רָעָה
to shepherd
‘to shepherd’ is one of 3 main senses 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
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- 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).
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘trans.’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem. Here: ‘be a special friend’
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself).
Form
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H7462 appears in the Book of Jeremiah — 22 distinct verses. 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.
Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 2:8 וְ/הָ/רֹעִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp The priests didn't say, Where is Yahweh? and those who handle the law didn't know me: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
- Jeremiah 2:16 יִרְע֖וּ/ךְ Qal impf 3mp + sfx pers 2fs The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
- Jeremiah 3:15 רֹעִ֖ים וְ/רָע֥וּ Qal ptcp.act mp conj + Qal wpf 3cp and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
- Jeremiah 6:3 רֹעִ֖ים רָע֖וּ Qal ptcp.act mp Qal pf 3cp Shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed everyone in his place.
- Jeremiah 10:21 הָֽ/רֹעִ֔ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of Yahweh: therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.
- Jeremiah 12:10 רֹעִ֤ים Qal ptcp.act mp Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
- Jeremiah 17:16 מֵ/רֹעֶ֣ה prep + Qal ptcp.act ms As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you; neither have I desired the woeful day; you know: that which came out of my lips was before your face.
- Jeremiah 22:22 רֹעַ֨יִ/ךְ֙ תִּרְעֶה Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 2fs Qal impf 3fs The wind shall feed all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shall you be ashamed and confounded for all your wickedness.
- Jeremiah 23:1 רֹעִ֗ים Qal ptcp.act mp Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:2 הָ/רֹעִים֮ הָ/רֹעִ֣ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:4 רֹעִ֖ים וְ/רָע֑וּ/ם Qal ptcp.act mp conj + Qal wpf 3cp + sfx pers 3mp I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 25:34 הָ/רֹעִ֜ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow [in ashes], you principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and you shall fall like a goodly vessel.
- Jeremiah 25:35 הָֽ/רֹעִ֑ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp The shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
- Jeremiah 25:36 הָֽ/רֹעִ֔ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Yahweh lays waste their pasture.
- Jeremiah 31:10 כְּ/רֹעֶ֥ה prep + Qal ptcp.act ms Hear the word of Yahweh, you nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd does his flock.
- Jeremiah 33:12 רֹעִ֔ים Qal ptcp.act mp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all the cities of it, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
- Jeremiah 43:12 הָֽ/רֹעֶה֙ ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act ms I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he shall go forth from there in peace.
- Jeremiah 49:19 רֹעֶ֔ה Qal ptcp.act ms Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who will stand before me?
- Jeremiah 50:6 רֹעֵי/הֶ֣ם Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 3mp My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting-place.
- Jeremiah 50:19 וְ/רָעָ֥ה conj + Qal wpf 3ms I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
- Jeremiah 50:44 רֹעֶ֔ה Qal ptcp.act ms Behold, [the enemy] shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
- Jeremiah 51:23 רֹעֶ֣ה Qal ptcp.act ms and with you will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke [of oxen]; and with you will I break in pieces governors and deputies.
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.
רעה (râʻâh) is a Hebrew verb most often rendered “to shepherd.” As a verb its force shifts by stem, across 5 stems (Qal, Niphal, and more). It turns up in 139 verses across 25 books, a common footprint. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 4:2. It clusters with מרע, מרעה and מרעית under a shared root. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7462 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 →
- 139
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 139 distinct verses.
- 25 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 25 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #279
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 279 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 139 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 139 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 88 verses · 63%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 28 verses · 20%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 23 verses · 17%
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 4 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†: Feed 26×, Shepherds 17×, Shepherd 12×
- American Standard Version†: Shepherds 21×, Feed 16×, Shepherd 10×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Shepherds 32×, Shepherd 31×, Herdsmen 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Shepherds 33×, Shepherd 22×, Will graze 6×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7462 across 172† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 68 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 H7462 across 171† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 66 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 H7462 across 170† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 52 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 5 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7462 across 166† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 61 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
19 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 19 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.
