.act ms Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon makes war against us: peradventure Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
- Jeremiah 21:4 נִלְחָמִ֣ים Niphal ptcp.act mp Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you, without the walls; and I will gather them into the midst of this city.
- Jeremiah 21:5 וְ/נִלְחַמְתִּ֤י conj + Niphal wpf 1cs I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation.
- Jeremiah 32:5 תִֽלָּחֲמ֛וּ Niphal impf 2mp and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says Yahweh: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper?
- Jeremiah 32:24 הַ/נִּלְחָמִ֣ים ptcl def.art + Niphal ptcp.act mp Behold, the mounds, they are come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what you have spoken has happened; and, behold, you see it.
- Jeremiah 32:29 הַ/נִּלְחָמִים֙ ptcl def.art + Niphal ptcp.act mp and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
- Jeremiah 33:5 לְ/הִלָּחֵם֙ prep + Niphal inf.cs while [men] come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city:
- Jeremiah 34:1 נִלְחָמִ֧ים Niphal ptcp.act mp The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of it, saying:
- Jeremiah 34:7 נִלְחָמִים֙ Niphal ptcp.act mp when the king of Babylon's army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these [alone] remained of the cities of Judah [as] fortified cities.
- Jeremiah 34:22 וְ/נִלְחֲמ֣וּ conj + Niphal wpf 3cp Behold, I will command, says Yahweh, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 37:8 וְ/נִלְחֲמ֖וּ conj + Niphal wpf 3cp The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.
- Jeremiah 37:10 הַ/נִּלְחָמִ֣ים ptcl def.art + Niphal ptcp.act mp For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
- Jeremiah 41:12 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.
- Jeremiah 51:30 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֗ם prep + Niphal inf.cs The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might has failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.
Daniel 2 verses
- Daniel 10:20 לְ/הִלָּחֵ֖ם prep + Niphal inf.cs Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. When I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.
- Daniel 11:11 וְ/נִלְחַ֥ם conj + Niphal wpf 3ms The king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.
Zechariah 3 verses
- Zechariah 10:5 וְ/נִ֨לְחֲמ֔וּ conj + Niphal pf 3cp They shall be as mighty men, Treading down muddy streets in the battle; And they shall fight, because Yahweh is with them; And the riders on horses will be confounded.
- Zechariah 14:3 וְ/נִלְחַ֖ם הִֽלָּחֲמ֖/ו conj + Niphal wpf 3ms Niphal inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
- Zechariah 14:14 תִּלָּחֵ֖ם Niphal impf 3fs Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together: gold, and silver, and clothing, in great abundance.
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 verb לחם centers on the idea of “to fight.” First canonically at Exodus 1:10, it enters the text early. It turns up in 171 verses across 18 books, a common footprint. The verb spans 2 stems, from Qal to Niphal. It clusters with לחום, לחם and לחם under a shared root. 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 H3898 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 →
- 171
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 171 distinct verses.
- 18 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 18 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #262
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 262 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 171 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 171 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 122 verses · 71%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 31 verses · 18%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 18 verses · 11%
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†: Fight 60×, Fought 34×, He fought 7×
- American Standard Version†: Fight 45×, Fought 27×, He fought 7×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Fight 58×, Fought 34×, Fighting 7×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Fight 53×, Fought 25×, He fought 19×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3898 across 177† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 32 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 H3898 across 176† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 59 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 H3898 across 175† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 26 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 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3898 across 185† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 33 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
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.
לחם I fight, do battle (NH Hithp.
