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Word

רָחַב

râchab · H7337 · Hebrew · 25 occurrences

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Meanings

  1. to be large, to be broad

    State in which an object is large in size

    Examples

    Isaiah 30:23 Then He will give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful; on that day your livestock will graze in a wide pasture.

  2. to become larger

    State in which one object has a relatively large distance from side to side compared to another, similar object

    Examples

    Ezekiel 41:7 And the side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story. Because the structure surrounding the temple went upward by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the second story.

  3. to enlarge, to make large

    Causative action by which humans or deities increase the size of an area or object

    Examples

    Exodus 34:24 “For I will drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

    Deuteronomy 12:20 “When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire.

    Deuteronomy 19:8 “And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He promised to give your fathers—

  4. Literally: to make large one's self; hence: causative process by which humans act with intense greed (to enlarge (one's) self > to be excessively greedy)

    Examples

    Habakkuk 2:5 “Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man, So that he does not achieve his objective. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all the nations And collects to himself all the peoples.

  5. Literally: (one's) heart is open wide; hence: state in which humans experience an abundance of joy ((one's) heart is enlarged > to be full of joy)

    Examples

    Isaiah 60:5 “Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you.

  6. Literally: to enlarge (for someone); hence: causative action by which humans or deities grant relief to (other) humans by alleviating difficult circumstances (to enlarge > to ease (someone's circumstances))

    Examples

    Genesis 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

    Psalm 4:1 Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

    Proverbs 18:16 A person’s gift makes room for him And brings him before great people.

  7. to grant relief from troubles, to ease troubles

    Literally: to enlarge narrow things; hence: causative action by which deities grant relief to humans by alleviating difficult circumstances

    Examples

    Psalm 25:17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses.

  8. Literally: to enlarge (one's) gullet; action by which a place prepares itself for a large group of people as if it were an animal that opens its mouth wide to swallow a large quantity of food (to open wide (one's) gullet)

    Examples

    Isaiah 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth beyond measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.

  9. to be wide open

    State in which humans have their mouth wide open

    Examples

    1 Samuel 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

  10. Action by which humans open their mouth widely in order to put out one's tongue, to be fed, or to shout (to open wide (one's) mouth)

    Examples

    Psalm 35:21 They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

    Psalm 81:10 “I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

    Isaiah 57:4 “Of whom do you make fun? Against whom do you open wide your mouth And stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, Offspring of deceit,

  11. Literally: to enlarge (someone's) steps; hence: causative action by which deities make humans successful in their undertakings (to enlarge (someone's) steps > to clear the way (for someone))

    Examples

    2 Samuel 22:37 “You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

    Psalm 18:36 You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

  12. Literally: to enlarge (someone's) heart; hence: causative action by which deities grant wisdom and understanding to humans (to enlarge (someone's heart) > to broaden (someone's) understanding)

    Examples

    Psalm 119:32 I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.

How it’s used In 6 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

23 occurrences in 12 groups

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

15 occurrences in 8 groups

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

12 occurrences in 12 groups

With adverbsAdverbs

1 occurrences in 1 groups

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

What it doesIt is the subject

1 occurrences in 1 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 2 words
רָוַח râvach · H7304 · to smell, to find joy (in something)
Both words indicate spatial largeness or spaciousness, and both extend further into a sense of relief or rejoicing; they are distinct Hebrew roots that can substitute for each other in contexts involving spatial or emotional enlargement and relief.
שָׂגָה sâgâh · H7685 · to grow, to be great
Both words describe becoming or making larger, but רָחַב (râchab, H7337) emphasizes spatial width and breadth (making room, opening wide), while שָׂגָה (sâgâh, H7685) refers to growth and increase in a more general sense.
Semantic domains 7 entries
Large002001001037
The word means to enlarge or make room, directly illustrated by Isaac naming a well Rehoboth, "for...the LORD has made room for us" (Genesis 26:22), the LORD's promise to "enlarge your borders" (Exodus 34:24), and His enlarging Israel's territory (Deuteronomy 12:20, 19:8, 33:20).
Intense002001003011
This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations, which all concern spatial enlargement rather than intensity.
Rejoice002001002022
This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.
Relief002001002023
The word's sense of relief from strife is illustrated by Isaac's naming of the well Rehoboth after ending a dispute, "we will be fruitful in the land" once room was made (Genesis 26:22).
Stance002001001061
This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.
Succeed002003003020
This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.
Wise002001002029
This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations, which all concern territorial or spatial enlargement rather than wisdom.
Word family 6 words

