Bible Word Study
אֲרָב
ʼĂrâb · Arab, a place in Palestine
אֲרָב
Arab, a place in Palestine
Definition
אֲרָב (ʼĂrâb) is a proper noun referring to a specific town in the hill country of Judah, located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah after the conquest of Canaan. It is listed among the cities given to Judah in Joshua 15:52. The name itself, meaning 'ambush' or 'lying in wait,' likely describes the town's geographical setting, possibly a place suitable for ambush or a hidden, protected location. As a place name, it does not carry multiple meanings in the biblical text; its sole significance is as a geographical identifier within the tribal inheritance.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Joshua 15:52, within a list of cities in the hill country district of Judah. Its usage is purely geographical and administrative, serving to define the boundaries and settlements of the tribal allotment. There are no narrative contexts or patterns of usage beyond this single catalog reference.
Etymology
The name אֲרָב (ʼĂrâb) is derived from the Hebrew root אָרַב (ʼārab, H693), which means 'to lie in wait, to ambush.' As a place name, it is a nominal form of this root, suggesting the location was characterized by or associated with the concept of an ambush site, likely due to its terrain.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Near Eastern context, place names were often descriptive of a location's physical features, history, or function. Naming a town 'Ambush' (Arab) would immediately communicate to the original audience something about its strategic or hidden nature, perhaps making it a defensible settlement or a place associated with past military tactics. This differs from a modern understanding where place names are often less semantically transparent. None applicable for a proper place name.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]