Qal
- (poet.) only Imv. ms. and Pt. act.—fight, do battle with, rare, only ψψ, appar. later usage:—לְחַם אֶת־לֹחֲמָ֑י ψ 35:1 do battle with those battling with me (dub. whether את is acc. sign or prep. with, cf. Ol; ‖ רִיבָה אֶת־יְרִיבַי); לֹחֲמִים לִי 56:3 doing battle against me; לֹחֵם v 2 as subst. fighter. e.g. Psalms 35:1
Niphal
- Pf. נִלְחַם Ju 9:17 +, וְנִלְחַמְתָּ֫ 11:8 1 S 15:18, וְנִלְחַמְנוּ Dt 1:41 consec., etc.; Impf. יִלָּהֵם Ex 14:14 Dt 1:30; יִ֫לָּחֶם לָ֑נוּ Ne 4:14, וַיִּ֫לָּחֶם Ex 17:8 + 19 times; 3 fs. תִּלָּחֵם Zc 14:14; 3 mpl. וַיִּלָּֽחֲמוּ Ju 1:5 + 13 times; sf. וַיִּלָּֽחֲמוּנִי ψ 109:3; 2 mpl. תִּלָּֽחֲמוּ 1 K 22:31 + 4 times; תִּלָּֽחֲמוּן 1 K 12:24, etc.; Imv. הִלָּחֵם Ex 17:9 1 S 18:17; הִלָּ֫חֶם בּוֹ Ju 9:38; pl. הִלָּֽחֲמוּ 2 K 10:3 Ne 4:8; Inf. abs. נִלְחֹם Ju 11:26; cstr. הִלָּחֵם 1:9 + 35 times; הִלָּ֫חֶם בּוֹ etc., Nu 22:11 + 6 times; sf. הִלָּחֲמוֹ 2 K 8:29 + 3 times; Pt. נִלְחָם Ex 14:25 + 10 times; pl. נִלְחָמִים Jos 10:25 + 10 times (but 1 S 31:1 read rather נִלְחֲמוּ, so ‖ 1 Ch 10:1 We Klo Bu, cf. Dr);—engage in battle (recipr.), sometimes wage war (Jos 10:5; Ju 11:5; 1 K 14:19; 22:46; 2 K 6:8; 14:28 etc.), often c. בְּ of enemy (60 times) Ex 1:10; 17:9, 10; Nu 21:23, 26; 22:11 (all E), Ju 11:8, 25; 1 S 15:18; 2 S 8:10 + (49 times); less often c. בְּ of city attacked, besieged †Ju 9:45; 1 S 23:1; 2 S 12:26, 27, 29 Is 20:1; Jos 10:31 (D), 1 K 20:1 2 Ch 35:20 Ne 4:2; of tower Ju 9:52; sq. בְּאַרְצִי 11:12†; c. עִם of enemy (26 times): Ju 5:20; 11:4, 5, 20 Jos 11:5 (JE), 1 S 13:5; 17:19, also 1 S 17:32, 33 (of single combat), Dt 20:4; Jos 9:2 (both D), 2 K 13:12; 14:15; 2 Ch 11:1; 17:10; 27:5; Dn 10:20; 11:11 +; c. עִם of city †Jos 10:29 (D), 19:47 (JE)†; c. אֶת־ = with, of enemy, †Jos 24:8 (E), 1 S 17:9 (single combat), Je 21:5; 1 K 20:23; 2 K 19:9 = Is 37:9, Je 37:10; also Ju 12:4; 2 S 11:17; 21:15; 1 K 22:31;2 K 8:2; 9:15; Je 21:4; 32:5; 33:5; 2 Ch 18:30; 22:6, and c. אוֹתָם (= אִתָּם) Jos 10:25 (D), 1 K 20:25 (KöLgb. ii. 296)†; c. עַל, against, of enemy only Je 21:2; elsewhere (16 times) of city: †Jos 10:5 (JE), Is 7:1; 2 K 12:18; 19:8 = Is 37:8; especially D and Je: Dt 20:10, 19 Jos 10:34, 36, 38 (all D), Je 32:24, 29; 34:1, 7, 8, 22†; c. אֶל־ of enemy †Je 1:19; 15:20†; c. sf. וַיִּלָּֽחֲמוּנִי †ψ 109:3 and they have fought against me†; c. יָ֑חַד i.e. fight together = with (against) one another †1 S 17:10; abs. c. acc. cogn. מִלְחָמוֹת fight battles †1 S 8:20; 18:17; 25:28; 2 Ch 32:8†; abs. elsewhere Ju 5:19(×2), 20 Dt 1:41; Zc 10:5 + 26 times + וַוָּסֻרוּ עָלָיו לְהִלָּחֵ֑ם 1 K 22:32; †c. עַל for, in behalf of, Ju 9:17; 2 K 10:3; Ne 4:8; c. לְ = id., Ex 14:14 (J), v 25 (J; + בְּ of enemy), Dt 1:30; 3:22; 20:4 (+ עִם of enemy, vid. supra), Jos 10:14, 42; 23:3, 10 (all D), Ne 4:14†; יָכֹל לְהִלּ׳ be able to fight, c. את of enemy 1 S 17:9, c. בְּ of enemy Nu 22:11, = be successful in fighting, prevail against; so c. עַל of city Is 7:1, and abs. 2 K 16:5 (after וַיָּצֻרוּ עָל besiege). e.g. Judges 9:17
לחם II use as food, eat, poet. (so Thes Buhl, cf. Frä30 GuidiDella Sede 33
Qal
- Pf. 3 pl. לָֽחֲמוּ Pr 4:17; Impf. 2 ms. תִּלְחַם Pr 23:6, 1 s. אֶלְחַם ψ 141:4; Imv. mpl. לַחֲמוּ Pr 9:5; Inf. cstr. לְחוֹם Pr 23:1; Pt. pass. pl. cstr. לְחֻמֵי Dt 32:24; eat (mostly Pr), abs. Pr 23:1; sq. acc. cogn. לֶחֶם 4:17; 23:6; sq. בְּלַחְמִי 9:5; sq. בְּמַנְעַמֵּיהֶם ψ 141:4 eat of their dainties; לְחֻמֵי רֶשֶׁף Dt 32:24 (poem) eaten up with the Fire-bolt, fig. of pestilence (Dr). e.g. Proverbs 4:17
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. vb. fight, do battle (NH Hithp.; ואלתחם MI11.15.19; perhaps = order the battle, cf. NöZMG xl. 1886, 721; Arabic لَحَمَ fit close together, so NH לחם Pi., Syriac ܠܚܡ Pa. unite, ܠܳܚܶܡ fit; also threaten; GerberVerb. Denom. 59 thinks vb. in Heb. denom. from מִלְחָמָה battle-line, but dub.);—
II. vb. use as food, eat, poet. (so Thes Buhl, cf. Frä30 GuidiDella Sede 33; this would explain diff. between לֶחֶם and لَحْمٌ; yet verb rare and chiefly late);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
לָחַם I
- (cmp. לוּחַ), to join, or to be joined, be inserted.
