רֶגֶב
a lump of clay
Definition
The Hebrew noun רֶגֶב (regeb) refers to a lump or clod of earth, specifically compacted soil or clay. In its two biblical occurrences, it describes hardened clods of earth that form in a field, likely after plowing or rain. In Job 21:33, it metaphorically describes the earth that covers a grave, emphasizing the finality of death. In Job 38:38, it appears in God's rhetorical questions about His sovereign control over nature, asking if Job can cause the dust of the earth to 'clod' or bind together into solid masses.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only twice in the Old Testament, both in the book of Job. In Job 21:33, it is used in a funerary context: 'The clods of the valley are sweet to him.' In Job 38:38, it is used in a meteorological/agricultural context within God's speech from the whirlwind: '...when the dust grows into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?' Both uses poetically describe earth in a solidified, lumpy state.
Etymology
Derived from an unused Hebrew root likely meaning 'to heap up' or 'to pile together,' suggesting the concept of earth being gathered or compacted into a mass. It is a relatively rare noun with no widely attested direct cognates in other Semitic languages, though it relates conceptually to words for 'clod' or 'lump.'
Semantic Range
While a simple physical object, רֶגֶב gains theological weight in its contexts. In Job 21:33, it underscores human mortality and the physical reality of the grave. In Job 38:38, it highlights God's intimate, creative control over even the most mundane earthly processes—the formation of soil clods—contrasting human limitation with divine omnipotence. Understanding this Hebrew term enriches reading by revealing how Job uses ordinary creation to ponder profound themes of death and sovereignty.
In an agrarian society, clods of earth were a common sight after plowing or a heavy rain. They could represent either an obstacle to farming (needing to be broken up) or, as in Job 38:38, a necessary part of the soil's condition. The 'sweetness' of the clod in Job 21:33 may reflect a cultural view of the grave as a place of rest, with the earth being a welcoming blanket.
עָפָר (ʿāp̄ār, H6083) — dust or dry earth, a more general term for soil. חֹמֶר (ḥōmer, H2563) — clay or mortar, often wet and malleable, whereas regeb is a dried, hardened lump. אֲדָמָה (ʾăḏāmâ, H127) — ground, land, or soil in a broader, more territorial sense.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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