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Word

כָּתַב

kâthab · H3789 · Hebrew · 223 occurrences

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Meanings

  1. to write down, to write, to inscribe, to incise

    Action by which humans or deities mark letters, words or other symbols on a surface, such as clay, stone, skin, or papyrus, usually with a pointed stylus or reed

    Examples

    Exodus 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

    Exodus 24:4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.

    Exodus 24:12 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the Law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction.”

  2. to register, to record, to enroll, to list

    Causative action by which humans write down names or other information for record keeping purposes, without an explicit reference to a scroll or other writing materials

    Examples

    Numbers 11:26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other, Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (and they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.

    1 Chronicles 4:41 These people, recorded by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and they attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and utterly destroyed them to this day; and they lived in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.

    1 Chronicles 24:6 Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, from the Levites, recorded them in the presence of the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and the Levites; one father’s household taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.

  3. to be written in the earth

    Exact meaning unsure; literally: to be written in the earth; hence, possibly: process by which humans die, with the possible implication of going down to the underworld

    Examples

    Jeremiah 17:13 LORD, the hope of Israel, All who abandon You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the LORD.

  4. to write, to issue

    Causative action by which humans create a written document, such as a letter, book, or song

    Examples

    Exodus 32:32 “But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your book which You have written!”

    Deuteronomy 24:1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, that he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her away from his house,

    Deuteronomy 24:3 and the latter husband turns against her, writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand, and sends her away from his house, or if the latter husband who took her to be his wife dies,

  5. to be written in the earth > to be soon forgotten

    Exact meaning unsure; literally: to be written in the earth; hence, possibly: process by which the names of humans are soon forgotten, as words written in the sand which are soon wiped out

    Examples

    Jeremiah 17:13 LORD, the hope of Israel, All who abandon You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the LORD.

How it’s used In 12 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

214 occurrences in 49 groups

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

68 occurrences in 31 groups

Second objectAs in “call him Lord”

2 occurrences in 2 groups

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

187 occurrences in 76 groups

With adverbsAdverbs

40 occurrences in 4 groups

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

1 occurrences in 1 groups

Named alongside itApposition

10 occurrences in 7 groups

What it doesIt is the subject

1 occurrences in 1 groups

What is done to itIt is the object

6 occurrences in 3 groups

What it is said to bePredicate

1 occurrences in 1 groups

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

1 occurrences in 1 groups

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

27 occurrences in 3 groups

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 1 word
חָקַק châqaq · H2710 · to carve, to portray, to draw
The target term means to write, record or describe, and חקק (châqaq, H2710) means to engrave, note or portray. Both belong to the field of inscribing and recording, חקק emphasizing physical inscription or engraving and the target term recording and description. חקק is relatively rare.
In the other Testament 1 word
γράφω gráphō · G1125 · to write, (it) is written
Greek γράφω (gráphō, G1125) ('to write,' literally 'to grave,' and figuratively 'to describe') is the standard translation equivalent of Hebrew כָּתַב across the semantic field of writing, encompassing literal inscription, recording, and prescriptive writing. The two share core denotation and register across the majority of the target term's Septuagint attestations.
Semantic domains 4 entries
Write002001001072
This word's core and most frequent sense is to write or record something in writing, as with Moses writing down the words of the LORD (Exodus 24:4) and the tablets written by the finger of God (Exodus 31:18).
Dead002001001018
The same word is used in the specific idiom of writing a person as childless or cut off from a line, as in Jeremiah 22:30's decree that Coniah be "written down childless," tying the act of writing to a sentence of death or extinction.
Exist002002002005
The word is used of a decree being put in writing so that it stands as a fixed, binding reality, as with the unalterable written laws of the Medes and Persians (Esther 8:8), establishing something as legally existing and irrevocable.
Non-Know002004002008
The word is also used of a writing that is sealed up and not to be read or understood until an appointed time, as in the sealed book of Daniel 12:4, withholding its contents from present knowledge.
Word family 6 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

