עָרַב
to pledge
also: exchange, mortgage, engage, occupy fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘give in pledge’
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself). Here: ‘recipr.’
Form
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
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.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms 15 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 5 times (22%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular 3 times (13%)
- Verb, Hithpael, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular 2 times (9%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 2 times (9%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Construct 1 time (4%)
- Verb, Hithpael, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural 1 time (4%)
- Verb, Hithpael, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 1 time (4%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct 1 time (4%)
+7 more forms (7 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 23 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H6148 appears — 23 distinct verses across 11 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 2 verses
- Genesis 43:9 אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔/נּוּ Qal impf 1cs + sfx pers 3ms I will be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don't bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,
- Genesis 44:32 עָרַ֣ב Qal pf 3ms For your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, 'If I don't bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.'
2 Kings 1 verse
Ezra 1 verse
Nehemiah 1 verse
Job 1 verse
Psalms 2 verses
Proverbs 9 verses
- Proverbs 6:1 עָרַ֣בְתָּ Qal pf 2ms My son, if you have become collateral for your neighbor, If you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger;
- Proverbs 11:15 עָ֣רַב Qal pf 3ms He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, But he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.
- Proverbs 14:10 יִתְעָ֥רַב Hithpael impf 3ms The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; He will not share these with a stranger.
- Proverbs 17:18 עֹרֵ֥ב Qal ptcp.act ms A man void of understanding strikes hands, And becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.
- Proverbs 20:16 עָ֣רַב Qal pf 3ms Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; And hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.
- Proverbs 20:19 תִתְעָרָֽב Hithpael impf 2ms He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; Therefore don't keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
- Proverbs 22:26 בַּ֝/עֹרְבִ֗ים prep det + Qal ptcp.act mp Don't you be one of those who strike hands, Of those who are collateral for debts.
- Proverbs 24:21 תִּתְעָרָֽב Hithpael juss 2ms My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don't join those who are rebellious:
- Proverbs 27:13 עָ֣רַב Qal pf 3ms Take his garment when he puts up collateral for a stranger; Hold it for a wayward woman!
Isaiah 2 verses
- Isaiah 36:8 הִתְעָ֣רֶב Hithpael impv 2ms Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
- Isaiah 38:14 עָרְבֵֽ/נִי Qal impv 2ms + sfx pers 1cs Like a swallow [or] a crane, so did I chatter; I did moan as a dove; my eyes fail [with looking] upward: Lord, I am oppressed, be my collateral.
Jeremiah 1 verse
Ezekiel 2 verses
- Ezekiel 27:9 לַ/עֲרֹ֖ב prep + Qal inf.cs The old men of Gebal and the wise men of it were in you your repairers of ship seams: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.
- Ezekiel 27:27 וְֽ/עֹרְבֵ֣י conj + Qal ptcp.act mp cs Your riches, and your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, and your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, and the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is in the midst of you, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin.
Hosea 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“to pledge” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb ערב (ʻârab). Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 43:9. It turns up in 23 verses across 11 books, an uncommon footprint. It concentrates in Proverbs, which alone accounts for 39% of its uses. As a verb its force shifts by stem, across 2 stems (Qal, Hithpael, and more). See the sense tree, 23-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6148 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 →
- 23
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 23 distinct verses.
- 11 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 11 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #1,368
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 1,368 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 23 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 23 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 14 verses · 61%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 7 verses · 30%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 2 verses · 9%
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†: Is surety 2×
- American Standard Version†: Is surety 2×, Now therefore 2×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Make a bargain 2×, Posts security 2×, Puts up security 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Do 2×, For 2×, He has pledged 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6148 across 22† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 20 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 H6148 across 22† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 18 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 H6148 across 22† 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.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6148 across 29† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 19 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
8 senses and sub-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. This entry also uses Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal).
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 8 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.
