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אֶ֫רֶז

cedar

‘cedar’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓

H730 Strong's Hebrew
ʼerez Transliteration
/eh-rez'/ Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible 73 appearances

Compare with another word →

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.

“cedar” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun ארז (ʼerez). Its meaning spans more than one sense — see its full sense range. It appears 69 verses across 17 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its moderately common vocabulary. More than a quarter of its appearances fall in 1 Kings. First canonically at Leviticus 14:4, it enters the text early. See the sense tree, 69-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.

Gloss history

Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship

Strong's · 1890
cedar
Modern gloss
cedar
Strong's 1890 agrees
Strong's 1890 and current BDB scholarship align on this entry's primary sense — a good signal that the gloss above is unambiguous and stable. Download share card

About this word

Strong's H730 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 →

69
distinct verses
The word appears in 69 distinct verses.
17 / 39
OT books
The word appears in 17 of 39 Old Testament books.
Leviticus 14:4
first appearance
The earliest occurrence is in Leviticus 14:4.
Zechariah 11:2
last appearance
The latest occurrence is in Zechariah 11:2.
#542
by frequency
Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 542 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).

View all 69 occurrences in the concordance →


Most concentrated in

By section of the Old Testament

  • Pentateuch 7 · 10%
  • Historical 34 · 49%
  • Wisdom 9 · 13%
  • Prophets 19 · 28%

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 69 distinct verses.

  • Prophets (Nevi'im) 43 verses · 62%
  • Writings (Ketuvim) 19 verses · 28%
  • Torah (Pentateuch) 7 verses · 10%

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).

  • King James Version: Cedar 36×, Cedars 20×, Cedar trees 5×
  • American Standard Version: Cedar 39×, Cedars 15×, Cedar-trees 3×
  • Berean Standard Bible: Cedar 41×, Cedars 21×, Along with cedar 2×
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text: Cedar 37×, Cedars 23×, Cedars of 5×

King James Version Public Domain

Renders H730 across 73 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Cedar” 36×
  • “Cedars” 20×
  • “Cedar trees” 5×
  • “Like a cedar” 2×

Plus 10 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 H730 across 72 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Cedar” 39×
  • “Cedars” 15×
  • “Cedar-trees” 3×

Plus 15 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 H730 across 73 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Cedar” 41×
  • “Cedars” 21×
  • “Along with cedar” 2×
  • “Trimmed cedar” 2×

Plus 7 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 H730 across 74 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Cedar” 37×
  • “Cedars” 23×
  • “Cedars of” 5×
  • “Cedar tree” 2×

Plus 7 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 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.

  • 1. cedar-tree, (a) as growing Nu 24:6 ψ 148:9; Is 41:19; 44:14 cf. Ez 31:8; especially as growing on Lebanon 1 K 5:13; 2 K 14:9 = 2 Ch 25:18 (both in fable of Jehoash); often אַרְזֵי (הַ)לְּבָנוֹן Ju 9:15 Is 2:13; 14:8 ψ 29:5(×2) (fig.) 104:16, cf. 1 K 5:20 2 K 19:23 = Is 37:24; ψ 92:13; Ct 5:15; Ez 27:5 (sg. coll.) Zc 11:1, 2 (fig.); Ct 1:17; Ezr 3:7; Je 22:23 (fig.) Ez 17:3 (fig.); (b) especially in sim., of outward power, stateliness & majesty ψ 80:11 (א׳ אֵל) cf. Ez 31:3 (personif., but v. Co on text), Am 2:9; of individuals Je 22:7; ψ 92:13; Ez 17:22, 23; cf. other exx. of fig. use, supr.; sim. of straightness & strength Jb 40:17 (tail of hippopotamus). e.g. Numbers 24:6
  • 2. cedar-timber, cedar-wood for building, עֲצֵי אֲרָזִים 2 S 5:11; 1 K 5:22, 24; 6:10; 9:11; 1 Ch 14:1; 22:4(×2) 2 Ch 2:7; Ezr 3:7; without עֵץ 2 S 7:2, 7; 1 K 6:9, 15, 16, 18(×2), 20, 36; 7:2(×2), 3, 7, 11, 12; 10:27; 1 Ch 17:1, 6; 2 Ch 1:15; 2:2; 9:27 & Ct 8:9; Is 9:9; Je 22:14, 15 (cf. also Is 44:14; 1 K 5:20; Ez 27:5 supr.) e.g. 2 Samuel 5:11
  • 3. cedar-wood used in purifications, c. עֵץ Lv 14:4, 6, 49, 51, 52 Nu 19:6 (all P). e.g. Leviticus 14:4

