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רַב

𐤓𐤁

rab

H7227 adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

An adjective denoting greatness in number, quantity, or magnitude; frequently used to indicate 'many,' 'much,' or 'great' as opposed to few or little. In certain contexts, also functions as a substantive to mean 'a great one,' 'chief,' 'leader,' or 'officer.' The term encompasses both quantitative and qualitative greatness, including age, importance, power, or status.

Semantic Range

great (in number, magnitude, status), many, much, abundant, chief, leader, officer, captain, elder, exceedingly, full, plentiful, populous, principal person or official, master

Root / Etymology

Derived from the Hebrew root רבב (rbb), meaning 'to be or become many, to multiply, to be numerous.' The form רַב (rab) is an adjective and sometimes a noun meaning 'great' or 'many,' reflecting the root idea but with a lexical emphasis on magnitude or status rather than the verbal sense of multiplying.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, רַב is most commonly used as an adjective describing people, things, or qualities that are numerous or great—'a great people,' 'many years,' 'great wealth.' When used substantively, especially with additional terms such as רַב־סָרִיס (chief eunuch) or רַב סֹפֵר (chief scribe), it denotes a chief or high-ranking official, often in royal or military contexts. Over time, particularly in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic contexts, the term developed into a formal title for teachers or leaders (as in 'rabbi'), but in classical biblical usage this developed sense is not present. The term can indicate seniority by age (an elder) or in command (a captain, chief, officer). While English translations often render it as 'great,' 'many,' 'chief,' or 'captain,' the nuances depend strongly on context. The word is more flexible in biblical Hebrew than in later tradition, sometimes merely indicating largeness or abundance, and sometimes conferring honor or high status. In contrast with other terms for leadership, such as נָשִׂיא (nasi, 'prince') or שֹׁפֵט (shofet, 'judge'), רַב is more general, emphasizing greatness or preeminence without specifying office. In poetic, wisdom, and prophetic literature, it may highlight abundance, duration, or intensity.

Translation Consistency

primary "great" 41 occurrences

'Great' best captures the primary semantic range of רַב—magnitude, quantity, importance, and status—while remaining natural in English. It can render both quantitative senses ('great numbers', 'great abundance') and qualitative/substantive senses ('a great one', 'great leader'), so a single consistent word works across the varied uses. Although 'many' is the single most frequent literal gloss, 'great' is more versatile and reads naturally in contexts where רַב denotes size, power, or rank.

Alternatives (9 occurrences):
"enough" (2x) "many" (2x) "too many" (2x) "more" (1x) "who has many" (1x) "increased" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

by contracted from רָבַב; abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality); (in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), (ship-)master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).

Bantu Hebrew

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

Root Family

רבב (Merav) — to be many, to increase, to become numerous

Root רבב to be many, to become great, to multiply
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4764 מֵרָב Abundant one
H7228 רַב his archers
H7229 רַב the great one
H7230 רֹב in abundance
H7231 רָבַב to multiply

Word Forms

25 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H7227-14 רַבִּ֑ים rabim HAampa many many great ones 172
H7227-16 רַב rav HAamsc great great great 139
H7227-10 רַבָּ֣ה rabah HAafsa great great great 35
H7227-15 רַבּ֖וֹת rabot HAafpa many many (feminine plural) great (feminine plural) 30
H7227-25 וְ/רַ֛ב verav HC/Aamsa and great and great and great 20
H7227-04 הָ/רַבִּ֑ים harabim HTd/Aampa the many the many the great ones 11
H7227-11 רַבַּ֥ת rabat HAafsc many Great One (feminine) Great One (feminine) 10
H7227-05 הָ/רָ֖ב harav HTd/Aamsa great the great one the great 7
H7227-23 וְ֠/רַבִּים verabim HC/Aampa and many many and great 7
H7227-18 וָ/רָ֑ב varav HC/Aamsa and numerous and great and great 5