ערב I take on pledge, give in pledge, exchange (NH go surety for (rare)
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. ע׳ Gn 44:32 + 4 times; 2 ms. עָרַבְתָּ Pr 6:1; Impf. 1 s. sf. אֶעֶרְבֶנּוּ Gn 43:9; Imv. עֲרֹב ψ 119:122, sf. עָרְבֵנִי Is 38:14, so Jb 17:3 (but v. infr.); Inf. cstr. לַעֲרֹב Ez 27:9; Pt. עֹרֵב Pr 17:18, etc.;— e.g. Genesis 44:32
- 1. c. acc. pers. take on pledge, i.e. go surety for the safety of, Gn 43:9 (J), 44:32 (J; + מֵעִם pers.); for the debts of Pr 11:15; 20:16; 27:13; of God Is 38;14 go surety for me, ψ 119:122, so Jb 17:3 (si vera l., v. עֵרָבוֹן); acc. pers. om., ע׳ לֵ Pr 6:1 go surety to one (in behalf of another, ‖ תָּקַּע לַזָּר כַּפֶּ֑יךָ); c. acc. rei Pr 22:26 (‖ תֹּקְעֵי־כָ֑ף. e.g. Genesis 43:9
- 2. give in pledge, c. acc. rei Ne 5:3 (i.e. mortgage), fig. ע׳ אֶת־לִבּוֹ Je 30:21 so ע׳ עֲרֻבָּה לִפְנֵי רֵעֵהוּ Pr 17:18 (‖ תֹּקֵעַ כָּ֑ף). e.g. Nehemiah 5:3
- 3. exchange (in trade), c. acc. cogn. מַעֲרָבֵךְ Ez 27:9, 27. e.g. Ezekiel 27:9
Hithpael
- 1. recipr.: Imv. הִתְעָ֫רֶב נָא אֶת־אֲדֹנִי 2 K 18:23 exchange pledges (make a bargain) with my lord = Is 36:8. e.g. 2 Kings 18:23
- 2.
- a. have fellowship with, בְּ pers., Pf. 3 pl. הִתְעָֽרְבוּ Ezr 9:2; Impf. 3 mpl. וַיִּתְעָֽרְבוּ ψ 106:35; 2 ms. תִּתְעָרָ֑ב c. לְ pers. Pr 20:19, c. עִם pers. 24:21. e.g. Ezra 9:2
- b. share in, בְּ rei, 3 ms. יִתְעָרַב Pr 14:10 in his joy no other shares. e.g. Proverbs 14:10
ערב II be sweet, pleasing (NH id. (rare)
Qal
- Pf. 3 fs. עָֽרְבָה Je 31:26 my sleep was sweet to me (לִי), וְע׳ שְׁנָתֶ֑ךָ consec. Pr 3:24; of offering לֹא ע׳ לי׳ Mal 3:4; 2 fs. עָרַבְתְּ Ez 16:37 c. עַל pers., to whom thou wast pleasing; 3 pl. לֹא עָֽרְבוּ לִי Je 6:20 (of sacrif.); Impf. 3 ms. יֶעֱרַב עָלָיו שִׂיחִי ψ 104:34 let my meditation be pleasing unto him! 3 fs. תֶּעֱרַב לְ Pr 13:19 (of realized wish); 3 mpl. לֹא יֶעֶרְבוּ לוֹ Ho 9:4 (of sacrifice; but Kue Che We GASm Now read יַעַרְכוּ). e.g. Jeremiah 31:26
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. take on pledge, give in pledge, exchange (NH go surety for (rare); Ph. ערב surety; Old Aramaic ערבא pledge; 𝔗 עֲרַב, Syriac ܥܪܰܒ, go surety for; usually identified with I. ערב—mix, exchange, pledge—but quite uncertain; cf. BuhlLex LagBN 203);—
II. vb. be sweet, pleasing (NH id. (rare); Hiph. Impf. יעריבו Ecclus 40:21; 𝔗 עָרִיב adj. pleasant, sweet);—
— 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.
עָרַב I
- [to insert, press into, interweave,]
- 1. to mix, confuse. Yalk. Deut. 808 עָרְבוּ את העיסה (or עֵרְבוּ Pi.; not ערכו), v. עִיסָה.
- 2. [to substitute, put in place of,] to vouch for. Cant. R. to I, 4 אבותינו עוֹרְבִים אותנו let our ancestors be our surety (for our observance of the Law); Yalk. Cant. 982. Deut. R. s. 3 מבקשים אתם שנַעֲרוֹב אתכס וכ׳ do you want us to guarantee to you that, if you separate your tithes properly, the mice will not attack your grain any more? Ib. ע׳ אותן והלכו he did guarantee to them, and the mice went &c. Tanḥ. Vayigg. 5 מפני מה לא עָרַבְתָּ את וכ׳ why didst thou not pledge thyself for thy brother &c?; a. fr.
