מִדְבָּר
wilderness
‘wilderness’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
H4057
Strong's Hebrew
midbâr
Transliteration
/mid-bawr'/
Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible
271
appearances
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
BDB Definition
wilderness
- pasture
- uninhabited land, wilderness
- large tracts of wilderness (around cities)
- wilderness (figuratively)
- mouth
- mouth (as organ of speech)
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
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 208 times (77%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 63 times (23%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 271 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Page 1 of 2 — showing verses 1–200 of 257 distinct verses where H4057 appears, across 27 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.
Genesis 7 verses
- Genesis 14:6 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר ptcl def.art + n c ms and the Horites in their Mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness.
- Genesis 16:7 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms The angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
- Genesis 21:14 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֖ר prep + n c ms cs Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
- Genesis 21:20 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
- Genesis 21:21 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֣ר prep + n c ms cs He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 36:24 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms These are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father.
- Genesis 37:22 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"-- that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
Exodus 25 verses
- Exodus 3:1 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God's mountain, to Horeb.
- Exodus 3:18 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms They will listen to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.'
- Exodus 4:27 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֑רָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem Yahweh said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." He went, and met him on God's mountain, and kissed him.
- Exodus 5:1 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'"
- Exodus 5:3 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר prep det + n c ms They said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh, our God, lest he fall on us with pestilence, or with the sword."
- Exodus 7:16 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms You shall tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness:" and, behold, until now you haven't listened.
- Exodus 8:27 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he shall command us."
- Exodus 8:28 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."
- Exodus 13:18 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms but God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 13:20 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר ptcl def.art + n c ms They took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
- Exodus 14:3 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר ptcl def.art + n c ms Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.'
- Exodus 14:11 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms They said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way, to bring us forth out of Egypt?
- Exodus 14:12 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Isn't this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness."
- Exodus 15:22 מִדְבַּר בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר n c ms cs prep det + n c ms Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
- Exodus 16:1 מִדְבַּר n c ms cs They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 16:2 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;
- Exodus 16:3 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֣ר ptcl def.art + n c ms and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
- Exodus 16:10 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר ptcl def.art + n c ms It happened, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.
- Exodus 16:14 הַ/מִּדְבָּר֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the hoar-frost on the ground.
- Exodus 16:32 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt."
- Exodus 17:1 מִ/מִּדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs All the congregation of the children of Israel traveled from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to Yahweh's commandment, and encamped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
- Exodus 18:5 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the Mountain of God.
- Exodus 19:1 מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms cs In the third month after the children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
- Exodus 19:2 מִדְבַּ֣ר בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר n c ms cs prep det + n c ms When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain.
- Exodus 23:31 וּ/מִ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר conj + prep + n c ms I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
Leviticus 4 verses
- Leviticus 7:38 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs which Yahweh commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to Yahweh, in the wilderness of Sinai.
- Leviticus 16:10 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽרָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem But the goat, on which the lot fell for the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before Yahweh, to make atonement for him, to send him away for the scapegoat into the wilderness.
- Leviticus 16:21 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽרָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
- Leviticus 16:22 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.
Numbers 44 verses
- Numbers 1:1 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
- Numbers 1:19 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs As Yahweh commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
- Numbers 3:4 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֣ר prep + n c ms cs Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the presence of Aaron their father.
- Numbers 3:14 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
- Numbers 9:1 בְ/מִדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
- Numbers 9:5 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֣ר prep + n c ms cs They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.
- Numbers 10:12 מִ/מִּדְבַּ֣ר בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs prep + n c ms cs The children of Israel set forward according to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran.
- Numbers 10:31 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms He said, Don't leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you shall be to us instead of eyes.
- Numbers 12:16 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.
- Numbers 13:3 מִ/מִּדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Yahweh: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
- Numbers 13:21 מִ/מִּדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
- Numbers 13:26 מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms cs They went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them, and to all the congregation, and shown them the fruit of the land.
- Numbers 14:2 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֥ר prep det + n c ms All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness!
