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דֶּבֶר

𐤃𐤁𐤓

deber

H1698 noun

SILEX Entry

Root דבר to destroy, bring destruction, subdue

Definition

An epidemic disease resulting in widespread death, specifically a pestilence or plague, often sent as a calamity upon populations (humans or animals). Used primarily to denote severe outbreaks of disease affecting whole communities or animal herds, particularly in the context of divine judgement or natural disaster. The semantic range includes general terms for plague, specific outbreaks among humans, and epidemic diseases among livestock (such as a fatal cattle disease).

Semantic Range

pestilence, plague, epidemic disease, fatal livestock disease (murrain), widespread calamity, divine punishment via disease

Root / Etymology

Root ד-ב-ר (דבר), whose base meaning is 'to destroy, subdue', though the root also functions as 'to speak' in other contexts (with a different sense). דֶּבֶר derives from the root in its sense of destruction, referring to a destructive force or event, specifically an epidemic disease that devastates populations. Not to be confused with דָּבָר ('word, matter'), which is from the same tri-radical root but a different semantic field.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, דֶּבֶר denotes epidemic outbreaks primarily understood as catastrophes, often seen as acts of divine retribution or warning, affecting both humans and animals. The term appears frequently in the context of threatening calamities (e.g., alongside sword, famine, and 'evil beast') in prophetic and historical narratives (see e.g., 2 Samuel 24, prophetic warnings in Jeremiah and Ezekiel). It is distinct from צָרַעַת (tsara‘at, often translated as 'leprosy') which refers to various skin afflictions, and from נֶגֶף (negef, 'plague' or 'blow'), which more generally means 'to strike' or 'inflict'. Its use in reference to livestock (e.g., Exodus 9:3) may reflect knowledge of highly fatal animal diseases (analogous to modern 'murrain'). English 'plague' or 'pestilence' generally captures the meaning, but neither term conveys the biblical emphasis on widespread, fatal epidemics perceived as extraordinary calamities rather than common illnesses. In later periods, especially during the Second Temple era and in Greek translations, דֶּבֶר is variously rendered, sometimes conflated with more general terms for disease or misfortune, and eventually associated with the concept of plague in post-biblical Jewish literature.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from דָבַר (in the sense of destroying); a pestilence; murrain, pestilence, plague.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

דבר (d-b-r) — destroy, bring destruction, subdue

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1682 דְּבוֹרָה bees
H1683 דְּבּוֹרָה Bee-woman
H1687 דְּבִיר in the innermost sanctuary
H1688 דְּבִיר Devir
H1696 דָבַר I will speak

Word Forms

18 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1698-06 דֶּ֖בֶר dever HNcmsa pestilence destroying pestilence 11
H1698-13 וּ/בַ/דָּ֑בֶר uvadaver HC/Rd/Ncmsa and by pestilence and by the pestilence 7
H1698-14 וּ/בַ/דֶּ֔בֶר uvadever HC/Rd/Ncmsa and by pestilence and by the pestilence 4
H1698-02 בַּ/דֶּ֖בֶר badever HRd/Ncmsa by pestilence the destructive pestilence 4
H1698-16 וְ/דֶ֥בֶר vedever HC/Ncmsa and pestilence and destructive plague 3
H1698-15 בַ/דֶּ֖בֶר vadever HRd/Ncmsa and-pestilence destroying pestilence 3
H1698-07 הַ/דָּ֑בֶר hadaver HTd/Ncmsa pestilence the destroying plague 3
H1698-03 בְּ/דֶ֥בֶר bedever HR/Ncmsa in-pestilence in destructive pestilence 2
H1698-08 הַ/דֶּ֣בֶר hadever HTd/Ncmsa the pestilence the destructive pestilence 2
H1698-10 מִ/דֶּ֥בֶר midever HR/Ncmsc from pestilence from destructive plague 2

Occurrences in Scripture

49 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1698-02 Exodus 5:3 בַּ/דֶּ֖בֶר badever HRd/Ncmsa with pestilence the destructive pestilence
H1698-06 Exodus 9:3 דֶּ֖בֶר dever HNcmsa a pestilence destroying pestilence
H1698-01 Exodus 9:15 בַּ/דָּ֑בֶר badaver HRd/Ncmsa with pestilence destructive plague
H1698-06 Leviticus 26:25 דֶ֨בֶר֙ dever HNcmsa pestilence destroying pestilence
H1698-15 Numbers 14:12 בַ/דֶּ֖בֶר vadever HRd/Ncmsa with the pestilence destroying pestilence
H1698-07 Deuteronomy 28:21 הַ/דָּ֑בֶר hadaver HTd/Ncmsa the plague the destroying plague
H1698-06 2 Samuel 24:13 דֶּ֨בֶר֙ dever HNcmsa pestilence destroying pestilence
H1698-06 2 Samuel 24:15 דֶּ֨בֶר֙ dever HNcmsa plague destroying pestilence
H1698-06 1 Kings 8:37 דֶּ֣בֶר dever HNcmsa pestilence destroying pestilence
H1698-14 Jeremiah 14:12 וּ/בַ/דֶּ֔בֶר uvadever HC/Rd/Ncmsa and by pestilence and by the pestilence
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