כָּתַבkâthab · H3789כָּתָב kâthâb · H3791 · record, writing system, script · 17×כְּתָב kᵉthâb · H3792 · prescribing, writing · 12×מִכְתָּב miktâb · H4385 · writing, written message, inscription · 9×כְּתַב kᵉthab · H3790 · write · 8×כְּתֹבֶת kᵉthôbeth · H3793 · incision, tattoo, scar · 1×
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3789. kathab כָּתַב223 verb write (Late Hebrew id.; Phoenician כתב; Aramaic כְּתַב,…
H3789. kathab
כָּתַב223 verb write (Late Hebrew id.; Phoenician כתב; Aramaic כְּתַב, Nabataean כתב, see especially Nö in EutNab. p. 43; thence Arabic Ethiopic book, DiLex. 852 (as loan-words, Frä249 DHMVOJ i (1887), 29); MV Buhl compare Arabic draw or sew together, conjoin (letters), etc., compare FlZMG 1873, 427) —
Qal Perfect ׳כ Jos 8:32 +, כָּתַבְתָּ Jer 36:6 +, suffix וּכְתַבְתָּם consecutive Deu 6:9; Deu 11:20, etc. (Perfect 27 t.); Imperfect יִכְתֹּב Isa 44:5, וַיִּכְתֹּב Exo 24:4 +, etc. (Imperfect 39 t.); Imperative כְּתֹב Isa 8:1 Isa 8:5t., כְּתָבֿ Exo 34:27 Exo 34:2t.; suffix כָּתְבָהּ Isa 30:8, כָּתְבֵם Pro 3:3; Pro 7:3; plural כִּתְבוּ Deu 31:9 Deu 31:3t .; Infinitive absolute כָּתוֺכ Jer 32:44; cstr כְּתוֺב Psalm 87:8, לִכְתֹּב Deu 31:24; Jos 18:8; suffix כָּתְבוֺ Jer 45:1; Participle active כֹּתֵב Jer 36:18, plural כֹּתְבִים Jer 32:12; Neh 10:1; passive (113 t.), כָּתוּב Jos 1:8 +, feminine כְּתוּבָה 2Sa 1:18 +, plural כְּתוּבִים 1Ki 15:7 +, כְּתֻבִים 1Ki 11:41 +; feminine plural כְּתוּבוֺת2Ch 34:24; —
1 write:
a. with accusative, words Exo 34:27, commandments Exo 24:12, etc.; accusative of congnate meaning with verb מכתב Exo 39:30, compare כַּמִּכְתָּב Deu 10:4; with כְּ, giving purport of writing, also Est 8:8; but object also a book, סֵפֶר Exo 32:32; Deu 24:1; מְגִלָּה Jer 38:6, compare participle pass, וְאָחוֺר מָּנִים כְּתוּבָה וְהִיא Eze 2:10 ( of מגלה; i.e. written on both sides); a letter, סֵפָר 2Sa 11:14; 2Ki 10:1 2Ki 10:4t., אִגֶּרֶת2Ch 30:1; a divorce-certificate כְּרִיתֻת סֵפֶר Deu 24:1, etc.; even כְּתֻבִים לֻחֹת tablets inscribed by the finger of God Exo 31:18 compare Deu 9:10; ׳ל ׳כ עֶבְרֵיהֶם מִשְּׁנֵי Exo 32:15 tables inscribed on both sides (compare Eze 2:10 above) Here belongs (probably) לי יָדוֺ יִכְתֹּב ׳וְזֶה Isa 44:5 and this one shall inscribe his hand, 'Yahweh's', so ᵐ5 Hi Kn Che Br Du Di, Ges Ew De, shall sign (with) his hand unto ׳י.