- 1. to mix. Gitt. 52ᵇ שמואל אמר מְעָרֵב Samuel explains (המנסך ib. V, 4, v. נָסַךְ), he who mixes forbidden wine with his neighbor’s permitted wine. Koh. R. to IX, 13, a. e. המערב מים ביין וכ׳ who puts water into wine &c., v. גְּלַבְקְיָא. M. Kat. 8ᵇ אין מְעָרְבִין שמחה בשמחה you must not mix one rejoicing with another (e.g. celebrate a wedding during the Festive Week); Gen. R. s. 70. Y. Ber. II, 4ᵈ top; Y. Meg. I, 71ᶜ עי׳ את האותיות if one made the letters of a word of uneven sizes (so that they are not in a line). Gen. R. s. 15 שלא לעָרֵב את האותיות he said המוציא in order not to confound the letters (by saying העולם מוציא); Y. Ber. VI, 10ᵃ bot. ראשי אותיות; a. fr.—Part. pass. מְעוּרָב; f. מְעוּרֶבֶת; pl. מְעוּרָבִים, מְעוּרָבִין; מְעוּרָבוֹת. Yalk. Deut. 808 וראה הפת מע׳ קיבר and saw that the bread was mixed with coarse flour. Erub. 27ᵃ כשקרבי דגים מע׳ בהן when entrails of fish are mixed up with the brine; a. e.—Lev. R. s. 20 (in Chald. dict.) מעורב, v. עַרְבֵּב.
- 2. (denom. of עֵירוּב 2) to lay an ʿErub, to create a symbolical community of residence or continuity of action. Erub. III, 1 מערבין לנזיר ביין you may use wine for an ʿErub for the benefit of a Nazarite. Ib. 84ᵇ; 87ᵇ עד שיְעָרְבוּ until they connect them symbolically by an ʿErub; a. v. fr.—Part. pass. as ab. Sabb. XVI, 3 חצר המע׳ a court which has been made available for Sabbath movements by means of an ʿErub; a. e.
- 3. to pledge. Part. pass. as ab. Esth. R. to I, 1 (ref. to בני התערבות, II Chr. XXV, 24) שהיו מְעוּרָבוֹתֵיהֶן של אבותיהן they were the hostages for their fathers. e.g. 2 Chronicles 25:24
- to be mixed. Ḥull. VI, 5 דם שנ׳ במים if blood (which requires covering up, v. כִּיסּוּי) has been mixed with water. Tosef. Ter. V, 15 פרוסות … שנִתְעָרְבוּ וכ׳ if pieces of show-bread have become mixed up with a hundred times as many pieces of secular bread; Yeb. 81ᵇ פרוסה … שנִתְעָרְבָה וכ׳; Y. Orl. II, 61ᵈ bot. Cant. R. to I, 3 מה השמן הזה אין מִתְעָרֵב … אין מִתְעָרְבִים וכ׳ as oil cannot be mixed with other liquids, so Israel should not be mixed with the nations of the world; a. fr.
עֲרַב
- 1. to vouch for, be surety for. Targ. Prov. VI, 1. Targ. Job XVII, 3; a. e.—Y. Dem. I, 22ᵃ top אמרו ליה עוֹרְבָן ועַרְבוֹן וכ׳ they said to him, pledge thyself to us (that the mice will not attack our produces, if we separate the tithes properly, v. preced.), and he did pledge himself to them, and they suffered no longer (v. נְכֵי). Y. Kil. IX, 32ᶜ bot ריגלוי … עַרְבוּנֵיה למיקמתיה וכ׳ (not ערבתיה) man’s feet are pledged to place him where he is wanted (to die); Succ. 53ᵃ רגלוהי … אינון עַרְבִין ביה וכ׳. Bekh. 48ᵇ מכדי נכסוהי … ערבין ביה is a man’s property pledged for his personal debts (that you can seize it, even if it is sold)?; B. Bath. 174ᵃ ניכסי … ערבין ביה Ms. M. (ed. מערבין יתיה) a man’s property is pledged for him (you can attach it without previous summons); a. e.
- 2. to mix, v. infra, a. עָרִיב.
