Altar

"altar." This noun has cognates in Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic. In each of these languages the consonantal root is mdbh. Mizbeah occurs about 396 time…

Angel

"messenger; angel." In Ugaritic, Arabic, and Ethiopic, the verb l'ak means "to send." Even though l'ak does not exist in the Hebrew Old Testament, it …

Anoint (To)

"to anoint, smear, consecrate." A common word in both ancient and modern Hebrew, mashah is also found in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs approximately 70 …

Arise (To)

"to arise, stand up, come about." This word occurs in nearly every Semitic language, including biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. It occurs about 630 times …

Ascend

"to go up, ascend, offer up." This word occurs in all Semitic languages, including biblical Hebrew. The Old Testament attests it about 890 times.Basic…

Bread

"bread; meal; food; fruit." This word has cognates in Ugaritic, Syriac, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Arabic. Lehem occurs about 297 times and at every per…

Call (To)

"to call, call out, recite." This root occurs in Old Aramaic, Canaanite, and Ugaritic, and other Semitic languages (except Ethiopic). The word appears…

Camp

"camp; encampment; host." This noun derived from the verb hanâ occurs 214 times in the Bible, most frequently in the Pentateuch and in the historical …

Chariotry

"chariotry; chariot units; chariot horse; chariot; train; upper millstone." The noun rekeb appears 119 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.The…

Circumcise (To)

"to circumcise, cut off." This verb occurs more than 30 times in the Old Testament. Its usage is continued in rabbinic and modern Hebrew. However, the…

Come up (To)

"to go up, ascend, offer up." This word occurs in all Semitic languages, including biblical Hebrew. The Old Testament attests it about 890 times.Basic…

Commandment

"commandment." This noun occurs 181 times in the Old Testament. Its first occurrence is in Gen 26:5, where miswâ is synonymous with hoq ("statute") an…

Congregation

"congregation." This word may have etymologically signified a "company assembled together" for a certain purpose, similar to the Greek words synagoge …

Count

"to number, count, proclaim, declare." The relationship of this verb to similar verbs in other languages is greatly debated, but it does occur in Ugar…

Curse (To)

"to be trifling, light, swift; to curse." This wide-ranging word is found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, in ancient Akkadian, and (according to so…

Death

"death." This word appears 150 times in the Old Testament. The word mawet occurs frequently as an antonym of hayyîm ("life"): "I call heaven and earth…

Die (To)

"to die, kill." This verb occurs in all Semitic languages (including biblical Aramaic) from the earliest times, and in Egyptian. The verb occurs about…

Dwell (To)

"to dwell, sit, abide, inhabit, remain." The word occurs over 1,100 times throughout the Old Testament, and this root is widespread in other ancient S…

Eat (To)

"to eat, feed, consume, devour." This verb occurs in all Semitic languages (except Ethiopic) and in all periods, from the early Akkadian to the latest…

Escape (To)

"to escape, slip away, deliver, give birth." This word is found in both ancient and modern Hebrew. Malat occurs approximately 95 times in the Hebrew O…

Exalted (To Be)

"to be high, exalted." This root also appears in Ugaritic (with the radicals r-m), Phoenician, Aramaic (including biblical Aramaic, 4 times), Arabic, …

Eye

"eye; well; surface; appearance; spring." ‘Ayin has cognates in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic, and other Semitic languages. It occurs about 866 times an…

Family

"family; clan." A form of this Hebrew word occurs in Ugaritic and Punic, also with the meaning of "family" or "clan." The word is found in the Dead Se…

Fear (To)

"to be afraid, stand in awe, fear." This verb occurs in Ugaritic and Hebrew (both biblical and post-biblical). The Bible attests it approximately 330 …

Fight (To)

"to fight, do battle, engage in combat." This word is found in all periods of Hebrew, as well as in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs in the text of Hebrew …

Fill (To)

"to fill, fulfill, overflow, ordain, endow." This verb occurs in all Semitic languages (including biblical Aramaic) and in all periods. Biblical Hebre…

Find (To)

"to find, meet, get." This word is found in every branch of the Semitic languages (including biblical Aramaic) and in all periods. It is attested both…

Go Forth

"to come forth, go out, proceed, go forth, bring out, come out." This verb occurs in all Semitic languages, including biblical Aramaic and Hebrew. It …

Go Out (To)

"to come forth, go out, proceed, go forth, bring out, come out." This verb occurs in all Semitic languages, including biblical Aramaic and Hebrew. It …

God

"god." This term was the most common general designation of deity in the ancient Near East. While it frequently occurred alone, ’el was also combined …

Guard

"to watch, to guard, to keep." Common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, this verb is found also in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs some 60 times in the H…

Hasten

"to hasten; make haste." This verb, along with various derivatives, is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 70 times in t…

Hasten (To)

"to hasten, make haste." This verb and various derivatives are common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. Mahar occurs approximately 70 times in the He…

Idol

"idol; household idol; cultic mask; divine symbol." This word is a loanword from Hittite-Hurrian (tarpis) which in West Semitic assumes the basic form…

Instruction

"instruction; chastisement; warning." This noun occurs 50 times, mainly in Proverbs. The first occurrence is in Deut 11:2: "…I speak not with your chi…

Judge (To)

"to judge, deliver, rule." This verb also occurs in Ugaritic, Phoenician, Arabic, Akkadian, and post-biblical Hebrew. Biblical Hebrew attests shapat a…

Keep (To) (1)

"to watch, to guard, to keep." Common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, this verb is found also in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs some 60 times in the H…

Kingdom

"kingdom; reign; rule." The word malkût occurs 91 times in the Hebrew Old Testament and apparently belongs to late biblical Hebrew. The first occurren…

Know (To)

"to know, regard, recognize, pay attention to, be acquainted with." This verb, which is found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, occurs approximately …

Lie (To)

"to lie down, lie, have sexual intercourse with." This word also occurs in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Ethiopic, post-biblical Aramaic, and post-biblical Hebr…

Load

"load; burden; tribute; delight." The 43 occurrences of this word are scattered throughout the periods of biblical Hebrew. The word means that which i…

Loose Conduct

"loose conduct; lewdness." The 28 occurrences of this noun are all in legal and poetical books of the Bible, except for a single occurrence in Judges.…

Magnify (To)

"to become strong, grow up, be great or wealthy, evidence oneself as great (magnified), be powerful, significant, or valuable." This verb occurs elsew…

Make Haste

"to hasten, make haste." This verb and various derivatives are common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. Mahar occurs approximately 70 times in the He…

Make Haste (To)

"to hasten; make haste." This verb, along with various derivatives, is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 70 times in t…

Measure (To)

"to measure, measure off, extend." Found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, in modern usage this word has the nuance of "to survey." The word has cogn…

Messiah

"anointed one; Messiah." Of the 39 occurrences of mashîah, none occurs in the wisdom literature. They are scattered throughout the rest of biblical li…

Number (To)

"to number, count, proclaim, declare." The relationship of this verb to similar verbs in other languages is greatly debated, but it does occur in Ugar…

Offering

"meat [cereal] offering; offering; tribute; present; gift; sacrifice; oblation." The kjv characteristically translates the word as "meat offering," us…

Pillar

"pillar." This word appears 22 times and only once outside Ezek. 40-41: "And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel [p…

Prepare (To)

"to be established, be readied, be prepared, be certain, be admissible." This verb occurs in nearly every Semitic language (not in biblical Aramaic). …

Rebel (To)

"to rebel, be contentious." The meaning of "being rebellious" is limited to the Hebrew language, as the meaning of this verb in other Semitic language…

Reign (To)

"to reign, be king (or queen)." This root appears in most Semitic languages, although it means "advice" and "counsel" in Akkadian (and biblical Aramai…

Return (To)

"to return or go back, bring back." This verb occurs in several Semitic languages (not in Phoenician-Punic and Ethiopic) including Ugaritic (1550-1200…

Rule (To)

"to rule, reign, have dominion." This term is common in both ancient and modern Hebrew. It is found approximately 100 times in the text of the Hebrew …

Security

"the act of confiding; the object of confidence; the state of confidence or security." This word occurs 15 times. The word refers to "the act of confi…

Sell (To)

"to sell." Common in both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word is also found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic. It occurs approximately 70 times in the…

Slaughter (To)

"to slaughter, sacrifice." This word is a common Semitic term for sacrifice in general, although there are a number of other terms used in the Old Tes…

Stretch Out (To)

"to stretch forth, spread out, stretch down, turn aside." This verb also occurs in Arabic, late Aramaic, and post-biblical Hebrew. The Bible attests i…

Suburbs

"suburbs; pasture land; open land." This noun occurs about 100 times, mainly in Joshua an First Chronicles. It denotes the untilled ground outside a c…

Tabernacle

"dwelling place; tabernacle; shrine." This word appears 139 times and refers in its first occurrence to the "tabernacle": "According to all that I sho…

Tomorrow

"tomorrow." This word has cognates in late Aramaic, Egyptian, Syriac, Phoenician, and Akkadian (here it appears with the word for "day"). Mah?ar appea…

Tower

"tower; small fortress; watchtower; podium." Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Aramaic, Syriac, and Akkadian. The word occurs about 50 times i…

Tree

"tree; wood; timber; stick; stalk." This word has cognates in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Phoenician, Aramaic ('e'), and Arabic. It occurs about 325 times in …

Trespass (To)

"to trespass, act unfaithfully." This verb is not very common in Hebrew, biblical or rabbinic. It occurs 35 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, particu…

Tribe

"staff; rod; shaft; branch; tribe." This noun is a distinctively Hebrew word. It occurs 251 times; the first usage is in Gen 38:18: "And he said, What…

Understand (To)

"to be prudent, act wisely, give attention to, ponder, prosper." This word, which is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, is found approximately …

War

"war; battle; skirmish; combat." This word has a cognate only in Ugaritic. Biblical Hebrew attests it 315 times and in all periods.This word means "wa…

Watch

"watch; guard; post; confinement; prison; custody; division." The first or feminine form of this word appears 78 times, while the masculine form is at…

Watch (1)

"to watch, to guard, to keep." Common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, this verb is found also in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs some 60 times in the H…

Water

"water; flood." This word has cognates in Ugaritic and old South Arabic. It occurs about 580 times and in every period of biblical Hebrew.First, "wate…

Widow

"widow," Cognates of this word appear in Aramaic, Arabic, Akkadian, Phoenician, and Ugaritic. Biblical Hebrew attests it 55 times and in all periods.T…

Wonder

"wonder; sign; portent." The 36 appearances of this word are in all periods of biblical literature except wisdom literature. Poetical literature manif…

Work (To)

"to do, work." Common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word is used in modern Hebrew in the sense of "to work, to act, to function." Found only…