לָ/רָֽע
𐤋/𐤓𐤏
raʻ
for evil
Primarily denotes that which is bad, disagreeable, or harmful, in both physical and ethical senses. As an adjective, רַע describes something undesirable, unpleasant, or malignant, whether referring to quality, experience, or moral character. As a substantive (noun), it can denote evil, wickedness, misfortune, disaster, or moral wrongdoing. The term can refer to misfortune or calamity (events or conditions), personal harm or injury, unpleasant or undesirable qualities, or, especially in moral contexts, wicked conduct or the characteristic of being wicked.
Psalms 56:6 · Word #8
Lexicon H7451
| Lemma | רַע |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤓𐤏 |
| Transliteration | raʻ |
| Strong's | H7451 |
| Definition | Primarily denotes that which is bad, disagreeable, or harmful, in both physical and ethical senses. As an adjective, רַע describes something undesirable, unpleasant, or malignant, whether referring to quality, experience, or moral character. As a substantive (noun), it can denote evil, wickedness, misfortune, disaster, or moral wrongdoing. The term can refer to misfortune or calamity (events or conditions), personal harm or injury, unpleasant or undesirable qualities, or, especially in moral contexts, wicked conduct or the characteristic of being wicked. |
Morphology HRd/Aamsa
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | A — Adjective — Describes a noun |
| Subtype | a — Adjective — Adjective |
| Gender | m — Masculine — Masculine |
| Number | s — Singular — Singular |
| State | a — Absolute — The noun stands independently |
Common Translation
| Phrase | for evil |
SIBI-P1 Translation H7451-16
to evil
| Morphological Notes | Preposition לְ (to/for/toward) + adjective masculine singular absolute functioning substantivally. |
| Rendering Rationale | The adjective רַע (masculine singular absolute) derives from רעע, "to be bad or harmful," and here is prefixed with לְ, yielding "to evil" or "toward what is bad." The rendering preserves both the root sense of badness/evil and the directional force of the preposition. |
View full lexicon entry for H7451 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
to evil
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Standardized from "for evil". The Hebrew phrase לְרָעָה expresses direction/purpose (their plans are aimed at evil). The standard rendering “to evil” accurately reflects the sense and is not misleading here. Although “for evil” is idiomatic English, it isn’t required by the context, so we should standardize to maintain consistency. |