רָבַב
râbab · H7231 · Hebrew · 22 occurrences
Meanings
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to increase, to multiply, to become numerous, to become many
Process by which people, animals, and objects increase in quantity
ExamplesGenesis 6:1 Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
Exodus 23:29 “I will not drive them out from you in a single year, so that the land will not become desolate and the animals of the field become too numerous for you.
Deuteronomy 7:7 “The LORD did not make you His beloved nor choose you because you were greater in number than any of the peoples, since you were the fewest of all peoples,
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to increase, to multiply, to become numerous, to become many
Process by which events increase in frequency
ExamplesJob 35:6 “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your wrongdoings are many, what do you do to Him?
Psalm 104:24 LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions.
Isaiah 59:12 For our wrongful acts have multiplied before You, And our sins have testified against us; For our wrongful acts are with us, And we know our wrongdoings:
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Literally: to be numerous; hence: process by which an event increases in intensity (to grow (in intensity), to increase (in intensity))
ExamplesGenesis 18:20 And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
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to multiply by tens of thousands
Process by which animals multiply by tens of thousands
ExamplesPsalm 144:13 Our granaries are full, providing every kind of produce, And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
How it’s used In 3 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
22 occurrences in 18 groups
- פֶּשַׁעtransgression, rebellion 3
- Not stated: they 3
- Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
9 occurrences in 9 groups
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- כlike/as 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 3 words
- יָסַף yâçaph · H3254 · to add, to increase, to do again
- Both words denote augmenting or increasing.
- כָּבַר kâbar · H3527 · in abundance, to multiply words, to talk much
- Both lexemes denote multiplication or increase in quantity—genuine same-language near-synonyms that could substitute for each other in sense.
- שָׂגָה sâgâh · H7685 · to grow, to be great
- Both lexemes denote increase/growth in quantity—genuine overlapping sense as near-synonyms (רָבַב (râbab, H7231) "multiply, increase" and שָׂגָה (sâgâh, H7685) "grow, increase").
In the other Testament 2 words
- πληθύνω plēthýnō · G4129 · to grow, to increase greatly, to multiply
- Greek πληθύνω renders Hebrew רָבַב as the standard LXX translation for multiplication and increase concepts, maintaining the same semantic range of both transitive causative ('cause to multiply') and intransitive states ('become many/multiplied').
- πολύς polýs · G4183 · many, a great deal of, a great number of
- Greek πολύς renders the quantitative abundance sense of Hebrew רָבַב ('be many, multiply') with its core meaning of 'much/many,' serving as the standard Greek translation equivalent for expressing numerical or volumetric multiplicity.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Quantity002001001046
- The word means to increase or multiply, directly illustrated by mankind beginning "to multiply on the face of the land" (Genesis 6:1) and the animals becoming "too numerous" if the land were cleared too fast (Exodus 23:29).
- Frequency002001003009
- This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations, which concern multiplication in number rather than recurrence.
- Intense002001003011
- The word's intensifying sense is directly illustrated by the outcry of Sodom being "indeed great" and their sin "exceedingly grave" (Genesis 18:20).
- Move002002001012
- This domain is shared with the homograph meaning "to shoot" (רָבַב (râbab, H7232)); it is not independently illustrated by this word's own sampled citations, which all concern multiplying in number.
Word family 14 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7231. rabab I. [רָבַב] verb be or become, many, much (Late Hebrew רַב especially lord,…
I. [רָבַב] verb be or become, many, much (Late Hebrew רַב especially lord, master, רַבִּי my master teacher; MI5 adjective plural רבן; Ph רב feminine רבת; Assyrian [rabâbu], rabbu; Arabic rear, increase (active; thick juice, compare Late Hebrew רְבָב grease is thought by Buhl and others to indicate original meaning be thick), lord, owner, master; Sabean רב especially in proper names, רבשמסם רבבם רבאל,, etc., CISiv,nos-285, 3; 286, 1; 287, 12, etc.; Lihyanian רבה its lord DHMEpigr.Denkm.Arabic 232; Eth expund, spread (intransitive); Aramaic רַב great, chief, so Old Aramaic, Nabataean, Palmyrene רב, Lzb366 Cook107); —
Qal Perfect3feminine singular consecutive וְרַבָּה Exo 23:29; Isa 6:12, רָ֑בָּה Gen 18:20 (Hos 9:7 read הַמּשְׂטֵמָה וְרֹב [for מ ׳וְרַבָּה ᵑ0] ᵐ5. We Now); elsewhere only 3 plural רַבּוּ 1Sa 25:10+, רָ֑בּוּ Jer 46:23+2t. [other forms supplied by רבה q. v.]; Infinitivecstr רֹב Gen 6:1; Jos 9:13; Lev 25:16 (|| מְעֹט), suffix רֻבְּכֶם Deu 7:7, and perhaps רֻבָּם Hos 4:7 (compare רֹב below); —
1 be (become) many, person Gen 6:1 (J) Exo 23:29 (E; see above), 1Sa 25:10; Hos 4:7 (perhaps), Isa 66:16; Psa 3:2; Psa 25:19; Psa 38:20; Ecc 5:10+ מִן compare Jer 46:23; Deu 7:7; Psa 69:5; of things Isa 22:9; Psa 4:8; Psa 104:24, years Lev 25:16(P), sins Jer 5:6; Jer 14:7; Isa 59:12; Job 35:6 .
2 become great, Gen 18:20 (J) Isa 6:12; be long, of journey, Jos 9:13 —
Pu`al see [רָבַב]
denom
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 5 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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