Word

עִיר

ʻîyr · H5892 · Hebrew · 1,096 occurrences

See all 1,096 in Search

Meanings

town

Relatively large and permanent population center, usually surrounded by a wall and surrounded by a number of dependent villages, settlements, and pasturelands; associated with strength and security

Examples
Genesis 4:17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son.
Genesis 10:12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
Genesis 11:4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”
district, citadel

Area within a town, in most cases protected by its own wall

Examples
2 Samuel 5:7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.
2 Samuel 5:9 So David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward.
2 Samuel 6:10 And David was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite.
agitation, shock, alarm, rage, fury

State in which humans or deities are deeply upset which may have different causes, and may therefore express itself in different ways, such as anger, fear, etc

Examples
Jeremiah 15:8 “Their widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A destroyer at noon; I will suddenly bring down on her Shock and horror.
Hosea 11:9 I will not carry out My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath.

How it’s used In 10 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

399 occurrences in 96 groups

יְהוּדָהJudah 50
הוּhis 48
דָּוִדDavid 44
הֶםtheir 33
מִבְצָרfortress 18
מִקְלָטrefuge 17
Other words · 65 groups that occur once or twice (76) 76

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

278 occurrences in 79 groups

זֹאתthis 64
אֵלֶּהthese 21
בָּצוֹרinaccessible 15
שָׁלוֹשׁthree 14
נָתַןto give, to put, to set 12
גָּדוֹלgreat, large 11
Other words · 53 groups that occur once or twice (63) 63

Named alongside itApposition

70 occurrences in 60 groups

יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִםJerusalem 9
מִגְרָשׁpasture land, open land 5
בַּתdaughter 3
הַרmountain 3
יְרִיחוֹJericho 3
נִינְוֵהNineveh 3
Other words · 54 groups that occur once or twice (66) 66

What it doesIt is the subject

88 occurrences in 37 groups

הָיָהto be, to become 27
נָתַןto give, to put, to set 6
יָשַׁבto dwell, to live, to sit 5
בָּנָהto build, to rebuild, to establish 3
בָּקַעto split, to break open 3
חָרַבto dry up, to lie waste 3
Other words · 28 groups that occur once or twice (33) 33

What is done to itIt is the object

185 occurrences in 59 groups

נָתַןto give, to put, to set 30
בָּנָהto build, to rebuild, to establish 21
לָכַדto capture, to take, to catch 15
הָיָהto be, to become 10
נָכָהto strike, to strike down 7
סָבַבto turn, to go around, to surround 7
Other words · 41 groups that occur once or twice (50) 50

Second object ofSecond object

2 occurrences in 2 groups

בָּנָהto build, to rebuild, to establish 1
נָתַןto give, to put, to set 1

What it is said to bePredicate

39 occurrences in 25 groups

עִירcity, town 6
בֵּןson 4
מִגְרָשׁpasture land, open land 4
בָּצוֹרinaccessible 3
שֵׁשׁsix 3
תָּוֶךְmiddle 3
Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (24) 24

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

33 occurrences in 17 groups

עִירcity, town 6
הוּאhe, she, it 5
אִישׁman, person, each 4
Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (18) 18

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

438 occurrences in 11 groups

בin/on/with 338
מִןfrom 123
אֵלto, toward 110
לto/for 73
עַלon, upon, over, against 65
עַדto, as far as, until 9
Other words · 3 groups that occur once or twice (5) 5

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

178 occurrences in 53 groups

שֵׁםname 18
אִישׁman, person, each 17
שַׁעַרgate 17
זָקֵןelder, old 16
תָּוֶךְmiddle 14
רְחֹבopen place 7
Other words · 37 groups that occur once or twice (44) 44

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

קֶרֶת qereth · H7176 · city, town: Both words denote settlements or urban places and share the core sense "city."
קִרְיָה qiryâh · H7151 · town: Both words denote a city or town as a settlement, and could substitute for each other in sense.

In the other Testament 1 word

πόλις pólis · G4172 · city, town: Greek πόλις is the standard translation equivalent for Hebrew עִיר across the semantic range of ‘city, town’; the Greek term emphasizes walled settlements, while the Hebrew term covers both walled and unwalled urban settlements, reflecting a consistent translation practice.