Occurrences in Scripture

461 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H7227-16 Deuteronomy 3:26 רַב rav HAamsc enough great enough
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 7:1 רַבִּ֣ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 7:1 רַבִּ֥ים rabim-2 HAampa more numerous many great ones
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 7:17 רַבִּ֛ים rabim HAampa more numerous many great ones
H7227-18 Deuteronomy 9:14 וָ/רָ֖ב varav HC/Aamsa and numerous and great and great
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 15:6 רַבִּ֗ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 15:6 רַבִּ֔ים rabim-2 HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 Deuteronomy 20:1 רַ֣ב rav HAamsa numerous great great
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 20:19 רַבִּ֜ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-10 Deuteronomy 25:3 רַבָּ֔ה rabah HAafsa many great great
H7227-18 Deuteronomy 26:5 וָ/רָֽב varav HC/Aamsa and numerous and great and great
H7227-14 Deuteronomy 28:12 רַבִּ֔ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 Deuteronomy 28:38 רַ֖ב rav HAamsa much great great
H7227-15 Deuteronomy 31:17 רַבּ֖וֹת rabot HAafpa many many (feminine plural) great (feminine plural)
H7227-15 Deuteronomy 31:21 רַבּוֹת֮ rabot HAafpa many many (feminine plural) great (feminine plural)
H7227-16 Deuteronomy 33:7 רָ֣ב rav HVqp3ms contend great great
H7227-14 Joshua 10:11 רַבִּ֗ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 Joshua 11:4 רָ֕ב rav HAamsa much great great
H7227-16 Joshua 11:4 רַב rav-2 HAamsa many great great
H7227-10 Joshua 11:8 רַבָּ֗ה rabah HAafsa great great great
H7227-14 Joshua 11:18 רַבִּ֗ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 Joshua 17:14 רָ֔ב rav HAamsa great great great
H7227-16 Joshua 17:15 רַ֤ב rav HAamsa great great great
H7227-16 Joshua 17:17 רַ֣ב rav HAamsa great great many
H7227-16 Joshua 19:9 רַ֣ב rav HAamsa too much great great
H7227-10 Joshua 19:28 רַבָּֽה rabah HAafsa great great great
H7227-14 Joshua 22:3 רַבִּ֔ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-14 Joshua 22:8 רַבִּ֜ים rabim HAampa much many great ones
H7227-16 Joshua 22:8 רַב rav HAamsa much great great
H7227-14 Joshua 23:1 רַבִּ֔ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-14 Joshua 24:7 רַבִּֽים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 Judges 7:2 רַ֗ב rav HAamsa too many great too many
H7227-16 Judges 7:4 רָב֒ rav HAamsa too many great too many
H7227-15 Judges 8:30 רַבּ֖וֹת rabot HAafpa many many (feminine plural) great (feminine plural)
H7227-14 Judges 9:40 רַבִּ֖ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-14 Judges 16:30 רַבִּ֕ים rabim HAampa more many more
H7227-21 1 Samuel 2:5 וְ/רַבַּ֥ת verabat HC/Aafsc and she who has many and great and she who has many
H7227-10 1 Samuel 12:17 רַבָּה֙ rabah HAafsa is great great great
H7227-02 1 Samuel 14:6 בְּ/רַ֖ב berav HR/Aamsa by many in great abundance by many
H7227-18 1 Samuel 14:19 וָ/רָ֑ב varav HC/Aamsa and increased and great and increased
H7227-16 1 Samuel 26:13 רַ֥ב rav HAamsa great great great
H7227-16 2 Samuel 3:22 רָ֖ב rav HAamsa much great great
H7227-16 2 Samuel 13:34 רַ֜ב rav HAamsa many great great
H7227-14 2 Samuel 14:2 רַבִּ֔ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-18 2 Samuel 15:12 וָ/רָ֖ב varav HC/Aamsa and numerous and great and great
H7227-14 2 Samuel 22:17 רַבִּֽים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 2 Samuel 23:20 רַב rav HAamsc great great great
H7227-14 2 Samuel 24:14 רַבִּ֣ים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 2 Samuel 24:16 רַ֔ב rav HAamsa enough great enough
H7227-14 1 Kings 2:38 רַבִּֽים rabim HAampa many many great ones
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