עָרַב
𐤏𐤓𐤁
ʻârab
H6148 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To pledge oneself as security for another, to undertake responsibility, or to guarantee. The verb can denote making oneself liable for another's debt or obligation, ensuring repayment or fulfillment. It can also mean to mix or intermix, with the sense of intertwining or mingling. In judicial or financial contexts, it refers to entering into a binding agreement of surety or guaranteeing another's promise.
Semantic Range
to act as surety (financial, legal), to guarantee or undertake responsibility for another, to pledge oneself, to intermix or mingle, to become involved or entangled, to engage or meddle
Root / Etymology
From the root ערב (ʿ-r-b), meaning 'to mix, weave, guarantee.' The primary idea of the root involves mixing, intertwining, or relating, from which the concept of surety—a person who 'interposes' themselves, becoming mixed or bound with another’s fate—develops.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In early Israelite society, עָרַב appears most often in legal or financial settings, expressing one person's taking legal responsibility (surety) for the debt or behavior of another (see Gen 43:9; Prov 6:1; Neh 5:3). This institution played a significant role in family and clan life, where relationships of obligation and trust were crucial. The verb can also reflect broader involvement, such as intermingling or becoming entangled in the affairs of others, often with negative consequences (cf. Prov 20:16; 11:15). Some occurrences (e.g., Isa 38:14) may allude to pleas for intercession or involvement, based on the same root sense of binding together. The sense of physical mixing is attested less frequently, and is more pronounced in related roots. English translations like 'surety,' 'pledge,' or 'guarantee' capture the legal sense; 'mingle' or 'intermix' capture the less common physical, non-legal sense. Traditional translations such as 'meddle' or 'occupy' are interpretative expansions. Modern Jewish and Christian usage of 'surety' sometimes projects later understandings (e.g., religious atonement), but these are not present in earlier contexts. The underlying social and legal significance remains: becoming entangled or bound to another through formal or informal commitment.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to braid, i.e. intermix; technically, to traffic (as if by barter); also or give to be security (as a kind of exchange); engage, (inter-) meddle (with), mingle (self), mortgage, occupy, give pledges, be(-come, put in) surety, undertake.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
ערב (ʿ-r-b) — to mix, to interweave, to guarantee, to be surety
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1026 | בֵּית הָעֲרָבָה | the arid plain |
| H4627 | מַעֲרָב | in your trade-goods |
| H4628 | מַעֲרָב | the sunset-region |
| H6149 | עָרֵב | you were pleasing |
| H6150 | עָרַב | she grew dusky |
Word Forms
16 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6148-01 |
עָרַ֣ב | arav | HVqp3ms |
he becomes surety | he became surety | 5 |
H6148-03 |
עָרְבֵֽ/נִי | areveni | HVqv2ms/Sp1cs |
be my security | Be surety for me | 2 |
H6148-07 |
הִתְעָ֣רֶב | hitearev | HVtv2ms |
make a bargain | pledge yourself as surety | 2 |
H6148-11 |
תִתְעָרָֽב | titearav | HVti2ms |
associate | you will pledge yourself as surety | 2 |
H6148-05 |
בַּ֝/עֹרְבִ֗ים | baorevim | HRd/Vqrmpa |
among the sureties | among the guarantors | 1 |
H6148-13 |
וְ/הִתְעָֽרְבוּ֙ | vehitearevu | HC/Vtp3cp |
and-they-have-mingled | and they intermingled themselves | 1 |
H6148-02 |
עָרַ֣בְתָּ | araveta | HVqp2ms |
you have become surety | you pledged yourself as surety | 1 |
H6148-09 |
עֹרֵ֥ב | orev | HVqrmsa |
becomes surety | Raven | 1 |
H6148-15 |
יֶֽעֶרְבוּ | yeerevu | HVqi3mp |
they will be pleasing | they will stand surety | 1 |
H6148-12 |
וַ/יִּתְעָרְב֥וּ | vayitearevu | HC/Vtw3mp |
but they mingled | they intermingled themselves | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
23 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6148-06 |
Genesis 43:9 | אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔/נּוּ | eerevenu | HVqi1cs/Sp3ms |
will be surety for him | I will be surety for him |
H6148-01 |
Genesis 44:32 | עָרַ֣ב | arav | HVqp3ms |
became surety | he became surety |
H6148-07 |
2 Kings 18:23 | הִתְעָ֣רֶב | hitearev | HVtv2ms |
make a bargain | pledge yourself as surety |
H6148-07 |
Isaiah 36:8 | הִתְעָ֣רֶב | hitearev | HVtv2ms |
make a pledge | pledge yourself as surety |
H6148-03 |
Isaiah 38:14 | עָרְבֵֽ/נִי | areveni | HVqv2ms/Sp1cs |
be my security | Be surety for me |
H6148-01 |
Jeremiah 30:21 | עָרַ֧ב | arav | HVqp3ms |
pledged | he became surety |
H6148-08 |
Ezekiel 27:9 | לַ/עֲרֹ֖ב | laarov | HR/Vqc |
to trade | to act as surety |
H6148-14 |
Ezekiel 27:27 | וְֽ/עֹרְבֵ֣י | veorevey | HC/Vqrmpc |
and dealers-in | and guarantors of |
H6148-15 |
Hosea 9:4 | יֶֽעֶרְבוּ | yeerevu | HVqi3mp |
they will be pleasing | they will stand surety |
H6148-12 |
Psalms 106:35 | וַ/יִּתְעָרְב֥וּ | vayitearevu | HC/Vtw3mp |
but they mingled | they intermingled themselves |