Semantic domains 4 entries

Towns001003002011: עִיר is the common Hebrew word for a city or town, as in Genesis 4:17's "Cain built a city" and Genesis 11:4's "let's build ourselves a city."
Angry002001002002: עִיר (ʻîyr, H5892) is a common noun meaning "city, town." The quotation "Come, let's build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven" at Genesis 11:4 shows this sense, which does not independently attest the "Angry" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with עִיר (ʻÎyr, H5893) and עִיר (ʻîyr, H5894) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
Afraid002001002001: This lexeme's own tagged occurrences overwhelmingly denote a city or town, a constructed settlement (Genesis 4:17, "Cain built a city"; Genesis 11:4, "let's build ourselves a city"), not an emotional state; this Afraid domain code is bundle-shared from this lexeme's cognate root (עוּר (ʻûwr, H5782), "stir up, rouse") and carries no tagged occurrence of עִיר (ʻîyr, H5892) independently attesting a fear sense.
Names of People003001007: This lexeme's own tagged occurrences denote the common noun "city, town" (see above) or, at a small number of addresses, the place name Ai (e.g. Genesis 12:8, 13:3); no tagged occurrence of עִיר (ʻîyr, H5892) is itself a personal name. This Names of People domain code is bundle-shared from this lexeme's cognate root (עוּר (ʻûwr, H5782)) and carries no tagged occurrence of עִיר (ʻîyr, H5892) independently attesting a personal-name sense.

Word family 6 words

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

עוּר ʻûwr · H5782 · to wake up, to awaken · 80×עִירʻîyr · H5892עַיִר ʻayir · H5895 · young male donkey · 8×עִיר ʻîyr · H5894 · watcher · 3×עָר ʻâr · H6145 · enemy, adversary · 2×עָר ʻâr · H6146 · enemy · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5892. iyr I. עִיר noun [masculine] excitement; — of terror, ׳ע וּבֶהָלוֺת Jer 15:9; of…

