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בָּגַד

to betray

‘to betray’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓

H898 Strong's Hebrew
bâgad Transliteration
/baw-gad'/ Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible 49 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.

At its core, בגד (bâgad) means “to betray.” Where the King James Version says “transgressors,” newer translations reach for “faithless” (Berean Standard Bible) and “treacherous ones” (unfoldingWord Literal Text); the renderings breakdown has the detail. It appears 39 verses across 12 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its moderately common vocabulary. First canonically at Exodus 21:8, it enters the text early. Carrying more than one sense, it rewards its full sense range. Dig into 39-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.

Gloss history

Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship

Strong's · 1890
deal deceitfully
Modern gloss
to betray
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 H898 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 →

39
distinct verses
The word appears in 39 distinct verses.
12 / 39
OT books
The word appears in 12 of 39 Old Testament books.
Exodus 21:8
first appearance
The earliest occurrence is in Exodus 21:8.
Malachi 2:16
last appearance
The latest occurrence is in Malachi 2:16.
#752
by frequency
Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 752 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).

View all 39 occurrences in the concordance →


Most concentrated in

By section of the Old Testament

  • Pentateuch 1 · 3%
  • Historical 2 · 5%
  • Wisdom 15 · 38%
  • Prophets 21 · 54%

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 39 distinct verses.

  • Prophets (Nevi'im) 22 verses · 56%
  • Writings (Ketuvim) 16 verses · 41%
  • Torah (Pentateuch) 1 verse · 3%

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: Transgressors 8×, Treacherously 5×, Have dealt treacherously 2×
  • American Standard Version: Treacherous 6×, Treacherously 5×, Dealt treacherously 2×
  • Berean Standard Bible: Faithless 9×, Break faith 2×, Have betrayed 2×
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text: Treacherous ones 6×, And 3×, Ones acting treacherously 3×

King James Version Public Domain

Renders H898 across 49 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Transgressors” 8×
  • “Treacherously” 5×
  • “Have dealt treacherously” 2×
  • “They have dealt treacherously” 2×
  • “Transgressor” 2×

Plus 30 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 H898 across 49 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Treacherous” 6×
  • “Treacherously” 5×
  • “Dealt treacherously” 2×
  • “They have dealt treacherously” 2×

Plus 34 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 H898 across 46 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Faithless” 9×
  • “Break faith” 2×
  • “Have betrayed” 2×
  • “Traitor” 2×
  • “Treacherous” 2×
  • “Unfaithful” 2×

Plus 27 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 3 further occurrences.

unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Renders H898 across 60 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “Treacherous ones” 6×
  • “And” 3×
  • “Ones acting treacherously” 3×
  • “Betraying” 2×
  • “Deal treacherously” 2×
  • “Do” 2×
  • “Have acted treacherously” 2×
  • “Have dealt treacherously” 2×
  • “One who acts treacherously” 2×
  • “They have betrayed” 2×
  • “Treacherous” 2×

Plus 32 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 5 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.

Qal

  • Pf. בָּֽגְדָה Je 3:20 + 14 times; Impf. יִבְגֹּד Mal 2:15 + 5 times; נִבְגַּד Mal 2:10; Inf. abs. בָּגוֹד Is 48:8; Je 5:11; cstr. בְּגֹד Is 33:1; בִּגְדוֹ Ex 21:8; Pt. בֹּגֵד Pr 22:12 + 11 times; בּוֹגֵד Is 33:1 + 10 times—act or deal treacherously, faithlessly, deceitfully, in the marriage relation, in matters of property or right, in covenants, in word and in general conduct. e.g. Jeremiah 3:20
  • a. abs. 1 S 14:33; Jb 6:15 ψ 78:57; Is 24:16; 33:1(×2); 48:8 Mal 2:11. Cf. phrases אחי בגדו כמו נחל my brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook Jb 6:15; בֹּגְדִים בָּגָ֑דוּ וּבֶגֶד בּוֹגְדִים בָּגָ֑דוּ the treacherous have dealt treacherously, yea in treachery have the treacherous dealt treacherously Is 24:16 (striking alliteration); בֹּגְדֵי אָוֶן treacherous in wickedness ψ 59:6. e.g. 1 Samuel 14:33
  • b. with בְּ Ex 21:8 (E), Ju 9:23; Is 33:1(×2) Je 3:20; 5:11; 12:6; La 1:2; Ho 5:7; 6:7; Mal 2:10, 14, 15, 16. e.g. Exodus 21:8
  • c. c. acc. ψ 73:15. e.g. Psalms 73:15
  • d. c. מִן pregnant, בָּֽגְדָה אִשָּׁה מֵרֵעָהּ acteth treacherously (in departing) from her friend Je 3:20. The ptcp. is used Pr 2:22 + 8 times, ψ 25:3; 59:6; 119:158 Is 21:2; 24:16(×2); 33:1 Je 3:8, 11; 9:1 Hb 1:13; 2:5; בֹּגְדֵי בָ֑גֶד dealers treacherously in treachery (very treacherously) Je 12:1. e.g. Jeremiah 3:20

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

vb. act or deal treacherously—

— 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

Part of speech: Verb TWOT: 198


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.

