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דׇּרְבוֹן

𐤃𐤓𐤁𐤅𐤍

dorbôwn

H1861 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A pointed implement, usually made of wood, used for urging or directing oxen or other draft animals by prodding. In its extended sense, may refer to an instrument or tool for driving or spurring animals into motion.

Semantic Range

cattle goad, ox-goad, agricultural tool for prodding animals; metaphorically, stimulus or provocation (as in poetic or didactic use)

Root / Etymology

Root and etymology uncertain. The form דׇּרְבוֹן (dorbôn or dorbôn) has no securely attested Hebrew root, and is considered to be of uncertain or possibly borrowed origin. Some have compared it with similar Semitic terms, but no definitive etymology has been established.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term occurs rarely in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Ecclesiastes 12:11), where it denotes a physical goad—a stick with a sharpened end—used by farmers or ploughmen to urge animals pulling a plough. Its concrete meaning is clear from agricultural context, though it appears infrequently. In later periods, similar tools persisted in Levantine agriculture and are often depicted in iconography. The meaning is consistently literal and does not take on significant metaphorical range in the biblical corpus, though in Ecclesiastes 12:11 it is employed as a simile, comparing wise sayings to 'goads'—that is, things that prompt action or reflection. Unlike standard English translations, which may render it simply as 'goad,' the full Hebrew nuance includes the specific agricultural tool, its function, and sometimes a poetic or illustrative extension. No substantial lexical overlap with the more common term מַלְמָד ('goad, stick') beyond basic functional sense. The English term 'prick' (as in 'kick against the pricks') reflects King James idiomatic English and may obscure the precise agricultural nuance of the Hebrew.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(also dor-bawn'); of uncertain derivation; a goad; goad.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

דרבן (d-r-b-n) — to goad, to prod, to urge

Root uncertain to goad, to prod, to urge (if related to any root)

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1861-02 כַּ/דָּ֣רְבֹנ֔וֹת kadarevonot HRd/Ncbpa like goads ox-goads like ox-goads 1
H1861-01 הַ/דָּרְבָֽן hadarevan HTd/Ncbsa the goads the cattle-goad the goad 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1861-01 1 Samuel 13:21 הַ/דָּרְבָֽן hadarevan HTd/Ncbsa the goads the cattle-goad the goad
H1861-02 Ecclesiastes 12:11 כַּ/דָּ֣רְבֹנ֔וֹת kadarevonot HRd/Ncbpa like goads ox-goads like ox-goads
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