רעה I pasture, tend, graze (Assyrian rêʾû vb. pasture, n. ruler, TelAm. ruh̬i (as Canaanism) WklNo. 181, 11
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. consec. וְרָעָה Mi 5:3 +, 1 s. sf. consec. וּרְעִיתִים Ez 34:13, 3 pl. sf. consec. וְרָעוּם Je 23:4, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יִרְעֶה Is 27:10 +, juss. יֵרַע Jb 20:26, sf. יִעֶנָּה ψ 80:14, וַיִּרְעֵם ψ 78:72 (וַיִּר׳ Hiph. van d. H.), etc.; Imv. ms. רְעֵה Mi 7:14 +, sf. רְעֵם ψ 28:9; fs. רְעִי Ct 1:8; mpl. רְעוּ Gn 29:7; Inf. cstr. לִרְעוֹת 37:12 +, etc.; Pt. רֹעֶה 30:36 +, sf. רֹעִי ψ 23:1 +; fs. רֹעָה Gn 29:9 Pr 25:19, etc.;— e.g. Micah 5:3
- 1. trans.
- a. pasture, tend (pascere), lit., c. acc. צֹאן Gn 30:31, 36; 37:12 (all J), Ex 3:1 (E), 1 S 17:15; 25:16 Is 61:5, acc. of asses Gn 36:24 (P), kids Ct 1:8; acc. (צפּאן) om. Gn 29:7; 37:13 (ב loc.) v 16 (all J), Ct 1:7 (‖ חִרְבִּיץ), Jb 24:2 (𝔊 Me Siegf Bu וְרֹעוֹ);—metaph. גֹּרֶן וָיֶקֶב לֹא יִרְעֵם Ho 9:2, but read יֵדָעֵם 𝔊 We Now GASm; מָוֶת יִרְעֵם ψ 49:15. e.g. Genesis 30:31
- b. fig. of י׳, acc. pers., Gn 48:15 (E) God, who shepherded me; c. acc. of people, as flock Ho 4:16 Is 40:11 Mi 7:14 (בְּשִׁבְטֶ֑ן), Ez 34:13 (pregn., c. אֶל loc.), v 14, 15 (+ הִרְבִּיץ), v 16 ψ 28:9. e.g. Genesis 48:15
- c. fig. of ruler, and teacher, acc. of people, as flock, 2 S 5:2 = 1 Ch 11:2; 2 S 7:7 = 1 Ch 17:6, ψ 78:72 Je 3:15; 23:2, 4; Ez 34:2, 3, 8, 10, 23(×2); Zc 11:4, 7(×2), 9; of guiding, שִׂפְתֵי צַדִּיק יִרְעוּ רַבִּים Pr 10:21; c. ב of people ψ 78:71; abs. Mi 5:3; c. acc. pers. reflex. pastured (fed, enriched) themselves Ez 34:2, 8, 10 e.g. 2 Samuel 5:2
- d. especially pt. רֹעֶח, etc., as subst. = shepherd, herdsman: (1) lit., רֹעֵה צֹאן Gn 4:2; 46:32, 34; 47:3 (all J), רֹעֶח בַּצּ׳ 37:2 (E), 1 S 16:11; 17:34; רֹעֵי מִקְנֶה Gn 13:7(×2) (J); (ה)ר׳ alone, sg. Am 3:12 + 7 times (all in sim.); רֹעָה shepherdess, Gn 29:9 (J); כִּלִי רֹעֶה אֱוִילִי Zc 11:15 (v. כְּלִי 2 c), as symbol; pl. (הָ)רֹעִים Am 1:2; Ex 2:17, 19 (J), 1 S 21:8 (אַבִּיר הָר׳; Gr Dr Bu Kit Löhr א׳ הָרָצִים; 𝔊 LagBN 45 HPS אֹבִּיל הָעֲיָרִים, but cf. We) + 8 times + Is 31:4 (sim.), 38:12 (read רֹעִים for רֹעִי Perles29 Du CheHpt cf. Di), cf. (sf.) Gn 13:8(×2) (J); כְּלִי הָרֹעִים 1 S 17:40 (v. כְּלִי 3);—בֵּית־עֵקֶד הָרֹעִים, v. p. 112. (2) fig. of ruler (as often Assyrian; cf. Gk. (Homer) ποιμένα λαῶν), abs. sg. Je 17:16 fig. of prophet (but Aq Symm 𝔖 Gie Du Co מֵרָעָה). Zc 10:2; 11:16; 13:7b + 8 times Je Ez; sf. of י׳, דֹעִי Is 44:28 (of Cyrus), Zc 13:7a (read רֹעִי הָאֱוִילִי We Now GASm); abs. pl. Is 56:11; Je 2:8; 3:15; Mi 5:4 Zc 10:3; 11:5, 8 + 18 times Je Ez 34, + (of Assyrian leaders) Na 3:18; רֹעֵי יִשׂ׳ Ez 34:2; רֹעֵי צֹאנוֹ Is 63:11 (but read רֹעֵה [of Moses] 𝔊 𝔗 Di Du al.). (3) epith. of י׳: י׳ רֹעִי ψ 23:1, רֹעֵה יִשׂ׳ 80:2, רֹעֶה אֶבֶן יִשׂ׳, Gn 49:24 (poem in J; read cstr. רֹעֵה, cf. Comm.); מֵרֹעֶה אֶחָד Ec 12:11 DeWild, president of assembly of sages Siegf SS e.g. Genesis 4:2