b. more often write something on, or in (עַלֿ85t., בְ44t., אֶלֿ3t.) a tablet, roll, book, etc. (object various, as above): — (I) ׳כ עַלֿ followed by סֵפֶר = book Deu 17:18 55t., especially in phrase וגו דברי עלסֿפר ׳כתובים 1Ki 11:41 + often Kings Chronicles; ׳כ עַלמְֿגִּלָּה Jer 36:2; Jer 36:28; Jer 36:32; Jeremiah 38:29; ׳כ עַללֿוּח(ותׅ Exo 34:1 Exo 34:7t., עַלאֶֿבֶן Deu 27:3 Deu 27:2t., עַלגּֿלָּיוֺן Isa 8:1; בַּיִת עַלמְֿזֻזוֺת Deu 6:9; Deu 11:20; עַלמַֿטֶּה on a rod Numbers 17:17; Numbers 17:18; עַלעֵֿץ Eze 37:16 (twice in verse), עַלצִֿיץ (high priest's plate) Exo 39:30; even (only Chronicles) עַלֿ followed by name of book or its contents: — ׳כ נָתָן עַלדִּֿבְרֵי2Ch 9:29; compare 2Ch 33:19; וגו ׳עַלמִֿדְרַשׁ2Ch 24:27; עַלהַֿקִּינוֺת2Ch 35:25; figurative, ׳כ עַללִֿבָּם Jeremiah 31:83 I will write them upon their heart; compare ׳כ לִבֶּ֑ךָ עַללֿוּחַ Pro 3:3. (2) ׳כ אֶלֿ appears for ׳כ עַלֿ only Jer 36:2 compare Eze 2:10; Jer 51:60. (3) ׳כ בְּ followed by ספר = book Jos 24:26 (E) + 35 t.; = letter, bill, deed, 1Ki 21:9 1Ki 21:5t.; עָלָ֑י כָּתוּב סֵפֶר בִּמְגִלַּת Psa 40:8 it is prescribed to me, על as 2Ki 22:13 (N.B. ׳כ עלֿ not used with סֵפֶר = letter, and ׳כ בְּ not used with אבן לוּחַ, or עֵץ).
c. other uses of perp. with ׳כ are: — בְּ instrumental, ׳כ אֱנוֺשׁ בְּחֶרֶט Isa 8:1, ׳כ בַּרְזֶל בְּעֵט Jer 17:1; אֱלֹהִים בְּאֶצְבַּע כְּתֻבִים Deu 9:10; Exo 31:18; ׳כ אֶלֿ unto, of person to whom letter, etc., is addressed 2Sa 11:14; 2Ki 10:6; Est 9:13; עַלֿ substantive for אֶלֿ (late) 2Ch 30:1; Ezr 4:7; Est 8:8; the fuller construction is ׳כ (אֶלֿׅ וישׁלח ספר 2Ki 10:1; Est 8:10; Est 9:20 +; ׳כ אֶלֿ write down for the benefit or use of some one, Jdg 8:14; לְ to or for, Deu 17:18; Deu 24:1 +; note especially תּוֺרָתִי רֻבֵּו֯ אֶכְתָּו֯בלֿוֺ Hos 8:12, i.e. either, I write (keep writing) for them ever so many (We, רֹב, compare Ew and most רִבּוֺ(אׅ a myriad) of my directions, or 'Though I write,' 'Were I to write,' etc.; ׳כ followed by ל with infinitive of purpose 2Ch 32:17; Est 8:5; with מִן in phrase ׳כ פ ׳מִמִּי write from the mouth of any one i.e. from dictation, Jer 36:2, Jer 36:32; Jer 38:6, Jer 38:17, Jer 38:27; Jer 45:1.
2 = write down describe in writing, ׳כ אֶתהָֿאָרֶץ Jdg 18:4, Jdg 18:6, Jdg 18:8 (3 t. in verse); Jdg 18:9.
3 = register enroll Isa 10:19 (= record the number), 1Ch 24:6; especially passive הַכְּתוּבִים Num 11:26 those enrolled compare Neh 12:22; ׳הַכּ בְּשֵׁמוֺת 1Ch 4:41 those recorded by name; in prediction, עֲרִירִי הַזֶּה ׳כ אֶתהָֿאִישׁ Jer 22:30 register this man as childless; with eschatological reference, לַחַיִּים כָּלהַֿכָּתוּב Isa 4:3 all those enrolled (i.e. appointed) unto life; and, more explicitly, בַּסֵּפֶר כָּתוּב כָּלהַֿנִּמְצָא Dan 12:1; ׳י עַמִּים בִּכְתוֺבּ יִסְמֹּר Psa 87:6 ׳י shall reckon, when he registers (note absence of suffix) the peoples, etc.
