כָּתָב
kâthâb · H3791 · Hebrew · 17 occurrences
Meanings
-
record
A reference to one's name in a written document
ExamplesEzra 2:62 These searched among their genealogical registration but they could not be located; so they were considered defiled and excluded from the priesthood.
Nehemiah 7:64 These searched among their ancestral registration, but it could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and disqualified from the priesthood.
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writing system, script
The way a certain language is written
ExamplesEsther 1:22 So he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province according to its script and to every people according to their language, that every man was to be the ruler in his own house and the one who speaks in the language of his own people.
Esther 3:12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the officials of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring.
-
writing, written message
A written document, written on an unspecified surface
Examples1 Chronicles 28:19 “All this,” said David, “the LORD made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the details of this pattern.”
2 Chronicles 2:11 Then Huram, king of Tyre, answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them.”
2 Chronicles 35:4 “Prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon.
How it’s used In 7 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
12 occurrences in 7 groups
- הֶםtheir 4
- הּher 3
- בַּיִתhouse, household 1
- דָּוִדDavid 1
- דָּתlaw 1
- נִשְׁתְּוָןletter 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 2 groups
- חָתַםto seal 1
- כָּתַבto write down, to write, to inscribe 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- כָּתַבto write down, to write, to inscribe 1
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- בָּקַשׁto seek, to search, to look for 2
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אַיִןthere is no, not 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
10 occurrences in 2 groups
- בin/on/with 9
- כlike/as 5
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- פַּרְשֶׁגֶןcopy (of a letter) 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.
Near synonyms 1 word
- סֵפֶר çêpher · H5612 · scroll, book, letter
- Both words denote written documents or scrolls; both can refer to a register, a scroll or written material generally.
In the other Testament 1 word
- γραφή graphḗ · G1124 · passage, part of a document, part of Scripture
- Greek γραφή (graphē) serves as the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew כָּתָב (kāṯāḇ) when denoting sacred or authoritative writings, particularly Scripture; both terms denote written documents or registers, with γραφή carrying specialized reference to holy writ in NT usage while כָּתָב maintains broader application to any written text or register in the Hebrew Bible.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Write002001001072
- כָּתָב denotes a written document or register, illustrated at Ezra 2:62 (genealogical registers) and Ezra 4:7 (a letter written in Aramaic) — a genuine sense of recorded writing.
- Languages002004001009003
- The word is also used specifically for a script or a writing system, as in Esther 1:22's decree written "according to its own script," so it also belongs among terms for languages and scripts.
- Scrolls001003001001014
- The word further denotes Scripture as a body of sacred writing (Daniel 10:21), so it also belongs among terms for scrolls and written texts.
Word family 6 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3791. kethab כְּתָב noun masculineEzr 4:7 writing (late Aramaic; Biblical Aramaic כְּתָב…
כְּתָב noun masculineEzr 4:7 writing (late Aramaic; Biblical Aramaic כְּתָב Syriac ); — ׳כ absolute 1Ch 28:19 1Ch 28:4t.; construct Eze 13:9 Eze 13:4t.; suffix כְּתָבָהּ Est 1:22 Est 1:2t.; כְּתָבָם Ezr 2:62 Ezr 2:3t.; — writing:
1 register, enrolement, Eze 13:9; Ezr 2:62 = Neh 7:64.
2 = mode of writing, character, letter, ׳וּכ אֲרָמִית כָּתוּב הִנִּשְׁתְּוָן Ezr 4:7 and the writing of the letter was written in Aramaic (characters; so probably, see BeRy Ryle, compare Late Hebrew HoffmZAW i.(1881), 334 ff.); compare Est 1:22; Est 3:12; Est 8:9 (twice in verse).
3 = letter, 2Ch 2:10; Est 9:27.
4 of a royal enactment, edict2Ch 35:4 (|| מִכְתָּב), Est 3:14; Est 8:8, Est 8:13; more fully כְּתָבהַֿדָּת Est 4:8.
5 of a writing with divine authority 1Ch 28:19; ׳כ אֱמֶת Dan 10:21, i.e. a book of truth.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 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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