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

n.m. Ez 17:23 cedar;—f. Ez 17:22 א׳ הָרָמָה, but del. הרמה 𝔊 Co;—(Arabic أَرْزٌ pine-tree, etc.; Ethiopic አርዝ Syriac ܐܰܪܙܳܐ )—א׳ abs. Lv 14:4 + 19 times, אָ֑רֶז Jb 40:17 + 6 times; pl. אֲרָזִים Is 9:9 + 35 times; cstr. אַרְזֵי Is 2:13 + 5 times; sf. אֲרָזֶיךָ Je 22:7; Zc 11:1; אֲרָזָיו Is 37:24 = 2 K 19:23;—

— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.

Derived from ארז (ʼâraz) (H729) — firm.

Part of speech: Noun Masculine TWOT: 160a


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.

*ארז

  • (√אר, v. ארר; cmp. חרז)
  • 1. to penetrate deeply, to take deep root.
  • 2. to be prickly, dry, hard. Sabb. 155ᵃ זירין דאַרְזֵי Zirin are called bundles of twigs which are hard. Ib. כיפין דא׳; [oth. opin., v. אַרְזָא]. Denom. אוּרְזָא, אָרוּזָא, a. next ws.

אֶרֶז

  • (b. h.) cedar. Tam. III, 5 של א׳ of cedar wood.—Pl. אֲרָזִים. R. Hash. 23ᵃ; Taan. 25ᵇ; a. e.—Metaph. prominent men, scholars. Sabb. 118ᵇ I planted חמשה א׳ five cedars (begot five sons who acquired renown). M. Kat. 25ᵇ, v. אֵזוֹב.

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 43 distinct written forms H730 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.

Form Parsing Example Uses
אֲרָזִ֔ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Chronicles 14:1 8
אֲרָזִֽים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Chronicles 17:6 5
אֶ֔רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 6:18 4
אֲרָזִ֑ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Kings 7:12 3
אֲרָזִ֖ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Chronicles 22:4 3
הָ/אֲרָזִ֗ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Kings 10:27 3
הָ/אֶ֛רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Ezekiel 17:22 3
אֲרָזִ֛ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Chronicles 22:4 2
אֲרָזִ֜ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Kings 5:6 2
אֲרָזָי/ו֙ Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct 2 Kings 19:23 2
אֶ֣רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Ezekiel 31:3 2
אַרְזֵ֣י Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Isaiah 2:13 2
אַרְזֵ֥י Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Judges 9:15 2
אָֽרֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 6:20 2
הָ/אֶ֜רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 2 Chronicles 25:18 2
אֲרָזִ֣ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Ezekiel 31:8 1
אֲרָזִ֤ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Ezra 3:7 1
אֲרָזִ֨ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Kings 9:11 1
אֲרָזִים֙ Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Amos 2:9 1
אֲרָזֶ֔י/ךָ Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Jeremiah 22:7 1
אֶ֛רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Numbers 19:6 1
אֶ֤רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Ezekiel 27:5 1
אַֽרְזֵ֥י Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Psalms 104:16 1
אַֽרְזֵי Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Psalms 80:10 1
אָ֑רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 40:17 1
בָ/אָ֑רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Jeremiah 22:15 1
בַּ/אֲרָזֶֽי/ךָ Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Zechariah 11:1 1
בָּ/אֲרָזִֽים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Kings 6:9 1
בָּ/אֶ֔רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 7:7 1
בָּ/אֶ֗רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 7:3 1
בָּ/אָ֔רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Jeremiah 22:14 1
בָּֽ/אֲרָזִ֑ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Jeremiah 22:23 1
הָ/אֶ֨רֶז֙ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 4:33 1
הָ/אָֽרֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Ezekiel 17:3 1
הָ֠/אֶרֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Leviticus 14:51 1
הָֽ/אֲרָזִ֔ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 1 Chronicles 17:1 1
וְ/אֶ֤רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 6:18 1
וַ/אֲרָזִ֖ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Isaiah 9:10 1
וָ/אָֽרֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 1 Kings 7:11 1
כְּ/אֶ֖רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Psalms 92:12 1
כַּ/אֲרָזִ֖ים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Numbers 24:6 1
כָּ/אֲרָזִֽים Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Song of Solomon 5:15 1
לְ/אֶ֣רֶז Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Ezekiel 17:23 1

Same root — word family

Other BDB entries built from the same root as H730, 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

Derived from this word

Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.


Septuagint verse parallels

This word appears in 64 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 69 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.

Read these verses in the Septuagint

This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.

Reading settings

Reading text

Shown beneath each verse's original-language words.

Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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