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גָּנַב

𐤂𐤍𐤁

gânab

H1589 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To steal, to take or carry away someone else's property clandestinely or without permission; by extension, to act with stealth or in secret, sometimes with the sense of deceiving. The verb describes the act of theft but can also imply secretive or deceptive behavior beyond material theft.

Semantic Range

to steal (property), to steal (people, i.e., kidnap), to carry away secretly, to act in stealth, to do something furtively, to abduct

Root / Etymology

Root: גנב. The root conveys the idea of stealth or furtiveness, with the basic sense being 'to steal' or 'to take by stealth.' The verb derives directly from this root and retains its core meaning throughout its usages. There is no evidence for a non-Semitic origin.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The verb גָּנַב is used throughout the Hebrew Bible to describe the act of theft, both of objects (e.g., Gen 31:19, Gen 44:8) and of people (e.g., Exod 21:16), including the kidnapping or abduction of an individual. In legal contexts, such as the Decalogue (Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19), the verb is the standard term for the legal prohibition 'You shall not steal,' where it may encompass theft of both persons and property. The verb may also convey a broader sense of acting in secret or with subterfuge (e.g., stealing away, doing something covertly), but does not mean 'deceive' in a broad sense; for that, other roots such as רמה are preferred. Later translation traditions sometimes stretched the sense toward 'deceive,' but in biblical tradition, the primary focus remains on covert taking or abducting. The idiom 'steal away' (Gen 31:27) reinforces nuances of secrecy or furtiveness beyond theft. English translations usually capture the primary sense, but may underemphasize the breadth of its application to things, people, and secret actions. Over time, especially in post-biblical Hebrew, the root continued to retain associations with stealth and theft.

Translation Consistency

primary "steal" 17 occurrences

'Steal' is the natural, common English verb that best captures the primary sense of גָּנַב — taking another's property or carrying someone away secretly, and extended senses of furtive or deceptive action. The majority of existing renderings use forms of 'steal' (stole/stolen/steals), making it the most consistent and idiomatic choice across all forms; narrower alternatives like 'kidnap' or more formal words like 'purloin' would lose generality or sound unnatural.

Alternatives (23 occurrences):
"stole" (10x) "stolen" (6x) "stolen one" (2x) "stolen away" (1x) "stole away" (1x) "stole himself away" (1x) "stealers of" (1x) "stolen ones" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to thieve (literally or figuratively); by implication, to deceive; carry away, [idiom] indeed, secretly bring, steal (away), get by stealth.

Bantu Hebrew

Language Bantu Word Transliteration Meaning
Bambara gan to steal
Dyula gan to steal
Mandinka gan to steal
Soninke gan to steal

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Root Family

גנב (Genuvat) — to steal, to take by stealth, to act furtively

Root גנב to steal, to take by stealth, to act furtively
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1590 גַּנָּב among thieves
H1591 גְּנֵבָה his theft
H1592 גְּנֻבַת Stolen-One

Word Forms

32 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1589-20 וַ/תִּגְנֹ֤ב vatigenov HC/Vqw3fs and stole and she stole and she stole 5
H1589-02 גָּנְב֨וּ ganevu HVqp3cp had stolen they stole they stole 2
H1589-06 גְּנָבַ֥תּ/וּ genavatu HVqp3fs/Sp3ms steals him away she stole him she steals him 2
H1589-17 תִּגְנֹֽב tigenov HVqi2ms shall you steal you steal you shall steal 2
H1589-31 יִגְנֹֽב yigenov HVqi3ms he steals he steals he steals 2
H1589-01 גָנַ֖בְתָּ ganaveta HVqp2ms have you stolen you stole you stole 1
H1589-03 גָּנֹ֥ב ganov HVqa it-is-stolen to steal it is stolen 1
H1589-04 גָּנ֥וּב ganuv HVqsmsa stolen stolen one stolen 1
H1589-05 גְּנָבָֽתַ/ם genavatam HVqp3fs/Sp3mp had stolen them she stole them she stole them 1
H1589-07 גְּנָב֨וּ/ךָ genavukha HVqp3cp/Sp2ms have stolen you they stole you they stole you 1