- 3. to combine. B. Kam. 65ᵇ עַרְבֵיה, v. פְּסַק Af
- 1. to mix; to mix up, confound. Targ. O. Gen. XXX, 40 (Bxt. עֲ׳ Pe.; Y. עַרְבֵּיב׳). Targ. Y. I Deut. VII, 23 (ed. Vien. וִיעַרְבִּ׳ Pe.; Y. II ויערבב׳); a. e.—Ḥull. 6ᵃ כמאן דע׳ בידים דמי it is as if he had mixed it (added leaven and spices) with his own hands. Ab. Zar. 39ᵇ דילמא מייתי ומְעָרֵב ביה lest he bring (unclean milk) and mix it with the clean milk; a. e.—Part. pass. מְעָרַב, מְעַרַב; pl. מְעַרְבִין, מְעַרְבֵי. Targ. Y. Lev. XVI, 18 (not מְעַרְבּ׳, מֵ׳). Targ. Ex. XXX, 35 (ed. Vien. מַעֲרַב Af.) well-mixed, seasoned (h. text מְמֻלָּח). Targ. Is. I, 22 (ed. Wil. מַעֲרָב Af.); a. e.—Sabb. 85ᵇ והא קא מערבי להדי הדדי Ms. M. (ed. מִיתְעָרְבֵי בהדדי, Ithpa.) but will not the leaves of the seeds grow into each other?
- 2. to lay an ʿErub (v. preced. Pi. 2). Targ. Y. Ex. XVI, 5 וִיעָ׳ (ed. Vien. ויעַ׳, corr. acc.).—Y. Bets. I, 61ᵇ top אנשינן מְעָרְבָה we forgot to make ʿErub Tabshilin (v. עֵירוּב); a. e.
- 3. to vouch, be surety. Part. pass. as ab. Targ. O. Gen. XLIV, 32 מְעָרַב (not מְעָרֵב).
- 1. to be mixed. Targ. Josh. XXIII, 7. Targ. Y. II, Deut. VII, 3 (h. text תתחתן); a. e.—Sabb. l. c., v. supra.—Ab. Zar. l. c. אי משום אִיעֲרוּבֵי shall we apprehend an admixture (of wine in the honey)? Zeb. 76ᵃ סוף סוף איערובי מִיעֲרַב at the end it is mixed up. Ib. דאיע׳ when it became mixed; ib. 75ᵇ דאִיעֲרוּב Ms. M. (ed. דאיעבד) when things have become mixed; a. e.—[Ab. Zar. l. c. ולא מיערב, read מְעָרֵב.]
עָרַב II
- v. preced.; cmp. Assyr. ʿerêbu to go in, Del. Assyr. Handw., p. 126) to go in, (cmp. בּוֹא) to set.—Denom. עֶרֶב.
- 1. same. Neg. XIV, 3 ה׳ שמשו when his (the leper’s seventh day’s) sun has set; Yeb. 74ᵇ; Pes. 35ᵃ; a. e.—V. הַעֲרֵב.
- 2. (denom. of עֶרֶב) to be late, to do late in the day. Lev. R. s. 19, beg. (play on שחרות כעורב, Cant. V, 11) מי שמשחיר ומַעֲרִיב בהן who works at them (studies the words of the Law) early and late; ע"י שהשחיר והע׳ בתורה because he was engaged in the Law early and late; Cant. R. to l. c.; Midr. Sam. ch. V; a. e.—V. הַעֲרָבָה. e.g. Song of Solomon 5:11
- 3. to cause the evening to come. Ber. 12ᵃ, a. e. מַעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים (‘blessed be thou, O Lord,) who causest the evenings to advance’, name of one of the benedictions preceding the recitation of the evening Sh’mʿa.
עֲרַב ²
- Ithpe. אִיעְרַב to set. Ber. 2ᵇ אי׳ שמשא וכ׳ when the sun is set, the day is gone (v. דְּכִי). Ib. וכי תימא מכי אי׳ שמשא וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. עַרְבָא שמשא) and if you say, when the sun sets, we call it night &c.; Meg. 20ᵇ מכי ערבא וכ׳ (missing in Ms. M.).
