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אַכְזָב

𐤀𐤊𐤆𐤁

ʼakzâb

H391 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root כזב to be false, lie, disappoint, betray trust

Definition

A place name or noun signifying 'deceit' or 'disappointment,' referring to something or someone unreliable or disappointing expectations. As a toponym, Akzab designates a specific town, likely so named because its well proved unreliable in drought (Jeremiah 15:18), sometimes extended metaphorically to false hope or failure in keeping promises.

Semantic Range

place of disappointment, deceptive or disappointing thing or person, falsehood, treachery, unreliable expectation, failure to fulfill promise

Root / Etymology

From the root כָּזַב (k-z-b), meaning 'to lie' or 'to be false.' אַכְזָב is formed with the prefixed א־, creating a noun form that connotes 'deception' or 'disappointment.' The toponym likely arose from the experience of people being disappointed by a local resource (e.g., a spring that fails).

Historical & Contextual Notes

אַכְזָב appears in Joshua 15:44 as a town allotted to the tribe of Judah. In Micah 1:14 and Jeremiah 15:18, the word is used metaphorically to denote something that disappoints or betrays hopes (such as a deceitful brook that dries up unexpectedly). The transition from place name to abstract noun illustrates a typical Hebrew word formation, where features or experiences of locations become typified into general concepts. Later translators, including the Septuagint and Vulgate, sometimes rendered it as a personal name, sometimes abstractly as 'deception' or 'lie.' English translations like 'liar,' 'lie,' or 'treachery' do not convey the nuance of unreliability and disappointed expectations inherent in the Hebrew. The word's root is shared with verbs and nouns expressing lying or falsehood, but 'Akzab' uniquely communicates the aspect of something appearing promising but ultimately failing to deliver.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּזַב; falsehood; by implication treachery; liar, lie.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כזב (k-z-b) — to be false, lie, disappoint, betray trust

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3538 כְּדַב deceitful
H3576 כָּזַב I falsely-declare
H3577 כָּזָב falsehood
H3578 כֹּזְבָא Kozeba
H3579 כֹּזְבִי She-who-deceives

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H391-01 אַכְזָ֔ב akhezav HAamsa deceitful deceptive 1
H391-02 לְ/אַכְזָ֔ב leakhezav HR/Aamsa a deception to a disappointment 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H391-01 Jeremiah 15:18 אַכְזָ֔ב akhezav HAamsa deceitful deceptive
H391-02 Micah 1:14 לְ/אַכְזָ֔ב leakhezav HR/Aamsa a deception to a disappointment
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