- 2. intrans. feed, graze:
- a. lit. of cows, sheep, etc.: c. ב loc. Gn 41:2, 18 (E), 1 Ch 27:29; c. acc. of pasture Is 30:23; c. עַל loc. Zp 2:7 (עֲלֵי הַיָּם for MT עֲלֵיהֶם, v. Now); אֶל־מוּל loc. Ex 34:3 (J); abs. Is 5:17; 11:7 (‖ רבץ; but v. II. רעה infr.) 27:10 (‖ id.), 65:25 Jon 3:7; Jb 1:14. e.g. Genesis 41:2
- b. fig. of idolater, Is 44:20 he feedeth on ashes (acc.); cf. Ho 12:2 Ephr. feedeth on wind (acc.); פִּי כְסִילִים יִר׳ אִוֶּלֶת Pr 15:14 (so Vrss Qr; Kt פני for פי) the mouth of fools feeds on folly (Toy; Buhl √ II. רעה, Gerber 162 sub III. רעה); in Ct, c. ב loc., fig. of lover Ct 2:16; 6:2, 3; of breasts (like gazelles) 4:5. e.g. Isaiah 44:20
- c. fig., of Isr. as flock Is 14:30 (‖ רבץ), read (י—ַ)בְּכָרִי in my pasture(s), for MT בְּכוֹרֵי, Koppe Ew Di Du (otherwise CheHpt., cf. Marti); Zp 3:13 (‖ id.); c. עַל־דְּרָכִים Is 49:9; c. acc. of pasture-land Je 50:19; Mi 7:14; Ez 34:14b (+ אֶל loc.), v 18, 19; hence crop, strip, i.e. devastate, of conqueror, c. acc. of land Mi 5:5, cf. אֶת־יָדוֹ Je 6:3; so יִרְעוּךְ קָדְקֹד 2:16; acc. of Isr. under fig. of vine (subj. foes, as beasts) ψ 80:14. e.g. Isaiah 14:30
- d. subj. wind, c. acc. pers. Je 22:22, i.e. drive them away; subj. fire, c. acc. rei, יֵרַע Jb 20:26, but read perhaps יֵרָע, Niph. (Ol Di Hoffm Siegf Bu; otherwise Du).—רֹעֶה עֲקָרָה 24:21 is difficult; Bu הֵרַע for ר׳; more radical conj. in Du. e.g. Jeremiah 22:22
Niphal
- poss. Jb 20:26, v. 2 d supr. e.g. Job 20:26
Hiphil
- ψ 78:72 van d. H., v. 1 c supr. e.g. Psalms 78:72
רעה II ob. associate with (cf. Schulthess69 ff. but also NöZMG liv (1900), 154 f.
Qal
- Imv. ms. וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה ψ 37:3 cherish faithfulness (Hup-Now RV Che Du Dr); > feed securely (Bae; i. רעה; feed on (his) faithfulness Am RV); Pt. רֹעֶה כְסִילִים Pr 13:20 one associating with fools, so ר׳ זֹלְלִים 28:7, ר׳ זוֹנוֹת 29:3 (Thes al. think these fig. from I. רעה, v. 2 b). e.g. Psalms 37:3
Hithpael
- 2 ms. אַל־תִּתְרַע אֶת־בַּעַל אָ֑ף Pr 22:24 do not make companionship with a bad-tempered man; perhaps also 3 fpl. תִּתְרָעֶינָה Is 11:7 (LagOr i. 21; Deceased Wife’s Sister 399 Brd Du CheHpt) cow and bear shall be each other’s companions; + Inf. cstr. הִתְרָעֹת Pr 18:24 (Toy, for MT הִתְרֹעֵעַ) there are [יֵשׁ for אִישׁ] friends (merely) to be companions (v. II. רעע ad fin.). e.g. Proverbs 22:24
רעה III denom.
