אָח
ʼâch · H251 · Hebrew · 629 occurrences
Meanings
-
brother, half-brother
Son of one's father, whether from the same mother or not
ExamplesGenesis 4:2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.
Genesis 4:8 Cain talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Genesis 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
-
brother, cousin, nephew, kinsman, relative
Close relative, such as one's uncle's son and one's brother's son, or someone else regarded as closely related
ExamplesGenesis 14:14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
Genesis 14:16 He brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.
Genesis 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned His kindness and His trustworthiness toward my master; as for me, the LORD has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
-
brother, countryman, kinsman, relative
Member of same family, clan, tribe, or ethnic group
ExamplesGenesis 16:12 “But he will be a wild donkey of a man; His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live in defiance of all his brothers.”
Genesis 25:18 They settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt going toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives.
Exodus 2:11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his fellow Hebrews and looked at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his fellow Hebrews.
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brother, friend, companion, colleague
Fellow member of the same group of people, not necessarily relatives, sharing a bond of affection, employment, or a common purpose
ExamplesJudges 9:26 Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and crossed over into Shechem; and the leaders of Shechem trusted him.
Judges 9:31 So using deception, he successfully sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem; and behold, they are stirring up the city against you.
2 Samuel 1:26 “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been a close friend to me. Your love for me was more wonderful Than the love of women.
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brother, friend
Only used in vocatives: friendly and endearing way to address a man
ExamplesGenesis 19:7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.
Genesis 29:4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”
1 Samuel 30:23 But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us.
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a man... his brother > one... each other
Expression denoting a situation in which two people or objects that are regarded as masculine are involved in a reciprocal event
ExamplesGenesis 9:5 “I certainly will require your lifeblood; from every animal I will require it. And from every person, from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.
Deuteronomy 25:11 “If two men, a man and his countryman, have a fight with each other, and the wife of one comes up to save her husband from the hand of the one who is hitting him, and she reaches out with her hand and grasps that man’s genitals,
Isaiah 19:2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, each against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
-
brother! alas!
Exclamation expressing grief and dismay
ExamplesPsalm 49:7 No one can by any means redeem another Or give God a ransom for him—
How it’s used In 9 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
595 occurrences in 32 groups
- הוּhis 262
- ךָyour 86
- הֶםtheir 64
- יmy 50
- כֶםyour 47
- נוּour 18
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (20) 20
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
45 occurrences in 26 groups
- קָטָןsmall 11
- מֵאָהhundred 4
- שְׁנַיִםtwo 4
- גָּדוֹלgreat, large 3
- אֶחָדone 3
- Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22
Named alongside itApposition
174 occurrences in 82 groups
- בֵּןson 23
- אַהֲרוֹןAaron 10
- אֲבִישַׁיAbishai 9
- עֵשָׂוEsau 9
- אִישׁman, person, each 7
- בִּנְיָמִיןBenjamin 6
- Other words · 62 groups that occur once or twice (72) 72
What it doesIt is the subject
76 occurrences in 40 groups
- בּוֹאto come, to go in, to bring 15
- אָמַרto say 5
- מוּךְto become poor 4
- יָצָאto go out 3
- יָרַדto go down, to come down 3
- מוּתto die 3
- Other words · 33 groups that occur once or twice (40) 40
What is done to itIt is the object
66 occurrences in 43 groups
- הָרַגto kill 7
- לָקַחto take, to receive 5
- שָׁלַחto send, to send away 4
- רָאָהto see 3
- בּוֹאto come, to go in, to bring 3
- Other words · 38 groups that occur once or twice (44) 44
What it is said to bePredicate
70 occurrences in 37 groups
- שְׁנַיִםtwo 23
- בֵּןson 8
- אַיִןthere is no, not 4
- יֵשׁthere is, there are 3
- כֶםyou 3
- Other words · 32 groups that occur once or twice (36) 36
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
28 occurrences in 15 groups
- הוּאhe, she, it 13
- Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
162 occurrences in 15 groups
- לto/for 78
- אֵלto, toward 54
- מִןfrom 31
- בin/on/with 23
- עִםwith 18
- נֶגֶדbefore, opposite 10
- Other words · 5 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
82 occurrences in 40 groups
- תָּוֶךְmiddle 9
- פָּנִיםface, presence, before 7
- שֵׁםname 6
- בַּיִתhouse, household 5
- בֵּןson 4
- קֶרֶבmidst, among, inner parts 4
- Other words · 29 groups that occur once or twice (31) 31
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 2 words
- חַבָּר chabbâr · H2271 · partner
- חַבָּר (chabbâr, H2271) "companion" (1 occurrence) and אָח (ʼâch, H251) "brother(-ly)" are genuine same-language near-synonyms when אָח is used in its extended "companion/friend" sense rather than literal kinship. Both can denote a non-blood relational bond.
- עָמִית ʻâmîyth · H5997 · neighbor, fellow-citizen
- Both lexemes denote persons in relational proximity: אָח (ʼâch, H251) (brother) extends to "another, other" in certain contexts; עָמִית (ʻâmîyth, H5997) (fellow, neighbour) similarly denotes a close associate or "another" in one's group. The pair represents real semantic overlap in the "fellow/associate/another person" sense-space.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἀδελφός adelphós · G80 · brother, fellow believer, (Christian) brother
- Greek ἀδελφός translates Hebrew אָח across its full semantic range (biological brother, kinsman, fellow member of community), serving as the standard LXX rendering.