- Numbers 14:16 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Because Yahweh was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore to them, therefore he has slain them in the wilderness.
- Numbers 14:22 וּ/בַ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר conj + prep det + n c ms because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;
- Numbers 14:25 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley: tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
- Numbers 14:29 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֣ר prep det + n c ms your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me,
- Numbers 14:32 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֥ר prep det + n c ms But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.
- Numbers 14:33 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms prep det + n c ms Your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies be consumed in the wilderness.
- Numbers 14:35 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֥ר prep det + n c ms I, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this will I do to all this evil congregation, who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
- Numbers 15:32 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- Numbers 16:13 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must needs make yourself also a prince over us?
- Numbers 20:1 מִדְבַּר n c ms cs The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
- Numbers 20:4 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Why have you brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals?
- Numbers 21:5 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms The people spoke against God, and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
- Numbers 21:11 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms They traveled from Oboth, and encamped at Iyeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise.
- Numbers 21:13 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms From there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that comes out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
- Numbers 21:18 וּ/מִ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר conj + prep + n c ms The well, which the princes dug, Which the nobles of the people dug, With the scepter, [and] with their poles. From the wilderness [they traveled] to Mattanah;
- Numbers 21:23 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔רָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem 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 24:1 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn't go, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
- Numbers 26:64 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs But among these there was not a man of them who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
- Numbers 26:65 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms For Yahweh had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. There was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
- Numbers 27:3 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֒ prep det + n c ms Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah: but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.
- Numbers 27:14 בְּ/מִדְבַּר מִדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs n c ms cs because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes. (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
- Numbers 32:13 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms Yahweh's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander back and forth in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, who had done evil in the sight of Yahweh, was consumed.
- Numbers 32:15 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all this people.
- Numbers 33:6 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר ptcl def.art + n c ms They traveled from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.
- Numbers 33:8 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֑רָ/ה בְּ/מִדְבַּ֣ר ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem prep + n c ms cs They traveled from before Hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness: and they went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and encamped in Marah.
- Numbers 33:11 בְּ/מִדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs They traveled from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
- Numbers 33:12 מִ/מִּדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs They traveled from the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.
- Numbers 33:15 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs They traveled from Rephidim, and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai.
- Numbers 33:16 מִ/מִּדְבַּ֣ר prep + n c ms cs They traveled from the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in Kibroth-hattaavah.
- Numbers 33:36 בְ/מִדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs They traveled from Ezion Geber, and encamped in the wilderness of Zin (the same is Kadesh).
- Numbers 34:3 מִ/מִּדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward;
Deuteronomy 19 verses
- Deuteronomy 1:1 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֡ר prep det + n c ms These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
- Deuteronomy 1:19 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֣ר ptcl def.art + n c ms We traveled from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
- Deuteronomy 1:31 וּ/בַ/מִּדְבָּר֙ conj + prep det + n c ms and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.
- Deuteronomy 1:40 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖רָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
- Deuteronomy 2:1 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֨רָ/ה֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we compassed Mount Seir many days.
- Deuteronomy 2:7 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֥ר ptcl def.art + n c ms For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; he has known your walking through this great wilderness: these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.
- Deuteronomy 2:8 מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms cs So we passed by from our brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
- Deuteronomy 2:26 מִ/מִּדְבַּ֣ר prep + n c ms cs I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
- Deuteronomy 4:43 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֛ר prep det + n c ms [namely], Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
- Deuteronomy 8:2 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not.
- Deuteronomy 8:15 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֣ר prep det + n c ms who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, [in which were] fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint;
- Deuteronomy 8:16 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn't know; that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end:
- Deuteronomy 9:7 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms Remember, don't forget, how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that you went forth out of the land of Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 9:28 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms lest the land whence you brought us out say, Because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land which he promised to them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.
- Deuteronomy 11:5 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place;
- Deuteronomy 11:24 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֨ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border.
- Deuteronomy 29:5 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not grown old on you, and your shoe has not grown old on your foot.