Piel
- be a special friend;—Pf. 3 ms. מֵרֵעֵהוּ אֲשֶׁר רֵעָה לוֹ Ju 14:20 his comrade who had been ‘best man’ (GFM) to him. e.g. Judges 14:20
רעה IV evil, misery, distress, injury
- 1. evil, misery, distress: פַּחַד רָעָה Pr 1:33, באה (ה)רעה Ez 7:5(×2); c. עַל Is 47:11 (read באה for בא), Je 5:12 + 5 times; c. אֶל Je 2:3; 51:60; †הביא רעה Je 4:6 1 K 21:29; + אֶל 2 S 17:14 + 8 times K Je; + עַל 1 K 9:9 = 2 Ch 7:22, Je 19:3 + 6 times Je + 8 times; + אֶל et על Je 19:15; 36:31; יוֹם רעה 17:17, 18 + 5 times; יְמֵי הרעה †Ec 12:1 (i.e., spring days, fatal to old people, Wetzst in De Koh. 447); רָעוֹת evils Dt 31:17(×2), 21 (JE), 32:23 (poem), ψ 34:20; 40:13; 88:4; עֵת רָעָה Am 5:13; Je 2:27, 28 + 5 times; †ראה ברעה Nu 11:15 (JE) Ob 13; Est 8:6; †ראה רעה Je 44:17 ψ 90:15; Pr 22:3 = 27:12; †יפול ברעה 17:20; 28:14; †בְּרָעָה Je 44:29 (J) Pr 14:32; 24:16; Ne 1:3; 1 Ch 7:23 ψ 107:26; ברעותיכם 141:5; נִחַם עַל רָעָה Ex 32:12, 14 (J) Je 8:6 + 6 times; c. אֶל 2 S 24:16; Je 26:3, 13, 19; 42:10. e.g. Proverbs 1:33
- 2. evil, injury, wrong: †עשׂה רעה 2 S 12:18; Je 26:19; 41:11; c. עִם Gn 26:29 (J) Ju 15:3; 2 S 13:16; c. את Ju 11:27; c. ל 1 S 6:9; 1 K 2:44 + 4 times; c. אֶל Je 44:7; obj. of vbs. חשׁב Gn 50:20 (E) Je 36:3; 48:2 + 7 times; †חרשׁ 1 S 23:9; Pr 3:29; הֵשִׁיב Gn 50:15 (E) Ju 9:56, 57 + 4 times; †גמל Gn 50:17 (E) 1 S 24:18 (17); Is 3:9; Pr 3:30; בקשׁ Nu 35:23 (P); 1 S 24:10 (9); 25:26 + 4 times; †שׁלּם Gn 44:4 (J); Je 18:20; 51:24 ψ 35:12; 38:21; לְרָעָה for harm Gn 31:52; Ex 23:2 (E); Dt 29:20; Ju 2:15; 2 S 18:32; Je 21:10 + 8 times Je, Am 9:4; Zc 1:15; Pr 6:18; Ec 5:12; בְּרָעָתֶ֑ךָ 2 S 16:8 in thy mischief; בְּרָעָה Ex 32:12 (J) for mischief; רָעָה רַבָּה Ec 2:21; רָעָה חוֹלָה Ec 5:12, 15. e.g. 2 Samuel 12:18
- 3. ethical evil, 1 S 12:17, 19; 24:12; 26:18; Is 47:10; Je 2:19 + 13 times Je, + 18 times, + foll.: עָשָׂה (הָ)רָעָה Gn 39:9; Dt 31:18 (J) + 5 times + Je 18:10 (Kt, but Qr רע); מַעֲשֵׂה רעה Ec 8:11; אהב רעה Mi 3:2 (Kt); שׁוּב מרעה Je 18:8; 23:14; 44:5; בִּעֵר רעה מ׳ Ju 20:13 (v ii. רַע 3); מִפְּנֵי רָעָה Je 7:12; 44:3; מפני רָעַת רעתכם Ho 10:15; בגלל ר׳ Je 11:17; על כל ר׳ 1:16; 32:32; 33:5; מֵר׳ ψ 107:34 Je 12:4; אַנְשֵׁי רָעָה Pr 24:1. e.g. 1 Samuel 12:17
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. pasture, tend, graze (Assyrian rêʾû vb. pasture, n. ruler, TelAm. ruh̬i (as Canaanism) WklNo. 181, 11; Arabic رَدَى, Ethiopic ርዕየ Aramaic רְעָא, ܪܥܳܐ, all = BH);—
