עָרַב
ʻârab · H6148 · Hebrew · 22 occurrences
Meanings
-
to pledge, to promise, to put up security
Action by which humans or deities take responsibility for someone else, taking upon themselves that person's obligations or vouching for that person's security
ExamplesGenesis 43:9 “I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then you can let me take the blame forever.
Genesis 44:32 “For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.’
Job 17:3 “Make a pledge for me with Yourself; Who is there that will be my guarantor?
-
to dare
Literally: to pledge the heart; hence: action by which humans agree to perform an event that is considered dangerous and perhaps foolish, as if they had to set aside their heart's desire
ExamplesJeremiah 30:21 ‘Their leader shall be one of them, And their ruler will come out from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the LORD.
-
to deal, to trade, to barter, to do business
Action by which persons or groups engage in the exchange of merchandise or services, as in the business of buying and selling
ExamplesEzekiel 27:9 “The elders of Gebal and her wise men were with you repairing your leaks; All the ships of the sea and their sailors were with you in order to deal in your merchandise.
Ezekiel 27:27 “Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise, Your seamen and your sailors, Your repairers of leaks, your dealers in merchandise, And all your men of war who are in you, With all your contingent that is in your midst, Will fall into the heart of the seas On the day of your overthrow.
-
to mortgage, to pawn
Action by which humans pledge property as security for a debt
ExamplesNehemiah 5:3 And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.”
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to make a wager, bet
Action by which humans promise property or something of value to other humans, dependent upon the particular outcome of a future event
Examples2 Kings 18:23 “Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
Isaiah 36:8 “Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
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to mix, to mingle
Action by which humans join in or associate other humans; used to describe the combinations of different groups of peoples, suggesting social and religious confusion
ExamplesEzra 9:2 “For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy line has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness.”
Psalm 106:35 But they got involved with the nations And learned their practices,
Proverbs 20:19 One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with a gossip.
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to share
Action by which a person experiences an event with another participant or other participants
ExamplesProverbs 14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.
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
Who or what does itSubject
21 occurrences in 10 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 8
- Not stated: he, she or it 4
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
12 occurrences in 11 groups
- זוּרstranger, strange 3
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
12 occurrences in 12 groups
- Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
With adverbsAdverbs
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- לֹאnot 2
- אַלnot, do not 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- מַעֲרָבwares 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אָמַרto say 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- בin/on/with 1
- לto/for 1
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
- מָסַךְ mâçak · H4537 · to mix, to mingle, to mix within
- מָסַךְ (mâçak, H4537) is a focused verb meaning “to mingle,” while עָרַב (ʻârab, H6148) is a much broader multi-sense verb spanning pledging/surety, engaging, associating, and mingling; the two genuinely overlap in the mingling sense specifically, though not across עָרַב (ʻârab, H6148)'s fuller range.
Semantic domains 12 entries
- Bear002003003003
- עָרַב here denotes bearing responsibility for another, illustrated at Genesis 44:32 ("your servant accepted responsibility for the boy"), a genuine sense of taking on another's obligation.
- Confident002001002003
- The word's sense of standing surety carries an association with the assurance a pledge provides, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which focus on the act of pledging itself rather than the resulting confidence.
- Exchange002003002010
- עָרַב also denotes an exchange or trade transaction underlying a pledge, illustrated at 2 Kings 18:23 ("make a wager"/exchange of terms), distinct from the plain suretyship sense illustrated elsewhere.
- Non-Possess002003002018
- עָרַב also denotes surrendering or giving up possession as a pledge, illustrated at Nehemiah 5:3 ("we are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and houses"), a genuine sense of relinquishing possession as security.
- Vow002004001009013
- The word's sense of standing surety or giving a pledge borders on a solemn commitment akin to a vow, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations.
- Mixed002003001012
- עָרַב also denotes mixing or mingling oneself with others, illustrated at Ezra 9:2 ("the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands") and Psalm 106:35 ("they mingled with the nations"), a genuine sense distinct from the pledge/suretyship uses.