בָּגַד

  • v. infra) to act violently, to rebel, be faithless. Snh. 37ᵃ (allud. to Gen. XXVII, 27) א"ת בְּגָדָיו אלא בּוֹגְדָיו do not read b’gadav (his garments), but bog’dav (his faithless ones). Y. Peah I, 16ᵇ top; Num. R. s. 10, beg.; Cant. R. to V, 16, v. בְּגִידָה.—Mekh. Mishp., N’zikin 3 מאחר שב׳ בה וכ׳ (b’bigdo bah, Ex. XXI, 8) since he &c., treated her contemptuously (opp. to the interpretation of בגדו as his garment, שפירש בגדו עליה he spread his bed-cloth over her). [From Targ. renderings as well as from Agadic interpretations it appears that the primitive meaning of בגד (√בג) is, to tear; also to despise, corresp. to the meanings of √בז; v. Targ. Job VI, 5; Is. XXXIII, 1; Prov. XXI, 18; Snh. 94ᵃ, cit. s. v. בזוזא; Esth. R. to I, 10, cit. s. v. בּוּז; Mekh. l. c.; cmp. also K’thib בג for K’ri בַּז Ezek. XXV, 7.—בֶּגֶד seems to be a piece, web, corresp. in meaning and use to φᾶρος.] e.g. Genesis 27:27

בֶּגֶד

  • preced.) web, garment. Men. 40ᵇ היא של ב׳ וכ׳ if (the garment) itself is a web, but its borders are of leather. Ib. the principal element ב׳ בעינן must be a web (in order to require Tsitsith). Mekh. Mishp., N’zikin 3, v. preced. Sabb. 26ᵇ; a. fr.—Pl. בְּגָדִים, constr. בִּגְדֵי. Gen. R. s. 20 ב׳ א"הר Adam’s garments, v. אוֹר II, 3. Yoma 60ᵇ ב׳ לבן the Highpriest’s white garments (for the Day of Atone, Lev. XVI, 4), contrad. to ב׳ זהב gold-embroidered &c. Ib. 68ᵇ; a. fr. e.g. Leviticus 16:4

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 44 distinct written forms H898 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.

Form Parsing Example Uses
בֹּגְדִ֣ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Isaiah 24:16 3
בָּ֣גְדוּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Jeremiah 12:6 2
בָּגָ֔דוּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Hosea 5:7 2
וּ֝/בוֹגְדִ֗ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Proverbs 2:22 2
בָ֣גְדוּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Isaiah 33:1 1
בָג֨וֹד Verb, Qal, Infinitive Absolute Jeremiah 5:11 1
בָגָֽדְתִּי Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular Psalms 73:15 1
בֹ֭גְדִים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Psalms 119:158 1
בֹגֵֽד Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Proverbs 22:12 1
בּ֝וֹגֵ֗ד Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Proverbs 25:19 1
בְּ/בִגְד/וֹ Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct Exodus 21:8 1
בְּגַדְתֶּ֔ם Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural 1 Samuel 14:33 1
בְּגַדְתֶּ֥ם Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural Jeremiah 3:20 1
בָּ֥גְדוּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Hosea 6:7 1
בָּג֣וֹד Verb, Qal, Infinitive Absolute Isaiah 48:8 1
בָּגְד֜וּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Jeremiah 5:11 1
בָּגְד֣וּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Job 6:15 1
בָּגְדָ֣ה Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular Malachi 2:11 1
בָּגְדָ֥ה Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular Jeremiah 3:20 1
בָּגַ֣דְתָּה Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular Malachi 2:14 1
בָּגָֽדוּ Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural Isaiah 24:16 1
בֹּ֖גְדֵי Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Construct Psalms 59:5 1
בֹּ֥גְדֵי Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Construct Jeremiah 12:1 1
בֹּֽגֵדָ֤ה Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Feminine, Singular, Absolute Jeremiah 3:8 1
בֹּגְדִ֥ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Proverbs 11:6 1
בֹּגְדִֽים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Jeremiah 9:2 1
בּֽוֹגְדִ֔ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Habakkuk 1:13 1
בּוֹגְדִ֖ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Isaiah 24:16 1
בּוֹגְדִ֣ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Proverbs 11:3 1
בּוֹגֵ֔ד Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Habakkuk 2:5 1
בּוֹגֵֽד Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Proverbs 21:18 1
בּוֹגֵד֙ Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Isaiah 21:2 1
הַ/בּוֹגְדִ֥ים Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute Psalms 25:3 1
הַ/בּוֹגֵ֤ד Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Isaiah 21:2 1
וַ/יִּבְגְּד֥וּ Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural Judges 9:23 1
וַֽ֭/יִּבְגְּדוּ Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural Psalms 78:57 1
וּ/בוֹגֵ֖ד Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Isaiah 33:1 1
יִבְגְּדוּ Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural Isaiah 33:1 1
יִבְגֹּֽד Verb, Qal, Jussive, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular Malachi 2:15 1
לִ/בְגֹּ֖ד Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct Isaiah 33:1 1
מִ/בֹּגֵדָ֖ה Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Feminine, Singular, Absolute Jeremiah 3:11 1
נִבְגַּד֙ Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Plural Malachi 2:10 1
תִבְגֹּֽדוּ Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural Malachi 2:16 1
תִּבְגּ֔וֹד Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular Isaiah 48:8 1

Same root — word family

Other BDB entries built from the same root as H898, 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

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


Septuagint verse parallels

This word appears in 37 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 39 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

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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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