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כְּאֵב

𐤊𐤀𐤁

kᵉʼêb

H3511 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Physical or emotional pain, distress, or suffering; the state or experience of being afflicted or anguished, whether due to bodily injury, illness, or inner turmoil. In various contexts, can denote literal pain, anguish of the soul, a state of adversity, or sorrow experienced from grief or hardship.

Semantic Range

pain (bodily or emotional), suffering, distress, anguish, adversity, sorrow, grief

Root / Etymology

Root: כאב. Derived from the root verb כָּאַב (ka'av), which means 'to be in pain, hurt, suffer.' The noun כְּאֵב (kᵉ'êb) is formed to indicate the state or experience of pain or suffering itself. The root is associated with physical injury as well as emotional or mental anguish.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term כְּאֵב appears primarily in poetic or prophetic literature (e.g. Jeremiah, Job, Psalms), often conveying deep suffering or inner torment. Although English translations like 'pain' or 'sorrow' approximate its meaning, the Hebrew can embrace both tangible bodily distress and psychological or spiritual agony. The word is sometimes paired with other terms for grief or trouble (e.g. מַכְאוֹב for 'affliction'), but כְּאֵב tends to emphasize the experiential aspect of pain rather than resulting weakness or disease. Its occurrences range from descriptions of individual affliction (as in Job) to representative imagery for communal suffering (as in the laments of Jeremiah). Over time, the semantic focus remained on suffering both physical and emotional, with no major historical shift in meaning evident between pre-exilic and post-exilic usage. Later translations, especially in the Septuagint and Vulgate, sometimes interpret it as 'sorrow' or 'affliction,' reflecting both bodily and mental pain. Modern Hebrew continues to use כאב almost exclusively for 'pain,' predominantly in the sense of physical discomfort.

Translation Consistency

primary "pain" 6 occurrences

“Pain” is the most natural, concise English word that covers the full, typical semantic range of כְּאֵב — physical hurt, emotional suffering, distress, anguish, and grief. It matches the SILEX primary usages and the corpus renderings better than narrower alternatives like “sorrow” or “distress,” providing a consistent, easily understood base form for all occurrences.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּאַב; suffering (physical or mental), adversity; grief, pain, sorrow.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

כאב (kâʼab) — to hurt, to be in pain, to grieve

Root כאב to feel pain, to be hurt, to suffer
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3510 כָּאַב I caused him pain
H4341 מַכְאֹב in pain

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H3511-01 הַ/כְּאֵ֖ב hakeev HTd/Ncmsa the pain the pain the pain 1
H3511-02 כְּאֵבִ֑/י keevi HNcmsc/Sp1cs my pain my pain my pain 1
H3511-03 כְאֵבִ/י֙ kheevi HNcmsc/Sp1cs my pain my pain my pain 1
H3511-04 מִ/כְּאֵ֣ב mikeev HR/Ncmsc from pain from pain-of from pain 1
H3511-05 וּ/כְאֵ֥ב ukheev HC/Ncmsa and like pain and pain and pain 1
H3511-06 וּ/כְאֵבִ֥/י ukheevi HC/Ncmsc/Sp1cs and-like-my-pain and my pain and my pain 1

Occurrences in Scripture

6 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H3511-05 Isaiah 17:11 וּ/כְאֵ֥ב ukheev HC/Ncmsa and like pain and pain and pain
H3511-04 Isaiah 65:14 מִ/כְּאֵ֣ב mikeev HR/Ncmsc from pain from pain-of from pain
H3511-03 Jeremiah 15:18 כְאֵבִ/י֙ kheevi HNcmsc/Sp1cs my pain my pain my pain
H3511-06 Psalms 39:3 וּ/כְאֵבִ֥/י ukheevi HC/Ncmsc/Sp1cs and-like-my-pain and my pain and my pain
H3511-01 Job 2:13 הַ/כְּאֵ֖ב hakeev HTd/Ncmsa the pain the pain the pain
H3511-02 Job 16:6 כְּאֵבִ֑/י keevi HNcmsc/Sp1cs my pain my pain my pain
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