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רְעַע

𐤓𐤏𐤏

rᵉʻaʻ

H7490 verb

SILEX Entry

Root רעע to break, shatter, do harm, destroy

Definition

To be broken, shattered, or to come to harm; to spoil or destroy, especially through acts of violence or forceful disruption. In context, can mean to do harm, to be evil, or to act in a destructive or injurious manner, whether physically, socially, or morally. The term is used both intransitively (to suffer harm or destruction) and transitively (to do harm or inflict evil).

Semantic Range

to break to pieces, to spoil, to do harm, to injure, to destroy, to make worthless, to bring evil upon, to pervert, to act wickedly

Root / Etymology

From the root רָעַע (raʻaʻ), which carries the basic sense of breaking, shattering, or causing harm. The verb in Aramaic usage is cognate with the Hebrew root, and retains much of the same semantic range but appears mainly in the later biblical Aramaic sections. This form רְעַע is the Aramaic equivalent, reflecting the root's core idea of destructive action.

Historical & Contextual Notes

רְעַע occurs only in biblical Aramaic sections (e.g., Daniel and Ezra), showing shared semantics with the Hebrew רָעַע. It typically describes harm done to individuals or communities, physical destruction (as by an adversary), or an act of making worthless or evil. In certain contexts, such as Daniel’s court narratives, it is used with both concrete (breaking objects or persons) and abstract (causing moral or social harm) senses. English translations often paraphrase as 'harm,' 'do evil,' or 'injure,' but these may not capture the potential range from literal destruction to broader ideas of moral or social perversion. Unlike Hebrew רָעָה (raʻah, 'evil'), which often describes moral badness or wickedness, רְעַע is typically action-oriented—focusing on the act of breaking, harming, or rendering worthless rather than inherent badness. There is no specific narrowing or broadening of the term’s meaning during the transition from earlier Israelite to post-exilic periods; rather, the term reflects continuity in Aramaic expressions of harm, often within Persian-period Jewish or Judean contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to רָעַע; {properly, to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces); figuratively, to make (or be) good fornothing, i.e. bad (physically, socially or morally)}; break, bruise.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

רעע (r-ʿ-ʿ) — break, shatter, do harm, destroy

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1251 בַּר bad
H1254 בָּרָא bad
H1262 בָּרָה bad
H1283 בְּרִיעָה Beriyyah
H4828 מֵרֵעַ to his associate

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7490-02 וְ/תֵרֹֽעַ veteroa AC/Vqi3fs and-it-will-smash and she will shatter 1
H7490-01 מְרָעַ֥ע meraa AVqrmsa crushes the one who shatters 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7490-01 Daniel 2:40 מְרָעַ֥ע meraa AVqrmsa crushes the one who shatters
H7490-02 Daniel 2:40 וְ/תֵרֹֽעַ veteroa AC/Vqi3fs and-it-will-smash and she will shatter
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