Semantic domains 7 entries
- Relatives001001003012
- אָח most commonly names a brother, as Abel called “his brother” in relation to Cain (Genesis 4:8).
- Friends001001003003
- The word extends to a close companion treated as brother-like, as Solomon's proverb that “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
- Titles003001017
- אָח can function as a title of address or kinship-based standing, as Ahab addressing Ben-hadad, “Is he still alive? He is my brother” (1 Kings 20:32).
- Object Referents003001
- The word also serves as a general referring term pointing back to a previously named male relative, as “his brother's name was Jubal” (Genesis 4:21).
- Identifiers004003
- אָח can identify or specify which person is meant among a group, as “the voice of your brother's blood” distinguishing Abel from Cain (Genesis 4:10).
- Evaluators004005
- In some uses the term carries an evaluative nuance of closeness or loyalty, as the charge that “each of you as his brother I will require” in the covenant against bloodshed (Genesis 9:5).
- Furnaces001003001001007
- This entry carries no independent “Furnaces” sense of its own; every occurrence of this lexeme is the common noun for a brother or male kinsman, as in “Simeon and Levi are brothers” (Genesis 49:5). The domain is bundle-shared with the similarly-spelled homograph for a hearth or brazier (אָח (ʼâch, H253), אָח (ʼâch, H254)).
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H251. ach I. אַחְבָּן אֶחָב, אַחְאָב, אָח, etc. see אחה. I. אָח630 noun masculine brother…
I. אַחְבָּן אֶחָב, אַחְאָב, אָח, etc. see אחה.
I. אָח630 noun masculine brother (Phoenician אח, Arabic (construct etc.), Sabean אחֿ (suffix אחֿיהו) CISiv.1, 17 and 24 and others, Ethiopic Assyrian a—u compare DlW, Aramaic אַח, ; Palmyreme, Nabataean suffix אחיה אחוהי,); — absolute אָח Gen 24:29 + (Eze 18:10 strike out Co compare ᵑ9 ᵑ6 ᵐ5; Ew Sm אַח; Dl BaEz x defends as = one compare Assyrian a—u) never with article; cstr אֲחִי Gen 10:21 +; suffix אָחִי Gen 4:9 +; אָחִיךָ Gen 4:9 +; אָחִיו Gen 4:2 +; אָחִיהוּ Jer 34:9 Jer 34:3t. etc.; plural אַחִים Gen 13:8 +; so read Hos 13:15 see DeCompl. Var. 23 compare below אָחוּ; construct אֲחֵי Num 27:10 +; suffix אַחַי Gen 19:7 +; אֶחָ֑י 1Sa 20:29 + (but 1Sa 30:23 ᵐ5 We אַחֲרֵי for את אֶחָ֑י); אַחֶיךָ Gen 37:13 +; אֶחָיו Gen 44:14 +?
1 brother, born of same mother (& father) Gen 4:2, Gen 4:8, Gen 4:9, Gen 4:10, Gen 4:11; Gen 27:6, Gen 27:11; Gen 44:20; Gen 49:5; compare Gen 28:2; Gen 29:10 (twice in verse) + Exo 4:14 + often; also of half-brother Gen 20:5, Gen 20:13, Gen 20:16 (on pa-rentage compare Gen 20:12) Gen 37:2, Gen 37:4, Gen 37:5 +, 2Sa 13:4, 2Sa 13:7, 2Sa 13:8 +.
2 indefinite = relative; Lot, of Abraham Gen 13:8; Gen 14:12, Gen 14:14, Gen 14:16; Jacob, of Laban Gen 29:12, Gen 29:15 (nephew); hence of kinship in wider sense; member of same tribe Num 16:10; Num 18:2, Num 18:6; 2Sa 19:13; of same people Exo 2:11 (twice in verse); Exo 4:18; Deu 15:12; Jdg 14:3; Isa 66:20; Neh 5:1, Neh 5:5, Neh 5:8 see especially Lev 19:17 compare Lev 19:18 (ex-tended to include sojourner גֵּר Lev 19:34); of Israel & Judah 2Sa 19:42; Israel & Edom Num 20:14; compare of Ishmael Gen 16:12; Gen 25:18; of friend 2Sa 1:26; 1Ki 9:13; 1Ki 20:32-33, of allies א ׳בְּרִית Amo 1:9.
3 figurative of resemblance Job 30:29 לְתַנִּים הָיִיתִי אָח (|| יַעֲנָה לִבְנוֺת רֵעַ i.e. by reason of his crying, compare Di; Pro 18:9 מַשְׁחִית לְבַעַל הוּא אָח בִּמְלַאכְתּוֺ מִתְרַמֶּה.
4 in phrase one . . . another אָחִיו אִישׁ Gen 9:5; Joe 2:8; Ze Joel 7:10; אָחִיו ֗֗֗ אִישׁGen 13:11 25t + Exo 32:27 (where also same phrase with רֵעֵהוּ & קְרֹבוֺ — see these words — & also אֶחָד אִישׁ,; for development of idiom compare Deu 15:2; Isa 19:2; Jer 34:14 (compare15) 17 Eze 38:21; Hag 2:22; usually of men; of faces of golden cherubim Exo 25:20; Exo 37:9; of scales of crocodile Job 41:9. (אָח fire-pot. see below II. אחח.)
אחה (assumed as √ of following; compare Biblical Hebrew אָח).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 7 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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