רֹעִי
rôʻîy · H7473 · Hebrew · 83 occurrences
Meanings
-
to pasture, to feed, to shepherd
Causative action by which humans lead domestic animals to places where they can feed on grass and other edible materials in the field, often extended to denote the way a king cares for his subjects or the way God cares for his people
ExamplesSong of Solomon 1:8 “If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go out on the trail of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds.
Isaiah 40:11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in the fold of His robe; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
Jeremiah 3:15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you knowledge and understanding.
-
to shepherd > to carry away
Literally: to pasture; hence: causative action by which a force causes humans to be removed from their place and move to another location, like a shepherd leads his flock from one place to another
ExamplesJeremiah 22:22 “The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness.
-
shepherd
A male person who leads domestic animals to places where they can feed on grass and other edible materials in the field, often extended to denote the way a king cares for his subjects or the way God cares for his people
ExamplesGenesis 4:2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.
Genesis 13:7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.
Genesis 13:8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives!
-
shepherdess
A female person who leads domestic animals to places where they can feed on grass and other edible materials in the field
ExamplesGenesis 29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
How it’s used In 11 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
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- Not stated (participle) 2
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- עֵדֶרflock 1
- נִיme 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
24 occurrences in 10 groups
- יmy 6
- צֹאןflock, small cattle, sheep and goats 5
- יִשְׂרָאֵלIsrael 3
- Other words · 7 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
15 occurrences in 13 groups
- אֶחָדone 3
- Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
Named alongside itApposition
5 occurrences in 4 groups
- זֶהthis 2
- נָהַגto lead 1
- עָזַבto forsake, to leave 1
- אֶבֶןstone 1
What it doesIt is the subject
18 occurrences in 14 groups
- רָעָהto shepherd, to feed, to graze 3
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15
What is done to itIt is the object
12 occurrences in 8 groups
- קוּםto arise 4
- הָיָהto be, to become 2
- כָּחַדto hide, to cut off 1
- נָכָהto strike, to strike down 1
- נָפַץto break 1
- נָתַןto give, to put, to set 1
What it is said to bePredicate
8 occurrences in 4 groups
- אַיִןthere is no, not 5
- בְּלִיwithout, not 1
- שָׁםthere 1
- תּוֹעֵבַהabomination, detestable thing 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
6 occurrences in 6 groups
- הוּאhe, she, it 1
- הֵםthey, them 1
- הִנֵּהbehold 1
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 1
- אִישׁman, person, each 1
- עֶבֶדservant, slave 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
18 occurrences in 8 groups
- עַלon, upon, over, against 7
- מִןfrom 6
- כlike/as 4
- לto/for 4
- בֵּיןbetween, among 4
- עִםwith 2
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
12 occurrences in 11 groups
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ποιμήν poimḗn · G4166 · shepherd, pastor, minister
- Greek ποιμήν directly translates Hebrew רֹעִי in its core sense of 'shepherd,' both literal (one who tends sheep) and figurative (leader/pastor); the Hebrew form is a lexical variant or vocalization of the more common רֹעֶה (râʻâh, H7462), and both map to the same Greek term in LXX usage.
Semantic domains 9 entries
- Ingest002001001025
- The activity of herding flocks to graze, as described in Genesis 13:7-8's and 26:20's accounts of herdsmen tending their livestock, connects this domain to feeding, though not independently attested apart from the shepherding context itself.
- Non-Whole002003001021
- רֹעִי (rôʻîy, H7473) (רֵעֶה) is a common noun meaning "shepherd, herdsman," as in occurrences glossed "a shepherd"/"shepherds." This sense does not independently attest the "Non-Whole" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with רָעָה (râʻâh, H7462) and רֹעָה (rôʻâh, H7465) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
- Engage002003003011
- רֹעִי (rôʻîy, H7473) (רֵעֶה) is a common noun meaning "shepherd, herdsman," as in occurrences glossed "a shepherd"/"shepherds." This sense does not independently attest the "Engage" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with רָעָה (râʻâh, H7462) and רֹעָה (rôʻâh, H7465) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
- Move002002001012
- Genesis 29:9 describes Rachel coming with her father's sheep "as a shepherdess," implying the movement of flocks to and from pasture, attesting a sense of directed motion.
- Professions001001003009
- Genesis 4:2 names Abel "a keeper of flocks," 13:7-8 and 26:20 describe the "herdsmen" of Abram, Lot, and Isaac, and 29:9 calls Rachel "a shepherdess," richly and directly attesting the sense of the shepherding occupation.
- Associate002003002002
- רֹעִי (rôʻîy, H7473) (רֵעֶה) is a common noun meaning "shepherd, herdsman," as in occurrences glossed "a shepherd"/"shepherds." This sense does not independently attest the "Associate" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with רָעָה (râʻâh, H7462) and רֹעָה (rôʻâh, H7465) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
- Copulate002003001004
- This domain reflects a rarer sense shared with the closely related lexeme רָעָה (râʻâh, H7462), not independently attested here.
- Friends001001003003
- This lexeme's genuine tagged occurrences (e.g. Genesis 4:2, "Abel was a keeper of flocks"; Genesis 13:7, "the herdsmen of Abram's livestock") illustrate the occupational sense "shepherd, herdsman," not friendship or companionship; this Friends domain code is bundle-shared from the cognate root shared with the common noun for "friend, companion" (רֵעַ (rêaʻ, H7453)) and carries no tagged occurrence of רֹעִי (rôʻîy, H7473) independently attesting a friendship sense of its own.
- Bad002001001006
- Genesis 13:7-8 and 26:20 do describe strife and quarreling among rival herdsmen, but this reflects conflict between people rather than this lexeme's own "evil entreat" sense directly.
Word family 14 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
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.