- Deuteronomy 32:10 מִדְבָּ֔ר n c ms He found him in a desert land, In the waste howling wilderness; He compassed him about, he cared for him, He kept him as the apple of his eye.
- Deuteronomy 32:51 מִדְבַּר n c ms cs because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
Joshua 15 verses
- Joshua 1:4 מֵ/הַ/מִּדְבָּר֩ prep + ptcl def.art + n c ms From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
- Joshua 5:4 בַ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms This is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: all the people who came forth out of Egypt, who were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came forth out of Egypt.
- Joshua 5:5 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֥ר prep det + n c ms For all the people who came out were circumcised; but all the people who were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, they had not circumcised.
- Joshua 5:6 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֒ prep det + n c ms For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, even the men of war who came forth out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh: to whom Yahweh swore that he wouldn't let them see the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Joshua 8:15 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר ptcl def.art + n c ms Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.
- Joshua 8:20 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר ptcl def.art + n c ms When the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
- Joshua 8:24 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms It happened, when Israel had made an end of killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and struck it with the edge of the sword.
- Joshua 12:8 וּ/בַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר conj + prep det + n c ms in the hill-country, and in the lowland, and in the Arabah, and in the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the South; the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
- Joshua 14:10 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms Now, behold, Yahweh has kept me alive, as he spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness: and now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.
- Joshua 15:1 מִדְבַּר n c ms cs The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
- Joshua 15:61 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, and Secacah,
- Joshua 16:1 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר ptcl def.art + n c ms The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to Bethel;
- Joshua 18:12 מִדְבַּ֖רָ/ה n c ms cs + sfx dem Their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill-country westward; and the goings out of it were at the wilderness of Beth Aven.
- Joshua 20:8 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֛ר prep det + n c ms Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
- Joshua 24:7 בַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר prep det + n c ms When they cried out to Yahweh, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and you lived in the wilderness many days.
Judges 9 verses
- Judges 1:16 מִדְבַּ֣ר n c ms cs The children of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people.
- Judges 8:7 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Gideon said, Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
- Judges 8:16 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
- Judges 11:16 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh;
- Judges 11:18 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר prep det + n c ms Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn't come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
- Judges 11:22 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר ptcl def.art + n c ms They possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
- Judges 20:42 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of it.
- Judges 20:45 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֨רָ/ה֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and struck of them two thousand men.
- Judges 20:47 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֨רָ/ה֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.
1 Samuel 14 verses
- 1 Samuel 4:8 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Woe to us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness.
- 1 Samuel 13:18 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽרָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem and another company turned the way to Beth Horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
- 1 Samuel 17:28 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why are you come down? and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.
- 1 Samuel 23:14 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ בְּ/מִדְבַּר prep det + n c ms prep + n c ms cs David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn't deliver him into his hand.
- 1 Samuel 23:15 בְּ/מִדְבַּר prep + n c ms cs David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.
- 1 Samuel 23:24 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֤ר prep + n c ms cs They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert.
- 1 Samuel 23:25 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֣ר מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs n c ms cs Saul and his men went to seek him. They told David: why he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard [that], he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
- 1 Samuel 24:1 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֖ר prep + n c ms cs It happened, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.
- 1 Samuel 25:1 מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms cs Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
- 1 Samuel 25:4 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
- 1 Samuel 25:14 מֵֽ/הַ/מִּדְבָּ֛ר prep + ptcl def.art + n c ms But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and he railed at them.
- 1 Samuel 25:21 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר prep det + n c ms Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him: and he has returned me evil for good.
- 1 Samuel 26:2 מִדְבַּר בְּ/מִדְבַּר n c ms cs prep + n c ms cs Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
- 1 Samuel 26:3 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר הַ/מִּדְבָּֽרָ/ה prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
2 Samuel 6 verses
- 2 Samuel 2:24 מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms cs But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
- 2 Samuel 15:23 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר ptcl def.art + n c ms All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
- 2 Samuel 15:28 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Behold, I will stay at the fords of the wilderness, until word comes from you to inform me."