עָרֵב I
- [to be well-mixed, seasoned, cmp. esp. Targ. Ex. XXX, 35,] to be sweet, pleasant. Lam. R. to I, 9 יֶעֱרַב לך, v. בָּסֵם. Deut. R. s. 8 יערב עליכם much good may it do you; a. fr.
- to sweeten; to gladden, humor. Sifré Deut. 306 מְעָרְבִים וכ׳, v. עָדַן.—Part. pass. מְעוּ֫רָב; f. מְעוּרֶבֶת. Keth. 17ᵃ לעולם תהא דעתו של אדם מע׳ עם הבריות at all times man’s disposition should be sweet in associating with men, i.e. sympathize with their feelings; Treat. Der. Er. ch. VI.
- to cause to be sweet, pleasing. Ber. 11ᵇ הַעֲרֶב נא וכ׳ let, I pray thee, the words of thy Law be sweet in our mouths &c.
עָרִב II
- preced.) spiced, sweet; pleasing. Dem. I, 3 שמן ע׳ spiced (perfumed) oil; Tosef. Shebi. VI, 8. Cant. R. to IV, 4 שקולו ע׳ because his voice is sweet; a. fr.—Pl. עֲרֵבִים, עֲרֵבִין, עֲרֵי׳. Gen. R. s. 50 בשעה … ע׳ להם היו אומרים לו גש הלאה וכ׳ when he spoke to them words that pleased them, they said, come near &c. Ab. Zar. 35ᵃ (ref. to Cant. I, 2) ע׳ עלי דברי דודיך וכ׳ the words of thy friends (the scholars) are sweeter to me than the wine of the Law; a. fr.—Fem. עֲרֵבָה, עֲרֵי׳. Cant. R. to I, 2 [read:] מה מים … אינן ערבין בגופי כך תורה … אינה ע׳ בגופו as water does not taste well, if one is not thirsty, so it is with the Law, unless a man wearies himself in studying it, he does not get the taste of it; a. fr.—Pl. עֲרֵבוֹת, עֲרֵי׳. Ib. to V, 11 (play on כעֹרֵב, ib.) ע׳ הן עלי they are pleasing to me. e.g. Song of Solomon 1:2
עָרֵּב
- ch., v. עָרִיב
עָרֵב III
- (עָרַב I, 2) bondsman, surety. Cant. R. to I, 4 הבא לי ע׳ וכ׳ bring me one to go security, and I shall lend thee. Ib. כשאין … הלא הע׳ if he has nothing to pay with, who is seized but the surety? Midr. Till. to Ps. VIII (ref. to Prov. VI, 1) בשעה שהזקן … עד שלא נתמנית לא היית ע׳ על וכ׳ when a man is appointed an elder, the Lord says to him, before thou wast appointed, thou wast not responsible for the community, now that thou hast been appointed &c. B. Bath. X, 7 המלוה … על ידי ע׳ לא יפרע מן הע׳ he who loans money to his neighbor through a surety, cannot collect from the surety (before having sued the debtor). Ib. 8 איזהו ע׳ שהוא חייב וכ׳ what guarantor is responsible? He who says, ‘lend him, and I shall pay thee’ (i.e. who guaranteed before the loan was consummated); a. fr.—Pl. עֲרֵבִים, עֲרֵבִין, עֲרֵי׳. Cant. R. l. c. בשעה שעמדו … הביאו לי ע׳ טובים וכ׳ when the Israelites were standing before mount Sinai to receive the Law, the Lord said … bring me good sureties (to vouch for you) that you will guard it; ib. אבותיכם צריכין ע׳ your ancestors need sureties themselves; ib. הא ודאי ע׳ וכ׳ these (your children) are certainly good sureties, and on their account I will give you the Law; Midr. Till. l. c. Ib. ע׳ אתם על אבותיכם שאם וכ׳ will you vouch for your fathers, so that you be seized, if they do not observe the Law? Ib. שהיו ע׳ זה לזה they made themselves responsible for one another. Snh. 27ᵇ bot. (ref. to Lev. XXVI, 37) מלמד שכל ישראל ע׳ זה בזה Ms. M. (ed. שכולן) this intimates that all Israelites are responsible for one another (bound to prevent wrongdoing); Shebu. 39ᵃ bot.; a. fr. e.g. Proverbs 6:1
עֹרֵב
- , v. עוֹרֵב
עֶרֶב