4 = decree, מְרֹרוֺת עָלַי תִּכְתֹּב Job 13:26 thou (׳י) decrest against me bitter things.
Niph`al (chiefly late, especially Esther), Imperfect יִכָּתֵב Est 1:19 +, 3 feminine singular זֹאת תִּכָּ֫תֶב Psa 102:19; Psa 102:3masculine plural יִכָּתֵ֑בוּ Jer 17:13 Jer 17:3t., יִכָּֽתְבוּן Job 19:23; Participle נִכְתָּב Est 3:12 Est 3:2t.; —
1 be written, subject words Job 19:23, book Mal 3:16; be written בְּסֵפֶר Est 2:23; Est 9:23, in, or among ב the laws Est 1:19; once, with יִכָּתֵ֑בוּ כֻּלָּם עַלסִֿפְרְךָ עַלֿ, Psa 139:16 in thy ׳י's book all of them (my members) are written, i.e. written down, recorded (see below); absolute הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשֵׁם נִכְתָּב אֲשֶׁר כְּתָב Est 8:8 a writing which is written in the king's name, compare (impersonal) Est 3:12; impersonal also צִוָּה כְּכָלאֲֿשֶׁר וַיִּכָּתֵב Est 3:12; Est 8:9; ׳יִכָּ followed by לְ = for Psa 102:19; followed by לְ + infinitive (really = a subject-cl., — the contents of the letter) Est 3:9; Est 8:5.
2 be written down, recorded, Ezr 8:34; enrolled, יִכָּתֵ֑בוּ לֹא ישׂראל בית בִּכְתָב Eze 13:9 in the enrolement of the house of Israel they are not enrolled (eschatolog.); אַליִֿכָּתֵ֑בוּ וְעִםצַֿדִּיקִים Psa 69:29 (|| מִסֵּפֶר יִמָּחוּ חַיִּים) — יִכָּתֵ֑בוּ בָּאָרֶץ Jer 17:13 is difficult; Gie reads, plausibly, יִכָּרֵ֑תוּ מֵאֶרֶץ (compare Psa 34:17; Psa 101:8, etc.)
Pi`el frequently, Perfect and Participle, only עָמָל כִּתֵּ֑בוּוּמְכַתְּבִים Isa 10:1 and busy writers that make a business of writing oppression (i.e. register unjust sentences, compare Qal 4; || חִקֲקֵיאָֿוֶן הַחֹקֲקִים).
כְּתַב verb write (see Biblical Hebrew); —
Pe`al Perfect3masculine singular ׳כ Dan 6:26 ל person + oratio recta [direct speech], Dan 7:1 accusative of thing; 3 masculine plural כְּתַ֫בוּ Ezr 4:8 accusative אִגְּרָה; 1 plural נִכְתּוּב Ezr 5:10, accusative of thing; Participle active absolute feminine singular כָּֽתְבָה Dan 5:5, subject יְדָא, feminine plural כָּֽתְבָן Dan 5:5, subject אֶצְבְּעָן.
Pe`il (WCG 224) Perfect3masculine singular תִּיב כְּ כִּדְנָהEzr 5:7 thus (it) was written, so כ ׳כֵּן Ezr 6:2.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Dead1 occurrenceWrite194 occurrencesExist28 occurrencesNon-Know1 occurrence

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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