H5892. iyr
I. עִיר noun [masculine] excitement; — of terror, ׳ע וּבֶהָלוֺת Jer 15:9; of rage (si vera lectio), בְּעִיר אָבוֺא לֹא Hos 11:9, but St proposes לְבָעֵר compare We Oort Now GASm. — בָּעִיר Psa 73:20 see עור
Hiph`il — II, III. עִיר see below
II. עִיר1092 noun feminineGen 10:12 (AlbrZAW xvi.40 f.) city, town (√ unknown; Late Hebrew id.;? Phoenician ער Lzb345; Sabean ער fortified height (compare
3) PräZMG xxvi (1872), 437, עהרן ערן, city CISiv. pp. 94, 95, 173); — ׳ע absolute Gen 4:17 +, construct Gen 24:10 +; הָעִ֫ירָה 1Ki 14:12 + 7t.; suffix עִירִי 2Sa 19:38 2Sa 19:2t., etc.; plural עָרִים Isa 6:11 +, עֲיָרִים Jdg 10:4 (text error, or word-play, compare GFM); construct עָרֵי Gen 10:29 +; suffix עָרַי Zec 1:17, עָרֵיכֶם Isa 1:7 +, etc.; —
1 city, town, abode of men Gen 4:17 (J) and often; גְּדֹלָה Gen 10:12 (J), +, or קְטַנָּה Ecc 9:14 (compare Gen 19:20); especially
a. fortified: בְּצֻרוֺת עָרִים 2Sa 20:6 +, etc., see מִבְצָר בָּצַר,; מִבְצַרצֹֿר עִיר Jos 19:29 (P) fortified city (of) Tyre, ׳ע מָצוֺר Psa 31:22 +, etc., see מְצוּרָה מָצוֺר, below צוּר (Mic 7:12 see מָצוֺר); ׳ע עָזלָֿנוּ Isa 26:1, מָעוּזּוֺ עָרֵי Isa 17:9; ׳ְ וּבְרִיחַ דְּלָתַיִם 1Sa 23:7; ׳ע חוֺמָה Lev 25:29, compare Lev 25:30 (P), 1Ki 4:13; on Hos 10:14 see I. עַם 2b (1Sa 9:14 read ᵐ5 הַשֵּׁעַר We Dr and others).
b. opposed to הַמְּרָזִי כֹּפֶר 1Sa 6:18, הַמּ ׳עָרֵי Deu 3:5, ׳ע הַמְּרָזוֺת Est 9:19; distinguished from dependencies חֲצֵרִים Jos 13:23 +?
c. עָרֶיה are dependent towns Jos 13:17 (P), Jer 19:15.
d. הַמַּמְלָכָה עָרֵי Jos 10:2 (JE) royal cities (i.e. with a king, compare Tel Amarna al šarri), so singular 1Sa 27:5, opposed to עָרֵי הַשָּׁדֶה 1Sa 27:5 rural towns; ׳ע הַמְּלוּכָה 2Sa 12:26 (but read ׳ע הַמַּיִם We Bu Kit Löhr HPS, see 2 below).
e. מִסְכְּנוֺת עֶרֵי Exo 1:11 storage-cities, so 1Ki 9:19 2Ch 8:6, 2Ch 8:4; 2Ch 17:12; for ׳מ ׳ע נַפְתָּלִי2Ch 16:4 read probably עֵלוֿגו ׳כִּנְרוֺת (as 1Ki 15:20; Be Kit Buhl); compare ׳ע הֶרֶכֶב 1Ki 9:19; 1Ki 10:26 2Ch 8:6; 2Ch 9:25; 2Ch 1:14; ׳ע הַמָּרָשִׁים 1Ki 9:19 2Ch 8:6.
f. ׳ע (הַ)מִקְלָט (P) asylum-cities Num 35:11, Num 35:13, Num 35:14; Jos 20:2, compare Num 35:25-26, Num 35:27, Num 35:28, Num 35:32, ׳ע לְמִקְלָט Num 35:12; ׳ע הָרֹצֵחַ מִקְלַט Jos 21:13 + 4t. 21.
g. ׳ע (הָ)אֱלֹהִים = Jerusalem: Psa 46:5; Psa 87:3, compare Psa 48:2; Psa 48:9; ׳ע ׳י Isa 60:14; Psa 101:8; ׳ע ׳י צְבָאוֺת Psa 48:9.
h. city = inhabitants 1Sa 4:13; 1Sa 5:12; Isa 22:2; Rth 1:19, so 2Sa 20:22 (reading הָעִיר for הָעָם ᵑ0) ᵐ5 We Dr and others (compare also following).
i. combinations are: ׳ע רֹכְלִים Eze 17:4 city of merchants; ׳ע מוֺשָׁב Psa 107:4; Psa 107:7; Psa 107:36 city for dwelling; especially of character or condition: ׳ע הַצֶּדֶק Isa 1:26, הָאֱמֶת ׳ע Zec 8:3; ׳ע הַקּדֶשׁ Isa 48:2; Isa 52:1; Neh 11:1, Neh 11:18, compare Dan 9:24, all of Jerusalem; קָדְשֶׁ֑ךָ עָרֵי Jer 5:17 of Judaean cities; of foreign cities, ׳ע תְּהִלָּךְ Jer 49:25, הַהֻלָּלה ׳הָעEze 26:17, ׳הָע הָעַלִּיזָה Zep 2:15; of Jerusalem also ׳הָע הַיּוֺנָה Zep 3:1 oppressive city, ׳ע (הַ)דָּמִים bloody city Eze 22:2; Eze 24:6, Eze 24:9 and (of Nineveh) Nah 3:1.
2 of fortress in a city especially דָּוִד עִיר 2Sa 5:7, 2Sa 5:9; 2Sa 6:10 + often (see דָּוִד); ׳ע הַבָּ֑עַל כֵית 2Ki 10:25 (crpt; Klo proposes דְּבִיר for ׳ע, compare Kmp Benz Kit); ׳ע הַמַּיִם 2Sa 12:27 (so read also 2Sa 12:26, see 1d).
3 apparently fortified place, of any size, עַדֿ נוֺצְרִים מִמִּגְּדַּל בְּכָלעָֿרֵיהֶם מִבְצָר עִיר 2Ki 17:9 2Ki 18:8; compare Num 13:9 (P; but on compare of ver. see Di); perhaps also ׳ע עֲמָלֵק 1Sa 15:5 (HPS). — Hos 7:4 see עור
Hiph`il
הַהֶרֶס עִיר see הֶרֶס.

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

Topical studies with this word 3 entries

Towns1,081 occurrences Angry2 occurrences Names of People0 occurrences

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