- 2 Samuel 16:2 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms The king said to Ziba, What do you mean by these? Ziba said, The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink.
- 2 Samuel 17:16 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Don't lodge this night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people who are with him.
- 2 Samuel 17:29 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David, and for the people who were with him, to eat: for they said, The people are hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
1 Kings 4 verses
- 1 Kings 2:34 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell on him, and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
- 1 Kings 9:18 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר prep det + n c ms and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land,
- 1 Kings 19:4 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough; now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
- 1 Kings 19:15 מִדְבַּ֣רָ/ה n c ms cs + sfx dem Yahweh said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
2 Kings 1 verse
1 Chronicles 4 verses
- 1 Chronicles 5:9 מִדְבָּ֔רָ/ה n c ms + sfx dem and eastward he lived even to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
- 1 Chronicles 6:78 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר prep det + n c ms and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, [were given them], out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs,
- 1 Chronicles 12:8 מִדְבָּ֜רָ/ה n c ms + sfx dem Of the Gadites there separated themselves to David to the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, that could handle shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the roes on the mountains;
- 1 Chronicles 21:29 בַ/מִּדְבָּ֛ר prep det + n c ms For the tent of Yahweh, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
2 Chronicles 7 verses
- 2 Chronicles 1:3 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms So Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of Yahweh had made in the wilderness.
- 2 Chronicles 8:4 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store-cities, which he built in Hamath.
- 2 Chronicles 20:16 מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms cs Tomorrow go you down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and you shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
- 2 Chronicles 20:20 לְ/מִדְבַּ֣ר prep + n c ms cs They rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Yahweh your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper.
- 2 Chronicles 20:24 לַ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms When Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.
- 2 Chronicles 24:9 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms They made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for Yahweh the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר prep det + n c ms He built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the plain: [and he had] farmers and vineyard keepers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields; for he loved farming.
Nehemiah 2 verses
- Nehemiah 9:19 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms yet you in your manifold mercies didn't forsake them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud didn't depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go.
- Nehemiah 9:21 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר prep det + n c ms Yes, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, [and] they lacked nothing; their clothes didn't grow old, and their feet didn't swell.
Job 3 verses
- Job 1:19 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר ptcl def.art + n c ms and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you."
- Job 24:5 בַּֽ/מִּדְבָּ֗ר prep det + n c ms Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
- Job 38:26 מִ֝דְבָּ֗ר n c ms To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, in which there is no man;
Psalms 18 verses
- Psalms 29:8 מִדְבָּ֑ר מִדְבַּ֥ר n c ms n c ms cs Yahweh's voice shakes the wilderness. Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
- Psalms 55:7 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֣ר prep det + n c ms Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness." Selah.
- Psalms 63:1 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you, My flesh longs for you, In a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
- Psalms 65:12 מִדְבָּ֑ר n c ms The wilderness grasslands overflow. The hills are clothed with gladness.
- Psalms 75:6 מִ/מִּדְבַּ֥ר prep + n c ms cs For neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor yet from the south, comes exaltation.
- Psalms 78:15 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms He split rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
- Psalms 78:19 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Yes, they spoke against God. They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
- Psalms 78:40 בַ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, And grieved him in the desert!
- Psalms 78:52 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms But he led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
- Psalms 95:8 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Don't harden your heart, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
- Psalms 102:6 מִדְבָּ֑ר n c ms I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places.
- Psalms 106:9 כַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; So he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
- Psalms 106:14 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms But gave in to craving in the desert, And tested God in the wasteland.
- Psalms 106:26 בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר prep det + n c ms Therefore he swore to them That he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
- Psalms 107:4 בַ֭/מִּדְבָּר prep det + n c ms They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in.
- Psalms 107:33 לְ/מִדְבָּ֑ר prep + n c ms He turns rivers into a desert, Water springs into a thirsty ground,
- Psalms 107:35 מִ֭דְבָּר n c ms He turns a desert into a pool of water, And a dry land into water springs.