- Associate002003002002
- עָרַב also denotes associating or becoming involved with another party, illustrated at Proverbs 20:19 ("do not get involved with a gossip") and Proverbs 14:10 ("a stranger does not share in its joy" — a related sense of shared association).
- Engage002003003011
- עָרַב also denotes engaging or entangling oneself in an undertaking, illustrated at Proverbs 6:1 ("if you have become a guarantor for your neighbor") and Proverbs 17:18 ("one who is devoid of understanding" pledges surety), a genuine sense of committing oneself to an obligation.
- Well002001003018
- עָרַב (ʻârab, H6148) means "to pledge, stand surety for, exchange a guarantee." This sense does not independently attest the "Well" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with עָרֵב (ʻârêb, H6149), עָרַב (ʻârab, H6150), and עֲרַב (ʻărab, H6151) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
- Time002002002010
- עָרַב (ʻârab, H6148) means "to pledge, stand surety for, exchange a guarantee." This sense does not independently attest the "Time" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with עָרֵב (ʻârêb, H6149), עָרַב (ʻârab, H6150), and עֲרַב (ʻărab, H6151) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
- Complete002001003003
- The word's sense of fully undertaking a commitment ties it to an association with completeness, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations.
- Happen002002003003
- The word's broader range of senses ties it to an association with a transaction coming about, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which describe the pledging act itself rather than its outcome.
Word family 17 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6148. arab II. עָרַב verb take on pledge, give in pledge, exchange (Late Hebrew go…
II. עָרַב verb take on pledge, give in pledge, exchange (Late Hebrew go surety for (rare); Phoenician ערב surety; Old Aramaic ערבא pledge; עֲרַב ᵑ7, Syriac , go surety for; usually identified with I. ערב — mix, exchange, pledge — but quite uncertain; compare BuhlLex LagBN 203); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ע Gen 44:32 Gen 44:4t.; 2 masculine singular עָרַבְתָּ Pro 6:1; Imperfect1singular suffix אֶעֶרְבֶנּוּ Gen 43:9; Imperative עֲרֹב Psa 119:122, suffix עָרְבֵנִי Isa 38:14, so Job 17:3 (but see below); Infinitive construct לַעֲרֹב Eze 27:9; Participle עֹרֵב Pro 17:18, etc.; —
1 with accusative of person taken on pledge, i.e. go surety for the safety of, Gen 43:9 (J), Gen 44:32 (J; + מֵעִם person); for the debts of Pro 11:15; Pro 20:16; Pro 27:13; of God Isa 38:14 go surety for me, Psa 119:122, so Job 17:3 (si vera lectio, see עֵרָבוֺן); accusative of person omitted, ׳ע לְ Pro 6:1 go surety to one (in behalf of another, || כַּמֶּ֑יךָ לַזָּר תָּקַע); with accusative of thing Pro 22:26 (|| תֹּקְעֵיכָֿ֑ף).
2 give in pledge, with accusative of thing Neh 5:3 (i.e. mortagage), figurative ׳ע אֶתלִֿבּוֺ Jer 30:21 so ׳ע רֵעֵהוּ לִפְנֵי עֲרֻבָּה Pro 17:18 (|| כָּ֑ף תֹּקֵעַ).
3 exchange (in trade), with accusative of congnate meaning with verb מָעֲרָבֵךְ Eze 27:9, Eze 27:27.
Hithpa`el 1. reciprocal: Imperative אֶתאֲֿדֹנִי נָא הִתְעָ֫רֶב 2Ki 18:23 exchange pledges (make a bargain) with my lord = Isa 36:8.
2. a. have fellowship with, בְּ person, Perfect3plural הִתְעָֽרְבוּ Ezr 9:2; Imperfect3masculine plural וַיִּתְעָֽרְבוּ Psa 106:35; Psa 106:2masculine singular תִּתְעָרָ֑ב with לְ person Pro 20:19, with עִם person Pro 24:21.
b. share in, בְּ of thing, 3 masculine singular יִתְעָרַב Pro 14:10 in his joy no other shares..
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 12 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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