רָחָב
Rahab
BDB lists 2 entries for ‘Rahab’ fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H7343 appears — 5 distinct verses across 1 book. 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.
Joshua 5 verses
- Joshua 2:1 רָחָ֖ב n Proper Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and Jericho. They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and lay there.
- Joshua 2:3 רָחָ֖ב n Proper The king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men who are come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to search out all the land.
- Joshua 6:17 רָחָ֨ב n Proper The city shall be devoted, even it and all that is therein, to Yahweh: only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
- Joshua 6:23 רָ֠חָב n Proper The young men the spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had; all her relatives also they brought out; and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.
- Joshua 6:25 רָחָ֣ב n Proper But Rahab the prostitute, and her father's household, and all that she had, did Joshua save alive; and she lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
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.
“Rahab” is the headline sense of the Hebrew name רחב (Râchâb). It is rare — just 5 verses in the entire Hebrew Bible. More than three-quarters of its appearances fall in Joshua. Its earliest occurrence is Joshua 2:1. See 5-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7343 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 →
- 5
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 5 distinct verses.
- 1 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 1 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #3,337
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 3,337 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 5 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Joshua 5 verses 100%
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 5 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 5 verses · 100%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Rahab 4×
- American Standard Version†: Rahab 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Rahab 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Rahab 4×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7343 across 5† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H7343 across 5† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 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 H7343 across 5† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7343 across 5† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears 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 0 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.
רחב I wide, broad
רחב II f. harlot in Jericho
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. adj. wide, broad;—abs. ר׳ Jb 30:14; cstr. רְחַב Pr 21:4 +; fs. רְחָבָה Ex 3:8 +; cstr. רַחֲבַת Gn 34:21 +; mpl. cstr. רַחֲבֵי Is 33:21;—wide, broad, spacious, of land Ex 3:8 (J), Ne 9:35, רַחֲבַת יָדַיִם, etc., Gn 34:21 + 6 times, v. יָד 3 d; ר׳ מִנִּי־יָם Jb 11:9 (of greatness of God, ‖ אֲרֻכָּה מֵאֶרֶץ); בָּֽרְחָבָה as subst. ψ 119:45 in a wide, roomy, space (fig.); פֶּרֶץ ר׳ Jb 30:14 (sim.); of cup Ez 23:32 (in fig.; + הָעֲמֻקָּה); of wall (= thick) Je 51:58; specif., in Jerusalem (as n.pr.) הַחוֹמָה הָֽר׳ Ne 3:8; 12:38; fig. extensive, of work, undertaking, מְלָאכָה, Ne 4:13 (+ הַרְבֵּה); of י׳’s commandment ψ 119:96 (i.e. unlimited, measureless); רְחַב לֵבָב 101:5 i.e. exultant, arrogant (‖ גְּבַהּ־עֵינַיִם), so ר׳ לֵב Pr 21:4 (‖ רוּם־ע׳); רְחַב נֶפֶשׁ Pr 28:25 i.e. greedy (cf. רחב אולת Ecclus 47:23c, in play on רְחַבְעָם).
II. n.pr.f. harlot in Jericho;—Jos 2:1, 3; 6:17, 23, 25 (all JE); Ρααβ (so Heb 3:11; Jas 2:25, but Mt 1:5 Ραχαβ).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from רחב (râchâb) (H7342) — wide.
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.
רָחָב I
- (b. h.) pr. n. f. Rahab, a woman of Jericho who received the Israelitish spies. Zeb. 116ᵃ, sq. Sot. 34ᵃ. Meg. 15ᵃ; Taan. 5ᵇ; a. fr.
רָחַב
- (b. h.) to be wide.
- 1. (neut. verb) (neut. verb) to widen, be broader; to extend. Lev. R. s. 31 היו מקטינות … ומַרְחִיבוֹת וכ׳ (the windows of the Temple) became narrow towards the inside and wider towards the outside, in order to send light forth to the world; Pesik. Ḳumi, p. 145ᵃ, sq. Sifré Deut. s. 1; Yalk. Zech. 575 מַרְחֶבֶת, v. infra. Yalk. Is. 302, v. פָּתָה.