- Psalms 136:16 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms To him who led his people through the wilderness; For his loving kindness endures forever:
Proverbs 1 verse
Song of Solomon 3 verses
- Song of Solomon 3:6 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all spices of the merchant?
- Song of Solomon 4:3 וּ/מִדְבָּרֵ֖י/ךְ conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2fs Your lips are like scarlet thread. Your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
- Song of Solomon 8:5 הַ/מִּדְבָּ֔ר ptcl def.art + n c ms Who is this who comes up from the wilderness, Leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I aroused you. There your mother conceived you. There she was in labor and bore you.
Isaiah 19 verses
- Isaiah 14:17 כַּ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר prep det + n c ms who made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities of it; who didn't let loose his prisoners to their home?"
- Isaiah 16:1 מִדְבָּ֑רָ/ה n c ms + sfx dem Send you the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
- Isaiah 16:8 מִדְבָּ֑ר n c ms For the fields of Heshbon languish, [and] the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches of it, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.
- Isaiah 21:1 מִדְבַּר מִ/מִּדְבָּ֣ר n c ms cs prep + n c ms The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land.
- Isaiah 27:10 כַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר prep det + n c ms For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches of it.
- Isaiah 32:15 מִדְבָּר֙ n c ms until the Spirit be poured on us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.
- Isaiah 32:16 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֖ר prep det + n c ms Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.
- Isaiah 35:1 מִדְבָּ֖ר n c ms The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
- Isaiah 35:6 בַ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the mute shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
- Isaiah 40:3 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֕ר prep det + n c ms The voice of one who cries, Prepare you in the wilderness the way of Yahweh; make level in the desert a highway for our God.
- Isaiah 41:18 מִדְבָּר֙ n c ms I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
- Isaiah 41:19 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together:
- Isaiah 42:11 מִדְבָּר֙ n c ms Let the wilderness and the cities of it lift up [their voice], the villages that Kedar does inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
- Isaiah 43:19 בַּ/מִּדְבָּר֙ prep det + n c ms Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
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, מדבר (midbâr) means “wilderness.” It first appears in Genesis 14:6. It turns up in 257 verses across 27 books, a common footprint. Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. It clusters with דבר, דבורה and דביר under a shared root. Dig into 257-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
Strong's · 1890
desert
Modern gloss
wilderness
Strong's 1890 sometimes compressed multiple senses — or homonymous roots — under one number, and used 19th-century English phrasing that no longer carries the same connotation. The modern gloss reflects current BDB scholarship; open the Lexicon Entry tab for the full sense breakdown.
Download share card
About this word
Strong's H4057 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 →
- 257
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 257 distinct verses.
- 27 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 27 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #183
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 183 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 257 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 257 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 117 verses · 46%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 99 verses · 39%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 41 verses · 16%
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†: Wilderness 207×, Desert 13×, Through the wilderness 9×
- American Standard Version†: Wilderness 212×, Toward the wilderness 5×, Through the wilderness 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Wilderness 194×, Desert 44×, Through the wilderness 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Wilderness 201×, Wilderness of 39×, Desert 6×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4057 across 270† 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 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H4057 across 269† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 39 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 H4057 across 269† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 16 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 H4057 across 276† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 14 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
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 4 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.
