טָבַח
ṭâbach · H2873 · Hebrew · 11 occurrences
Meanings
-
to kill, slaughter or butcher an animal
Humans slice the jugular vein and windpipe with a sharp-bladed instrument to prepare its meat for a meal, associated with aggression
ExamplesGenesis 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
Exodus 22:1 “If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep—
Deuteronomy 28:31 “Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey will be snatched away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you.
-
to slaughter, to kill, to butcher
Causative action by which humans or deities kill other humans with a sharp-bladed instrument; associated with anger, power, callousness (of the killer), and helplessness (of the victim)
ExamplesPsalm 37:14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To take down the afflicted and the needy, To kill off those who are upright in conduct.
Lamentations 2:21 “On the ground in the streets Lie young and old; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have put them to death on the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, without sparing.
How it’s used In 4 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
11 occurrences in 5 groups
- Not stated (infinitive) 5
- Not stated: you (one person) 2
- Not stated: he, she or it 2
- שׁוֹרox 1
- Not stated: I 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
5 occurrences in 3 groups
- טֶבַחkilling 3
- יָשָׁרupright, right 1
- וֹhim 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- לto/for+ גַּזָזto shear 1
- לto/for+ עַיִןeye, sight 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 3
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.
In the other Testament 2 words
- σφάζω spházō · G4969 · to slaughter, to kill
- Greek σφάζω renders Hebrew טָבַח in contexts of ritual slaughter and violent killing, sharing the core semantic range of butchering/slaughtering with both sacrificial and general violent senses.
- θύω thýō · G2380 · to sacrifice, to make a sacrifice, to slaughter
- Greek θύω (thýō, G2380) specifically denotes ritual sacrifice (etymologically 'to smoke/burn'), whereas Hebrew טָבַח (ṭâbach, H2873) covers general slaughter/killing for any purpose including but not limited to cultic contexts; θύω is the natural Greek rendering when טָבַח (ṭâbach, H2873) appears in sacrificial passages but represents a semantic narrowing to the ritual register.
Semantic domains 1 entry
- Dead002001001018
- טָבַח describes killing or slaughtering, most often of an animal prepared for a meal, as the animal slaughtered to prepare a feast for Joseph's brothers (Genesis 43:16, referring to the related verbal action).
Word family 7 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2873. tabach [טָבַח] verb slaughter, butcher, slay (Late Hebrew id. (rare) and…
[טָבַח] verb slaughter, butcher, slay (Late Hebrew id. (rare) and derivatives; Phoenician טבח participle; Assyrian ‰abâ—u AsrbAnnals iii. 56; Aramaic , טְבַח (rare) and derivatives; Arabic cook meat, also bake bread; Ethiopic slay) —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular suffix וּטְבָחוֺ consecutive Exodus 21:37; Exo 21:3feminine singular טָֽבְחָה Pro 9:2; Pro 9:2masculine singular טָבַחְתָּ Lam 2:21; Lam 2:1singular טָבַחְתִּי 1Sa 25:11; Imperative וּטְבֹחַ Gen 43:16; Infinitive construct טְבֹחַ Eze 21:15; לִטְבֿוֺחַ Psa 37:14 Psa 37:3t. (so Baer; van d. H לִטְבּוֺחַ, except לִטְב֑וֺחַ Jer 51:40); Passive participle טָבוּחַ Deu 28:31; —
1 slaughter, butcher animals for food Exodus 21:37 (E), Pro 9:2 (figurative of Wisdom's furnishing her table); so with accusative of congnate meaning with verb ׳ט טֶבַח Gen 43:16 (J), ׳ט טִבְחָה 1Sa 25:11; compare also Deu 28:31, where punishment lies in fact that the owner does not eat of the slain ox; לִטְבֿ֑וֺחַ יוּבַל אַלּוּף כְּכֶשֶׂב Jer 11:19 like a mild lamb that is led to slaughter, simile of the prophet exposed to his enemies, Jer 51:40 simile of ׳יs vengeance upon Babylon (see also טִבְחָה טֶבַח,), Jer 25:34 of kings and rulers, under figure of shepherds & choice sheep.
2 in poetry & figurative, slay, kill ruthlessly, with accusative of person Psa 37:14; absolute Lam 2:21(|| הָרַג; opposed to חמל); with accusative of congnate meaning with verb ׳ט טֶבַח Eze 21:15 of a sword sharpened for the slaughter of Israel in judgment.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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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