What does אוֹב (ʾwōb) mean in the Bible?
אוֹב (ʾwōb): Necromancer whose hollow-voiced divination mimics a spirit speaking through a vessel or skin-bottle.
Hebrew · H178
אוֹב
Properly, a mumble , i.e. a water- skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar)
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אוֹב H178
Pronunciation ʾwōb
What does אוֹב (ʾwōb) mean in the Bible?
אוֹב (ʾwōb): Necromancer whose hollow-voiced divination mimics a spirit speaking through a vessel or skin-bottle.
Full entry for אוֹב (H178) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H178?
The BSB source-word alignment has 17 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a medium (5), mediums (5), the mediums (3), a spirit (1), like a spirit (1).
Where does אוֹב (ʾwōb) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 19:31. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Samuel (5), Isaiah (3), Leviticus (3), 2 Kings (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It a medium 5× Leviticus 20:27, Deuteronomy 18:11, 1 Samuel 28:7, 1 Chronicles 10:13
mediums 5× Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:6, 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Chronicles 33:6
the mediums 3× 1 Samuel 28:3, 1 Samuel 28:9, 2 Kings 23:24
a spirit 1× 1 Samuel 28:8
like a spirit 1× Isaiah 29:4
to mediums 1× Isaiah 19:3
wineskin 1× Job 32:19
Show sample aligned rows
Leviticus 19:31 הָאֹבֹת֙ to mediums Article | Noun - masculine plural Leviticus 20:6 הָֽאֹבֹת֙ to mediums Article | Noun - masculine plural Leviticus 20:27 א֛וֹב to a medium Noun - masculine singular Deuteronomy 18:11 אוֹב֙ to a medium Noun - masculine singular 1 Samuel 28:3 הָאֹב֥וֹת to the mediums Article | Noun - masculine plural 1 Samuel 28:7 א֔וֹב to a medium Noun - masculine singular 1 Samuel 28:7 א֖וֹב to a medium Noun - masculine singular 1 Samuel 28:8 בָּא֔וֹב to a spirit Preposition, Article | Noun - masculine singular 1 Samuel 28:9 הָאֹב֥וֹת to the mediums Article | Noun - masculine plural 2 Kings 21:6 א֖וֹב to mediums Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Leviticus 19:31
Aligned rows 17
Books represented 8
Leviticus 3 Deuteronomy 1 1 Samuel 5 2 Kings 2 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 1 Job 1 Isaiah 3
Source forms
א֖וֹב 3x ’ō·wḇ 1 Samuel 28:7, 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Chronicles 33:6
הָאֹב֥וֹת 2x hā·’ō·ḇō·wṯ 1 Samuel 28:3, 1 Samuel 28:9
א֛וֹב 1x ’ō·wḇ Leviticus 20:27
אוֹב֙ 1x ’ō·wḇ Deuteronomy 18:11
א֔וֹב 1x ’ō·wḇ 1 Samuel 28:7
בָּא֔וֹב 1x bā·’ō·wḇ 1 Samuel 28:8
בָּא֖וֹב 1x bā·’ō·wḇ 1 Chronicles 10:13
הָאֹב֣וֹת 1x hā·’ō·ḇō·wṯ 2 Kings 23:24
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - masculine plural 7x Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:6, 1 Samuel 28:3, 1 Samuel 28:9
Noun - masculine singular 6x Leviticus 20:27, Deuteronomy 18:11, 1 Samuel 28:7, 2 Kings 21:6
Preposition, Article | Noun - masculine singular 2x 1 Samuel 28:8, 1 Chronicles 10:13
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural 1x Job 32:19
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 29:4
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Necromancer whose hollow-voiced divination mimics a spirit speaking through a vessel or skin-bottle.
Source Gloss
properly, a mumble , i.e. a water- skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Necromancer whose hollow-voiced divination mimics a spirit speaking through a vessel or skin-bottle.
properly, a mumble, i.e. a water-skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar) BDB: skin-bottle Usage: bottle, familiar spirit.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
אוֹב is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain