Abomination

"abomination; loathsome, detestable thing." Cognates of this word appear only in Phoenician and Targumic Aramaic. The word appears 117 times and in al…

Asherah

"Asherah; Asherim (pl.)." This noun, which has an Ugaritic cognate, first appears in the Bible in passages anticipating the settlement in Palestine. T…

Blessed

"blessed; happy." All but 4 of the 44 biblical occurrences of this noun are in poetical passages, with 26 occurrences in the Psalms and 8 in Proverbs.…

Blow (To)

"to strike, give a blast, clap, blow, drive." Found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word occurs in the Hebrew Old Testament nearly 70 times. I…

Burn (To)

"to burn." A common Semitic term, this word is found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, as well as throughout the history of the Hebrew language. It oc…

Commander

"official; leader; commander; captain; chief; prince; ruler." This word, which has an Akkadian cognate, appears about 420 times in biblical Hebrew. Th…

Complete (To)

"to finish, complete, repay, reward," The Hebrew root denotes perfection in the sense that a condition or action is "complete." This concept emerges w…

Consumed (To Be)

"to be complete, finished, perfect, spent, sound, used up, have integrity." Found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word also exists in ancient …

Continually

"always; continually; regularly." This word comes from a root that means "to measure." The root is found in Assyrian, Aramaic, Arabic, and Phoenician.…

Continuity

"continuity." Tamîd is often used as a noun. In Num 4:7, the word is used with "bread," literally meaning "the bread of continuity" (nasb, "the contin…

Deliver (To)

"to deliver, give, place, set up, lay, make, do." This verb occurs in the different Semitic languages in somewhat different forms. The form natan occu…

Desolate (To Be)

"to be desolate, astonished, appalled, devastated, ravaged." This verb is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 90 times i…

Destroy (To)

"to destroy, annihilate, exterminate." This biblical word occurs also in modern Hebrew, with the root having the connotation of "religious persecution…

Enchanter

"enchanter." Cognates of this word appear in Akkadian, Syriac, and biblical Aramaic (6 times). The noun appears only twice in biblical Hebrew, and onl…

Falsehood

"falsehood; lie." The presence of this root is limited to Hebrew and Old Aramaic. The word sheqer occurs 113 times in the Old Testament. It is rare in…

Flow

"to pour, pour out, cast, flow." Commonly used throughout the history of the Hebrew language, this word occurs in ancient Ugaritic with the same nuanc…

Garment

"garment; covering; cloth; blanket; saddlecloth." This word appears in biblical Hebrew about 200 times and in all periods. The word signifies any kind…

Gate

"gate." This word has cognates in Ugaritic, Arabic, Moabite, Aramaic, and Phoenician. Biblical Hebrew attests it about 370 times and in all periods.Ba…

Give Drink (To)

"to give drink, irrigate, water." This verb is found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, as well as in biblical and modern Hebrew. The word usually occu…

Glory

"glory; beauty; ornament; distinction; pride." This word appears about 51 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. The word represents "beauty," i…

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 …

Goat-demons

"goat-demons; goat-idols." This word occurs 4 times in biblical Hebrew. In its first biblical appearance, the word represents "goat-idols"): "And they…

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…

Handle

"to catch, seize, lay hold of, grasp, play." This verb is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 60 times in the Hebrew Old…

Hate (To)

"to hate, set against." This verb appears in Ugaritic, Moabite, Aramaic, and Arabic. It appears in all periods of Hebrew and about 145 times in the Bi…

Hear (To)

"to hear, hearken, listen, obey, publish." This word occurs throughout the Semitic languages including biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. Shama‘ occurs in a…

Heaven (To)

"to drink." This verb appears in nearly every Semitic language, although in biblical Aramaic it is not attested as a verb (the noun form mishteh does …

Heavens

"heavens; heaven; sky." This general Semitic word appears in languages such as Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic, and Arabic. It occurs 420 times and in all…

Humble (Self) (To)

"to be humble, to humble, subdue." This biblical Hebrew word is also found in modern Hebrew. The word can mean "to humble, to subdue," and it can have…

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…

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…

Law

"law; direction; instruction." This noun occurs 220 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. In the wisdom literature, where the noun does not appear with a…

Lip

"lip; edge." This Hebrew word is related to cognate languages where a similar word signifies "lip" or "edge" (cf. Akkadian saptu). Sapâ has undergone …

Midst

"midst; middle." This word, which also appears in Ugaritic, occurs about 418 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods. Tawek indicates the part of …

Minister (To)

"to minister, serve, officiate." This word is a common term in Hebrew usage, ancient and modern, in various verbal and noun forms. It occurs in ancien…

Name

"name; reputation; memory; renown." Cognates of this word appear in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Arabic. This word appears about 864 t…

Offering

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

Olive or Oil

"(olive) oil; olive; perfume; olivewood." Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Phoenician, Syriac, Arabic, and Aramaic. This word appea…

Peace

"peace; completeness; welfare; health." The root is a common Semitic root with the meaning "peace" in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic, Syriac,…

Perfect

"perfect; blameless; sincerity; entire; whole; complete; full." The 91 occurrences of this word are scattered throughout biblical literature with 51 o…

Pit

"pit; well." Cognates of this noun appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Arabic, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Ethiopic. This word appears 37 times in the Bible wi…

Pour (To)

"to pour, pour out, cast, flow." Commonly used throughout the history of the Hebrew language, this word occurs in ancient Ugaritic with the same nuanc…

Praise (To)

"to praise, celebrate, glory, sing (praise), boast." The meaning "to praise" is actually the meaning of the intensive form of the Hebrew verb halal, w…

Pray (To)

"to pray, intervene, meditate, judge." Found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, this word occurs 84 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The word is us…

Rejoice (To)

"to rejoice, be joyful." This verb also occurs in Ugaritic (where its radicals are sh-m-h) and perhaps in Aramaic-Syriac. It appears in all periods of…

Right Hand

"right hand." This word has cognates attested in Ugaritic, Arabic, Syriac, Aramaic, and Ethiopic. It appears about 137 times and in all periods of bib…

Serve

"to minister, serve, officiate." This word is a common term in Hebrew usage, ancient and modern, in various verbal and noun forms. It occurs in ancien…

Serve (To)

"to serve, minister." This word occurs less than 100 times in the Old Testament. In the vast majority of instances, sharat appears in the form of an i…

Sin

"iniquity; vanity; sorrow." Some scholars believe that this term has cognates in the Arabic words 'ana, ("to be fatigued, tired") and 'aynun ("weaknes…

Sun

"sun; Shamshu (?); sunshield; battlement." Cognates of this word occur in Ugaritic (s-p-s), Akkadian, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Arabic. It appears 134 …

Take (To)

"to catch, seize, lay hold of, grasp, play." This verb is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 60 times in the Hebrew Old…

Teach (To)

"to teach, learn, cause to learn." This common Semitic term is found throughout the history of the Hebrew language and in ancient Akkadian and Ugariti…

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 …

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…

Woman

"woman; wife; betrothed one; bride; each." This word has cognates in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic. It appears about 781 times in …

Year

"year." This word has cognates in Ugaritic, Akaddian, Arabic, Aramaic, and Phoenician. Biblical Hebrew attests it about 877 times and in every period.…