- 1. sunset, evening. Ber. I, 3, sq. בָּעֶ׳ in the evening (at prayer); a. v. fr.—Trnsf. decline. Gen. R. s. 50 בָּעֶרֶב בָּא עַרְבָהּ של סדום baʿereb (Gen. XIX, 1), the evening of Sodom has come. Esth. R. introd. מי יתן ערבה, v. בֹּקֶר; a. fr. e.g. Genesis 19:1
- 2. entrance, the day preceding a certain day, the year preceding a certain period, eve. Sabb. II, 7 ע׳ שבת (abbrev. ע"ש) on Friday. Pes. 99ᵇ ע׳ הפסח the eve of the Passover. Taan. IV, 7 ע׳ תשעה באב the day preceding the ninth of Ab. Shebi. I, 1 ע׳ שביעית the year preceding the Sabbatical year; a. v. fr.—Du. עַרְבַּיִם. Ber. 26ᵇ, a. fr. בין הע׳ the time between the beginning of the decline of the sun and sunset (v. מִנְחָה), afternoon.—Pl. עֲרָבִים, constr. עַרְבֵי. Ber. 12ᵃ, v. עָרַב II. [עֲרָבִין, v. עַרְבִית.]—Pes. X, 1 ערבי פסחים (Bab. ed. 99ᵇ ערב, Ms. M. ערבי). Ib. 99ᵇ ע׳ שבתות וימים טובים the eves of Sabbaths and Festivals; a. v. fr.
עֲרָב I
- (b. h.)
- 1. pr. n. m. ʿÃrab, son of Ishmael. Targ. Y. Gen. XXV, 13 (h. text קדר).
- 2. Arabia. Targ. Jer. XXV, 24.
עֲרָב II
- ʿÃrab, near Sepphoris in Upper Galilee (v. Neub. Géogr. p. 204). Sabb. XVI, 7. Y. ib. XVI, end, 15ᵈ שמונה … יתיב בהדא ע׳ וכ׳ (not יהיב) eighteen years he (R. Joh. ben Zaccai) dwelled in that place ʿĂrab, and only those two cases came before him. Y. Taan. IV, 67ᶜ bot. Tosef. B. Kam. VI, 22; Y. ib. VI, 5ᶜ
עֵרֶב
- 1. woof, opp. שתי warp. Kel. I, 5 חוט ע׳ a thread of the woof (thicker than that of the warp). Nidd. 25ᵇ כשל ע׳ as thick as a thread of the woof; a. fr.—Trnsf. the latitudinal direction, opp. to שתי longitudinal direction. Sabb. 85ᵇ אם היו זרועין שתי זורען ע׳ if the beds (in a square) were planted lengthwise, he must plant (on the interspaces) crosswise. Ḥull. 109ᵇ קורעו שתי וע׳ he tears it (the udder) lengthwise and crosswise. Y. Ter. III, 42ᵃ bot. משהילכו בהן שתי וע׳ as soon as they trod on them (the grapes) once lengthwise and crosswise; a. fr.—[In later Hebrew שתי וע׳ cross, emblem of Christianity.]
- 2. mixture; ע׳ רב (= ערברב) mixed multitude. Tanḥ. Ki Thissa 30. Bets. 32ᵇ הני מע׳ רב וכ׳ they are descendants of the mixed multitude (that came from Egypt); a. e., v. עֵירַבְרְבִין.
עָרוֹב
- various kinds of wild beasts. Ex. R. s. 11 (interch. with חיות מעורבבות); Tanḥ. Vaëra 14; a. e.—[LXX עָרֹב gadfly.]—V. עִרְבּוּב ch.
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 20 distinct written forms H6148 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.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6148, 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
- מערב maʻărâb H4627 merchandise
- ערב ʻârab H6150 to become evening
- ערב ʻărab H6151 to mix
- ערב ʻêreb H6154 mixture
- ערב ʻârâb H6155 poplar
- ערב ʻârôb H6157 swarm
- ערבון ʻărâbôwn H6162 security
- תערבה taʻărubâh H8594 pledge
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 21 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 23 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 43:9
- 2 Kings 18:23
- Ezra 9:2
- Job 17:3
- Psalms 106:35
- Proverbs 6:1
- Isaiah 36:8
- Jeremiah 30:21
- Ezekiel 27:9
- Hosea 9:4
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.