מדבר I mouth, as organ of speech,
מדבר II wilderness
- 1. tracts of land, used for the pasturage of flocks and herds, דָּֽשְׁאוּ נְאוֹת מִדְבָּר the pastures of the wilderness put forth green grass Jo 2:22; יִרְעֲפוּ נ׳ מ׳ the pastures of the wilderness drop (fertility) ψ 65:13; יָֽבְשׁוּ נ׳ מ׳ are dried up Je 23:10, cf. Je 9:9 Jo 1:19, 20. e.g. Joel 2:22
- 2. uninhabited land, מִדְבָּר לֹא־אָדָם בּוֹ wilderness in which is no man Jb 38:26; the abode of pelicans ψ 102:7; wild asses Jb 24:5 Je 2:24; jackals Mal 1:3; ostriches Lam 4:3; מִי־יִתְּנֵנִי בַמִּדְבָּר מְלוֹן אֹרְחִים וְאֶֽעֶזְבָה אֶת־עַמִּי O that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfarers, that I might leave my people Je 9:1; טוֹב שֶׁבֶת בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious woman Pr 21:19; בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן in a desert land, and in a waste howling wilderness Dt 32:10. e.g. Job 38:26
- 3. large tracts of such land bearing various names, in certain districts of which there might be towns and cities: יִשְׂאוּ מִדְבָּר וְעָרָיו חֲצֵרִים תֵּשֵׁב קֵדָר let the wilderness and its cities lift up (their voice), the villages that Kedar doth inhabit Is 42:11. There were six cities in the wilderness of Judah Jos 15:61, 62; הַמִּדְבָּר usually = wilderness of the wanderings Gn 14:6 Nu 14:16, 29, 32, 33(×2) +, or the great Arabian desert Ju 11:22 +; but may also refer to any other Ct 3:6; 8:5. Special tracts—(a) of the wilderness of the wanderings were מ׳ שׁוּר Ex 15:22, סין Ex 16:1 +, סיני Ex 19:1 +, פארן Nu 13:26 +, צן Nu 20:1 +, קדשׁ ψ 29:8, אתם Nu 33:8; (b) in W. Pal. מ׳ יהודה Ju 1:16 ψ 63:1 cf. Jos 15:61, מעוֹן 1 S 23:24, 25, זיף 1 S 23:15; 26:2, באר שׁבע Gn 21:14, עין גדי 1 S 24:2, תקוע 2 Ch 20:20, ירואל 2 Ch 20:16, גבעון 2 S 2:24; (c) in East. Palestine מואב Dt 2:8, אדום 2 K 3:8, קדמות Dt 2:26. e.g. Isaiah 42:11
- 4. fig. וְשַׂמְתִּיהָ כַמִּדְבָּר וְשַׁתִּהָ כְּאֶרֶץ צִיָּה and (lest I) make her as a wilderness and set her like a dry land Ho 2:5; הֲמִדְבָּר הָיִיתִי לְיִשְׂרָאֵל have I been a wilderness to Israel? Je 2:31. e.g. Hosea 2:5
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. mouth, as organ of speech,—מִדְבָּרֵךְ נָאוֶה thy mouth is lovely Ct 4:3 ‖שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ, 𝔊 λαλιά, Jer eloquium.
II. n.m. wilderness—Dt 32:10 +; c. ה loc. מִדְבָּ֫רָה Jos 18:12 + 15 times; cstr. Ex 15:22 +; מִדְבַּ֫רָה 1 K 19:15; sf. מִדְבָּרָהּ Is 51:3;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from דבר (dâbar) (H1696) — to speak.
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.
דָּבַר
- (b. h.) to join, arrange, lead (the flock); v. next w.
- (b. h.) to converse, speak. Ber. 31ᵇ, a. fr. דִּבְּרָה תורה כלשון ב"א the Torah speaks according to the language of men, i.e. uses metaphors and phrases adapted to human understanding. Sot. 12ᵇ שעתיד לְדַבֵּר וכ׳ destined to speak to Divinity. Ter. I, 2 חרש שדִּבְּרוּ … מְדַבֵּר wherever the scholars use the word ḥērēsh, they mean one who neither hears nor talks. Mekh. Bo 7, end, a. fr. או אינו מְדַבֵּר אלא ב־ or does perhaps the text speak only of—? [מְדַבֵּר as a noun, v. s. v.].
- to hold communion, converse. Mekh. Bo, introd. לא נ׳ עמו וכ׳ the Lord did not hold communion with him outside the capital of Egypt. Ib. fr.
- , same, esp. part. f. מִדַּבֶּרֶת being on terms of intimacy with a man. Keth. I, 8 ראוה מד׳ עם אחד (omit בשוק); expl. ib. 13ᵃ. Ib. VII, 6 מד׳ עם כל אדם she is intimate with everybody. Ib. לכשהיא מד׳ בתוך ביתה וכ׳ when her neighbors can hear her voice in moments of intimacy with her husband.