II. vb. prob. associate with (cf. Schulthess69 ff. but also NöZMG liv (1900), 154 f.; Assyrian ruʾa, ruttu, neighbour, fellow (m. et f.; cf. JägerBAS i.483, 486); so Bed. أُرْعُوَّةٌ master, owner, WallinZMG v (1851), 9 JayakarJA xxi. 851; Ethiopic መርዓ: marriage; Arabic رَاعِى, راعيها, Ethiopic አርዑት: yoke; NH רֵעוּת friendship is from BH רֵעַ);—
IV. n.f. evil, misery, distress, injury;—abs. ר׳ Gn 26:29 +; cstr. רָעַת 6:5 +; sf. רָֽעָתִי ψ 35:4 +; רָעָֽתְךָ 1 K 2:44 +; רָֽעָתֵכִי Je 11:15 (text dub.); רָֽעַתְכֶם 1 S 12:17, etc.; pl. רָעוֹת Dt 31:17 +; רָעֹת Je 44:9 Ex 23:2; sf. רָעוֹתֵיכֶם 1 S 10:19 +, etc.;—
— 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.
רָעָה
- evil, v. רַע.
רָעָה ²
- to feed, v. רעי.
רעי
- (b. h.) [to join, arrange, cmp. דבר,] to lead, pasture, feed; (neut. verb) to graze. Ex. R. s. 2 כשהיה משה … רוֹעֶה צאנו וכ׳ when Moses … was feeding Jethro’s flock in the desert &c.; חייך אתה תִרְעֶה וכ׳ as thou livest, thou shalt lead my flock, Israel. Ib. והיה מוציא הקטנים לִרְעוֹת כדי שיִרְעוּ וכ׳ he (David) took out the young first that they might eat the tender grass &c. Yoma VI, 1 יִרְעֶה עד שיסתאב, v. סָאַב; Bekh. II, 9 ירעו עד וכ׳; a. fr.
- to lead to pasture, feed. Erub. 17ᵃ; B. Kam. 81ᵃ top שיהו מַרְעִין וכ׳, v. חוֹרֶשׁ; a. e.
- (v. Jud. XIV, 20) to associate, make a friend, companion. Cant. R. to II, 9 (ref. to רעיתי, ib. 10) בתו של יצחק שריעה אותי וייפה אותי וכ׳ the daughter of Isaac who declared me (the Lord) his friend and beautified me (the faith in God) on the altar. Lam. R. introd. (R. Josh. 1) שתָּרֵיעַ לקבל וכ׳ (some ed. שתָּרֵיעוּ; from רעע, v. רֵיעַ) that thou (you) form a partnership &c., v. שָׂרַע. e.g. Judges 14:20
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 119 distinct written forms H7462 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 59 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7462, 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
- מרע mêrêaʻ H4828 friend
- מרעה mirʻeh H4829 pasture
- מרעית mirʻîyth H4830 pasturage
- רע rêaʻ H7453 friend
- רע rêaʻ H7454 thought
- רעה rêʻeh H7463 friend
- רעות rᵉʻûwth H7468 companion
- רעות rᵉʻûwth H7469 longing
- רעי rᵉʻîy H7471 pasture
- רעי rôʻîy H7473 shepherd
- רעיון raʻyôwn H7475 longing
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 12 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 131 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 139 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 4:2
- Exodus 2:17
- Numbers 14:33
- Judges 14:20
- 1 Samuel 16:11
- 2 Samuel 5:2
- 1 Kings 22:17
- 2 Kings 10:12
- 1 Chronicles 11:2
- 2 Chronicles 18:16
- Job 1:14
- Psalms 23:1
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