Occurrences in Scripture

40 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1589-04 Genesis 30:33 גָּנ֥וּב ganuv HVqsmsa stolen stolen one stolen
H1589-20 Genesis 31:19 וַ/תִּגְנֹ֣ב vatigenov HC/Vqw3fs stole and she stole and she stole
H1589-22 Genesis 31:20 וַ/יִּגְנֹ֣ב vayigenov HC/Vqw3ms deceived and he stole and he stole
H1589-20 Genesis 31:26 וַ/תִּגְנֹ֖ב vatigenov HC/Vqw2ms and you have deceived/stolen away and she stole and you stole
H1589-20 Genesis 31:27 וַ/תִּגְנֹ֖ב vatigenov HC/Vqw2ms and steal and she stole and did you steal
H1589-01 Genesis 31:30 גָנַ֖בְתָּ ganaveta HVqp2ms have you stolen you stole you stole
H1589-05 Genesis 31:32 גְּנָבָֽתַ/ם genavatam HVqp3fs/Sp3mp had stolen them she stole them she stole them
H1589-08 Genesis 31:39 גְּנֻֽבְתִ֣י genuveti HVqsfsc stolen by me my stolen one my stolen one
H1589-19 Genesis 31:39 וּ/גְנֻֽבְתִ֖י ugenuveti HC/Vqsfsc and stolen by me and stolen and my stolen one
H1589-12 Genesis 40:15 גֻנֹּ֣ב gunov HVPa stolen to be stolen to be stolen
H1589-11 Genesis 40:15 גֻּנַּ֔בְתִּי gunaveti HVPp1cs I was stolen I was stolen away I was stolen away
H1589-16 Genesis 44:8 נִגְנֹב֙ nigenov HVqi1cp could we steal we will steal could we steal
H1589-17 Exodus 20:15 תִּגְנֹֽב tigenov HVqi2ms steal you steal you shall steal
H1589-26 Exodus 21:16 וְ/גֹנֵ֨ב vegonev HC/Vqrmsa and kidnaps and the one who steals and the one who steals
H1589-31 Exodus 21:37 יִגְנֹֽב yigenov HVqi3ms steals he steals he steals
H1589-27 Exodus 22:6 וְ/גֻנַּ֖ב vegunav HC/VPq3ms and it is stolen and was stolen and it was stolen
H1589-03 Exodus 22:11 גָּנֹ֥ב ganov HVqa it-is-stolen to steal it is stolen
H1589-29 Exodus 22:11 יִגָּנֵ֖ב yiganev HVNi3ms it-be-stolen he will be stolen it is stolen
H1589-18 Leviticus 19:11 תִּגְנֹ֑בוּ tigenovu HVqi2mp you-shall-steal you steal you shall steal
H1589-17 Deuteronomy 5:19 תִּגְנֹֽב tigenov HVqi2ms shall you steal you steal you will steal
H1589-10 Deuteronomy 24:7 גֹּנֵ֨ב gonev HVqrmsa stealing one who steals stealing
H1589-02 Joshua 7:11 גָּֽנְבוּ֙ ganevu HVqp3cp they have stolen they stole they stole
H1589-21 2 Samuel 15:6 וַ/יְגַנֵּב֙ vayeganev HC/Vpw3ms and stole he stole away and he stole away
H1589-23 2 Samuel 19:4 וַ/יִּתְגַּנֵּ֥ב vayiteganev HC/Vtw3ms and stole away and he stole himself away and he stole himself away
H1589-32 2 Samuel 19:4 יִתְגַּנֵּ֗ב yiteganev HVti3ms steals away he will steal himself away he will steal himself away
H1589-07 2 Samuel 19:42 גְּנָב֨וּ/ךָ genavukha HVqp3cp/Sp2ms have stolen you they stole you they stole you
H1589-02 2 Samuel 21:12 גָּנְב֨וּ ganevu HVqp3cp had stolen they stole they stole
H1589-20 2 Kings 11:2 וַ/תִּגְנֹ֤ב vatigenov HC/Vqw3fs and stole and she stole and she stole
H1589-13 Jeremiah 7:9 הֲ/גָנֹ֤ב haganov HTi/Vqa steal? to steal to steal
H1589-15 Jeremiah 23:30 מְגַנְּבֵ֣י meganevey HVprmpc who steal stealers of stealers of
H1589-25 Hosea 4:2 וְ/גָנֹ֖ב veganov HC/Vqa and stealing stealing and stealing
H1589-30 Obadiah 1:5 יִגְנְב֖וּ yigenevu HVqi3mp steal they will steal they will steal
H1589-14 Zechariah 5:3 הַ/גֹּנֵ֗ב hagonev HTd/Vqrmsa who steals the one who steals the one who steals
H1589-31 Proverbs 6:30 יִגְנ֑וֹב yigenov HVqi3ms he steals he steals he steals
H1589-09 Proverbs 9:17 גְּנוּבִ֥ים genuvim HVqsmpa stolen stolen ones stolen ones
H1589-24 Proverbs 30:9 וְ/גָנַ֑בְתִּי veganaveti HC/Vqq1cs and steal and I stole and I steal
H1589-28 Job 4:12 יְגֻנָּ֑ב yegunav HVPi3ms was stolen he will be stolen was stolen
H1589-06 Job 21:18 גְּנָבַ֥תּ/וּ genavatu HVqp3fs/Sp3ms steals it away she stole him the storm steals it
H1589-06 Job 27:20 גְּנָבַ֥תּ/וּ genavatu HVqp3fs/Sp3ms steals him away she stole him she steals him
H1589-20 2 Chronicles 22:11 וַ/תִּגְנֹ֤ב vatigenov HC/Vqw3fs and stole and she stole and she stole
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