- to make submissive, persuade, v. דִּיבּוּר. Macc. 11ᵃ דִבֵּר לחוד יַדְבֵּר לחוד the Piel dibber has one meaning (speaking harshly), and the Hif. yadber another.
דְּבַר
- 1. to seize, take, lead, drive. Targ. Gen. XIX, 15; a. fr. (h. לקח).—Ib. XXXI, 18; a. fr. (h. נהג).
- 2. to conduct one’s self (cmp. נָהַג). Erub. 14ᵇ, a. e. פוק חזי מאי עמא ד׳ go out and see how the people conduct themselves (what the religious usage is). Koh. R. to IX, 10, v. כְּלוּם.
- 1. to lead, drive. Targ. O. Ex. III, 1 ed. Berl. (ed. דְּבַר). Ib. XIV, 21 (ed. דְּבַר, h. text ויולך). Targ. Ez. XVI, 12; a. e.—Keth. 62ᵇ sq. עד כמה קא מְדַבְּרַת אלמנות חיים how long yet wilt thou lead a life of living widowhood (separation from a living husband)?
- 2. to carry off. Targ. Ezek. XXXIII, 6; a. e.
- to take, lead. Targ. Is. XIV, 2; a. fr.—Bets. 21ᵇ אַדְבְּרֵיה וכ׳ took him out on a walk; ib. 29ᵃ. Y. Yeb. XIII, 13ᶜ bot. מַדְבְּרוּן לה גבר they introduce to her a suitor.
- 1. to be seized, taken away. Targ. Prov. XXIV, 11. Targ. Ez. XXXIII, 6. Targ. II Kings II, 9 sq.; a. e.
- 2. to conduct one’s self. Targ. Gen. XXXIII, 14 אֵידַבַּר ed. Berl. (h. text אתנהלה).
דָּבָר
- preced.)
- 1. word, utterance, command (cmp. דִּיבּוּר). B. Bath. 56ᵇ (ref. to Deut. XIX, 15) ד׳ ולא חצי ד׳ a statement (testimony) but not a partial statement. Mekh. Bo, introd. היה הד׳ לאהרן (Tanḥ. ib. 5 דבור) the word of the Lord came to &c.; a. fr.—דְּבַר תורה according to the Biblical law. Erub. 81; a. fr.—Pl. דְּבָרִים, constr. דִּבְרֵי. ד׳ תורה Biblical laws; ד׳ סופרים Rabbinical laws. Ib. Yeb. IX, 3; a. fr.—ד׳ קבלה prophetic exhortations or incidental utterances in other Biblical books than the Pentateuch. Ḥag. 10ᵇ; Nidd. 23ᵃ; a. e.—B. Mets. 49ᵃ; Bekh. 13ᵇ ד׳ יש בהם משום מחוסרי אמנה to word of mouth the rules concerning the faithless are applied, i.e. a verbal agreement is morally binding. B. Mets. 48ᵃ הנושא ונותן בד׳ וכ׳ he who contracts verbally has no legal claim. Ib. ד׳ ואיכא … קאי באבל he who retracts a verbal transaction with which a payment of money was connected, comes under the category of those against whom the words ‘but the scholars declared’ (ib. IV, 2) has been pronounced.—דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים the Book of Chronicles. Lev. R. s. 1. B. Bath. 14ᵇ.—דָּבָר אַחֵר (abbrev. ד"א) another interpretation (is this). Gen. R. s. 1, beg.; a. fr.—2) thing, affair, object, occurrence &c. Sot. 28ᵇ ד׳ שיש בו דעת לישאל an object which has sense to ask, i.e. a rational being, opp. ד׳ שאין וכ׳ dumb creatures &c.—Num. R. s. 11 ד׳ שבינך לבינו that which concerns only thy relation to God; v. בֵּין.—ד׳ שבממון a monetary affair. B. Mets. 94ᵃ; a. fr.—ד׳ הלמד מענינו a thing (law) derived from the context on the very subject. Sifra, introd.; a. fr.—ד׳ אחר (abbr. ד"א) something not to be named, a) idolatry. Men. XIII, 10 ואין צריך לומר לד"א much less priests who have been offering to idols; a. fr.