- to fit, insert; to tenon. Y. Sabb. XII, 13ᶜ המַלְחִים את וכ׳ he who inserts the shutters (of a shop); Y. Bets. I, 60ᶜ המלחם (corr. acc.). Cant. R. to V, 12; ib. to IV, 15, v. לְחִי. Lev. R. s. 3 (ref. to the harmonious parallelism of Is. LV, 7) כאדם שהוא מלחים שני נסרים ומדביקן זה לזה as one fits (with tenon and mortise) two boards and glues them to one another; כאדם שהוא מ׳ שתי כרעי המטה (leave out ומדביקן זה לזה, v. Ar. s. v. מלח) as one inserts two legs of a bedstead. e.g. Isaiah 55:7
לָחַם II
- v. preced.) to join.
- (cmp. use of זָוַג Nithpa.) to come in (hostile) contact, to battle; with ל of person, to assist, battle for. Mekh. B’shall. 2 (ref. to Ex. XIV, 14) לא … יִלָּחֵם לכם אלא לעולם ילחם כנגדן וכ׳ not only this time will he assist you, but he will always battle against your enemies. Tanḥ. Masé 6 כשהלך להִלָּחֵם בישראל when he (Sisera) went to war against &c. Ib. Vayera 7 (ref. בלחומו, Job XX, 23) על המלחמות שהיו נִלְחָמִים עם וכ׳ for the battles which they fought against the Lord; a. fr. e.g. Exodus 14:14
- to contest, dispute. Y. M. Kat. III, 81ᵈ top אם חברים מִתְלַחֲמִים וכ׳ if scholars are at variance with one another, what concern is it to you? (B. Mets. 59ᵇ מנצחים זה את זה וכ׳).
לֶחֶם
- fr. לחח to chew, v. Ges. H. Dict.10 s. v. לוע) food, bread; [Arab. meat]. Ber. V, 1 the benediction over bread (פת) reads: המוציא ל׳ וכ׳ who makest food grow out of the earth; ib. 37ᵇ. Men. XI, 1 שתי הל׳ (sub. ככרות) the two loaves of bread (Lev. XXIII, 17). Ib. ל׳ הפנים the show-bread (on the table of the Sanctuary); a. fr.—Trnsf. tribute, tax, salary (cmp. annona). Ruth R. to II, 14 זו לַחְמָהּ של מלכות that is (thou shalt partake of) the royal maintenance. Zeb. 85ᵃ; Meïl. 7ᵇ לַחְמוֹ של מזבח the tribute belonging to the altar (cmp. Lev. XXI, 6; 8; Neh. V, 14).—Pl. לְחָמִים. Y. Ḥag. III, end, 79ᵈ שני ל׳ two sets of show-bread, opp. to לחם אחד. e.g. Leviticus 23:17
לְחֵם
- 1. same. Targ. Gen. XIV, 18. Ib. XLIII, 31; a. fr.—Snh. 100ᵇ (from Ben Sira) אמר במאי איכול ל׳ ל׳ סב מיניה if a man says, ‘wherewith shall I eat bread (to season it)?’, take the bread from him. Ab. Zar. 35ᵇ ל׳ דארמאי (Ms. M. נהמא) bread baked by gentiles, v. פַּת. Ber. 42ᵇ ניזיל וניכול ל׳ וכ׳ (Ms. M. נהמא) let us go and dine at a certain place; a. fr.
- 2. meat, flesh. Ex. R. s. 42 (ref. to לחמם, Zeph. I, 17) בערביא קורין לבשרא ל׳ in Arabia they call meat laḥma e.g. Zephaniah 1:17
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 97 distinct written forms H3898 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’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; 37 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3898, 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.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 162 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 171 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
- Exodus 1:10
- Numbers 21:1
- Deuteronomy 1:30
- Joshua 9:2
- Judges 1:1
- 1 Samuel 4:9
- 2 Samuel 2:28
- 1 Kings 12:21
- 2 Kings 3:21
- 1 Chronicles 10:1
- 2 Chronicles 11:1
- Psalms 35:1
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.