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

רָחַבrâchab · H7337רֹחַב rôchab · H7341 · breadth, width, thickness · 101×רְחֹב rᵉchôb · H7339 · open place, plaza, square · 43×רָחָב râchâb · H7342 · broad, large, spacious · 21×מֶרְחָב merchâb · H4800 · broad, at ease · 6×רַחַב rachab · H7338 · expanse, relief · 2×
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7337. rachab רָחַב [? also רָחֹב, so LagBN 31; compare also Idib. 52 f.] verb be, or…
H7337. rachab
רָחַב [? also רָחֹב, so LagBN 31; compare also Idib. 52 f.]
verb be, or grow, wide, large (Late Hebrew in derived species (rare) and derivatives; Arabic , Ethiopic Sabean in epithet of deity FellZMG liv (1900), 249, and proper name CISiv, no. 1, 3 etc.; Assyrian in rêbitu, open place; Aramaic רְחַב in derivatives ); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ר מִּי 1Sa 2:1, + עַל against (i.e. to devour, in figure; compare
Hiph`il); consecutive וְר ׳וּפָחַד לְבָבֵךְ Isa 60:5 be widened, enlarged, relieved, and expanded with joy (compare Hiph`il 2); 3 feminine singular וְנָָֽסְבָה וְרָֽחֲבָה Eze 41:7 probably error, Co וְנוֺסָפָה רָחְבָּהּ, Toy נוֺסַף וְהָרֹחַב, Krae רָֽחֲבוּ וְיָָֽסְפוּ [וְ?].
Niph`al Participle as adjective נִרְחָב Isa 30:23 a broad, roomy, pasture.
Hiph`il Perfect3masculine singular הִרְחִיב Gen 26:22; Hab 2:5, הִרְחִ֑ב Isa 30:33; Isa 30:2masculine singular הִרְחַבְתָּ Psa 4:2, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יַרְחִיב Deu 12:20 +, etc.; Imperative masculine singular הַרְחֶבֿ Psa 81:11 (compare also Psa 25:17 below); feminine singular הַרְחִיבִי Isa 54:2, הַרְחִבִי Mic 1:16; Infinitive construct הַרְחִיב Amo 1:13; Participle מַרְחִיב Deu 33:20; —
1 make large, with accusative baldness Mic 1:16 (sign of mourning), fun. pile Isa 30:33 (accusative omitted; + הֶעְמִיק); make wide, accusative couch Isa 57:8 (figurative).
2 enlarge limit of territory (גְּבוּל) Amo 1:13; Exo 34:24 (J), Deu 12:20; Deu 19:8, so ׳מַר גָּ֑ד Deu 33:20, compare ׳הַר אָהֳלֵךְ מְקוֺם Isa 54:2 (figurative); also absolute + ל person, ׳הִר ׳י לָנוּ Gen 26:22 (J), and (figurative of deliverance), הִר ׳בַּצָּר לִי Psa 4:2; יַר אָדָם ׳מַתַּן לוֺ Pro 18:16 a man's gift makes room for him, gives access to patron; of ׳י's enlarging the heart (לִבִּי) Psa 119:32 (compare
Qal); מ הִרְחִיכוּ לְבָבִי ׳צָרוֺת Psa 25:17 read probably (with most) Imperative ומ ׳הַרְחֵ(י)ב (Bae הִרְהִיבוּ, alarm, compare Son 6:5); with accusative צַעֲדִי my step, stride Psa 18:37 = 2Sa 22:37 (i.e. givest me firm footing and vigorous step, compare צַעַד
2); enlarge mouth, open it wide, with עַל person against Isa 57:4; Psa 35:21 (compare
Qal); without עַל, as a young bird to receive food, figurative, Psa 81:11; נַפְשָׁהּ שְׁאוֺל ׳הִר Isa 5:14 (|| פִיהָ מָּֽעֲרָה; נֶפֶשׁ 5c), compare Hab 2:5.

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

Topical studies with this word 7 entries
Large11 occurrencesStance5 occurrencesRejoice1 occurrenceRelief4 occurrencesWise1 occurrenceIntense1 occurrenceSucceed2 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

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.