- 2. to broaden, widen; (with דעת) to comfort, gratify. Ber. 57ᵇ שלשה מַרְחִיבִין דעתו וכ׳ three things give a man comfort: a nice dwelling &c.
- 3. to amplify. B. Bath. 61ᵇ, v. מֵצַר.
- to be enlarged, extend. Cant. R. to VII, 5 עתידה … מִתְרַחֶבֶת וכ׳ Jerusalem will be enlarged on all sides; Sifré l. c.; Yalk. Zech. l. c. מרחבת.
רָחָב II
- preced.) wide, broad. Midd. IV, 7 מה ארי צר … ור׳ מלפניו וכ׳ (not ורוחב) as the lion’s body is narrow behind and wide in front, so was the Temple &c.; a. fr.—נפש ר׳ (wide desire,) ambition, greed, opp. שפלה. Ab. V, 19; a. e.—יד ר׳, v. יָד.—Pl. רְחָבִים, רְחָבִין; רְחָבוֹת. Tanḥ. B’haʿăl. 5 שהיו ר׳ מבחוץ וכ׳ they (the Temple windows) were wide without &c., v. preced.; Tanḥ. T’tsav. 6; Num. R. s. 15, beg. Y. Sot. IX, 24ᵃ bot., v. צַר; a. fr.
רְחַב
- , esp. (with or sub. נפשא) ambitious, greedy. Targ. Prov. XXVIII, 25 גברא ר׳ (Bxt. ר׳ נפשא; Ms. רעיינא, read: רחב עיינא or רחב רעיינא).
רֹחַב
- preced. wds.) width. Midd. II, 6 אורך … על ר׳ וכ׳ one hundred and twenty-five cubits in length by eleven in width. Ib. IV, 1 ורָחְבּוֹ וכ׳ and its width was ten cubits. Tam. 29ᵇ; Shek. VIII, 5 ורָחְבָּהּ; a. fr.—Sifré Deut. 120 בר׳ יד with liberality.
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 4 distinct written forms H7343 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| רָחָ֖ב | Noun, Proper | Joshua 2:1 | 2 |
| רָ֠חָב | Noun, Proper | Joshua 6:23 | 1 |
| רָחָ֣ב | Noun, Proper | Joshua 6:25 | 1 |
| רָחָ֨ב | Noun, Proper | Joshua 6:17 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7343, 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
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Rahab). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
Insolence; pride, a poetical name applied to Egypt in Ps. 87:4; 89:10; Isa. 51:9, as "the proud one."
Rahab, (Heb. Rahab; i.e., "broad," "large"). When the Hebrews were encamped at Shittim, in the "Arabah" or Jordan valley opposite Jericho, ready to cross the river, Joshua, as a final preparation, sent out two spies to "spy the land." After five days they returned, having swum across the river, which at this season, the month Abib, overflowed its banks from the melting of the snow on Lebanon. The spies reported how it had fared with them (Josh. 2:1-7). They had been exposed to danger in Jericho, and had been saved by the fidelity of Rahab the harlot, to whose house they had gone for protection. When the city of Jericho fell (6:17-25), Rahab and her whole family were preserved according to the promise of the spies, and were incorporated among the Jewish people. She afterwards became the wife of Salmon, a prince of the tribe of Judah (Ruth 4:21; 1 Chr. 2:11; Matt. 1:5). "Rahab's being asked to bring out the spies to the soldiers (Josh. 2:3) sent for them, is in strict keeping with Eastern manners, which would not permit any man to enter a woman's house without her permission. The fact of her covering the spies with bundles of flax which lay on her house-roof (2:6) is an undesigned coincidence' which strictly corroborates the narrative. It was the time of the barley harvest, and flax and barley are ripe at the same time in the Jordan valley, so that the bundles of flax stalks might have been expected to be drying just then" (Geikie's Hours, etc., ii., 390).
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
a poetical name of Egypt, (Psalms 89:10; Isaiah 51:9) signifying "fierceness, insolence, pride." Rahab, as a name of Egypt, occurs once only without reference to the exodus: this is in (Psalms 87:4) In (Isaiah 30:7) the name is alluded to.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary · Roswell D. Hitchcock, 1869
proud; quarrelsome (applied to Egypt)
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 5 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 5 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.