—b) swine. Ber. 43ᵇ (prov.) תלה ליה קורא לד"א וכ׳ hang a palm shoot around the swine and it will follow its habits (of wallowing in the mud). Sabb. 129ᵃ sq.; a. e.—c) leprosy Ib. אי פגע בד"א קשה לד"א if he meets a swine (after blood letting), he is in danger of becoming a leper.—d) unchaste conduct, sexual intercourse, sodomy &c. Ib. 17ᵇ על בנותיהן משום ד"א ועל ד"א משום ד"א they forbade connection with their daughters on account of idolatry, and decreed something else (that a gentile child should be unclean as though afflicted with gonorrhœa) on account of sodomy. Ber. 8ᵇ צנועין בד"א chaste in marital life; a. fr.—Pl. as above.—בעל ד׳ the person to deal with, opponent, party. B. Mets. 14ᵃ לאו ב"ד דידי את I have nothing to do with thee; a. fr.—לא היו ד׳ מעולם there were no such things, I deny it outright. Shebu. 41ᵇ; a. fr.—ד׳ בגב, ד׳ בגו, v. גַּב, גֵּו. e.g. Deuteronomy 19:15
דֶּבֶר
- , esp. Targ. Ez. XXXIII, 6) death, pestilence. Ab. V, 8. Sabb. 33ᵃ; a. fr.—Esp. the plague of pestilence in Egypt. Ex. R. s. 12. Tanḥ. Vaëra 14; a. fr.
דַּבָּר
- (דבר) leader.—Pl. דַּבָּרִין. Snh. 8ᵃ ד׳ אחד וכ׳ a generation must have one leader, but not two.
מְדַבֵּר
- (דָּבַר)
- 1. speaker.—Pl. מְדַבְּרִים. Ber. 63ᵇ, a. e. ראש המ׳ וכ׳ the first among the speakers on all occasions (attribute of R. Judah).–
- 2. the anterior part of the tongue. Bekh. VI, 8; Tosef. ib. IV, 11; Kidd. 25ᵃ
מִדְבָּר
- v. דְּבַר) pasture-ground, desert. Gen. R. s. 31, end. Cant. R. to IV, 4 (play on מדברך ib. 3) אע"פ שהוא מ׳וכ׳ although the Temple is a desert, you are bound to observe the sacredness of its precincts now that it is ruined &c.; a. fr.—מֵתֵי מ׳ the generation that died in the wilderness. B. Bath. 73ᵇ bot.; a. fr.—Tosef. Macc. III (II), 2; Macc. 9ᵇ; Y. ib. II, 31ᵈ top בצר במ׳ (b. h.) Bezer in the Wilderness, on the eastern side of the Jordan.—Tosef. Men. IX, 13 כבשים ממ׳, read: ממִדְבַּר חברון from the pasture-ground of Hebron; v. Men. 87ᵃ; Sot. 34ᵇ.—Pl. מִדְבָּרוֹת. Ber. IX, 2. Ib. 54ᵇ הולכי מ׳ those travelling in the deserts; a. e.
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 82 distinct written forms H4057 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; 22 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4057, 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
- דבורה dᵉbôwrâh H1682 bee
- דביר dᵉbîyr H1687 holy of holies
- דבר dâbâr H1697 word
- דבר deber H1698 pestilence
- דבר dôber H1699 pasture
- דברה dôbᵉrâh H1702 raft
- דברה dabbârâh H1703 word
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 9 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 242 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 257 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 14:6
- Exodus 3:1
- Leviticus 7:38
- Numbers 1:1
- Deuteronomy 1:1
- Joshua 1:4
- Judges 1:16
- 1 Samuel 4:8
- 2 Samuel 2:24
- 1 Kings 2:34
- 2 Kings 3:8
- 1 Chronicles 5:9
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.
