What does אָוֶן (aven) mean in the Bible?
אָוֶן (aven): Radical emptiness underlying all forms of evil, trouble, and idolatry—nothingness as moral and spiritual corruption.
Hebrew · H205
אָוֶן
Strictly nothingness ; also trouble , vanity , wickedness ; specifically an idol
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אָוֶן H205
Pronunciation aven
What does אָוֶן (aven) mean in the Bible?
אָוֶן (aven): Radical emptiness underlying all forms of evil, trouble, and idolatry—nothingness as moral and spiritual corruption.
Full entry for אָוֶן (H205) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H205?
The BSB source-word alignment has 78 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include iniquity (12), of iniquity (12), . . . (10), evil (4), wicked (4).
Where does אָוֶן (aven) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Numbers 23:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (29), Job (13), Isaiah (12), Proverbs (9).
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 iniquity 12× Job 4:8, Job 11:11, Job 36:21, Psalms 66:18
of iniquity 12× Job 31:3, Job 34:22, Psalms 5:5, Psalms 6:8
. . . 10× Job 34:8, Psalms 36:12, Psalms 92:7, Psalms 92:9
evil 4× Job 15:35, Proverbs 10:29, Proverbs 17:4, Ezekiel 11:2
wicked 4× Job 22:15, Psalms 59:5, Proverbs 6:18, Jeremiah 4:14
disaster 3× Numbers 23:21, Psalms 55:3, Jeremiah 4:15
are sinful 2× Isaiah 59:6, Isaiah 59:7
distress 2× Job 5:6, Habakkuk 3:7
a delusion 1× Isaiah 41:29
a wicked 1× Proverbs 6:12
an idol 1× Isaiah 66:3
and malice 1× Psalms 10:7
and malicious 1× Isaiah 58:9
and sorrow 1× Psalms 90:10
and the unrighteous 1× Isaiah 55:7
are wicked 1× Psalms 36:3
deceit 1× Zechariah 10:2
for evil 1× Isaiah 29:20
from iniquity 1× Job 36:10
harm 1× Proverbs 12:21
is like the wickedness 1× 1 Samuel 15:23
like a wicked 1× Job 34:36
of Aven 1× Hosea 10:8
of mourners 1× Hosea 9:4
one’s punishment 1× Job 21:19
sin 1× Psalms 119:133
slander 1× Psalms 41:6
such sin 1× Psalms 56:7
the iniquity 1× Job 11:14
their own iniquity 1× Psalms 94:23
to nothing 1× Amos 5:5
unjust 1× Isaiah 10:1
while in mourning 1× Deuteronomy 26:14
while malice 1× Psalms 55:10
wickedness 1× Psalms 36:4
with evil 1× Psalms 7:14
wrong 1× Proverbs 30:20
Show sample aligned rows
Numbers 23:21 אָ֙וֶן֙ to disaster Noun - masculine singular Deuteronomy 26:14 בְאֹנִ֜י to while in mourning Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct 1 Samuel 15:23 וְאָ֥וֶן to is like the wickedness Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Job 4:8 אָ֑וֶן to iniquity Noun - masculine singular Job 5:6 אָ֑וֶן to distress Noun - masculine singular Job 11:11 אָ֝֗וֶן to iniquity Noun - masculine singular Job 11:14 אָ֣וֶן to the iniquity Noun - masculine singular Job 15:35 אָ֑וֶן to evil Noun - masculine singular Job 21:19 אוֹנ֑וֹ to one’s punishment Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular Job 22:15 אָֽוֶן׃ to wicked Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Numbers 23:21
Aligned rows 78
Books represented 14
Numbers 1 Deuteronomy 1 1 Samuel 1 Job 13 Psalms 29 Proverbs 9 Isaiah 12 Jeremiah 2 Ezekiel 1 Hosea 4 Amos 1 Micah 1 Habakkuk 2 Zechariah 1
Source forms
אָ֑וֶן 20x ’ā·wen Job 4:8, Job 5:6, Job 15:35, Job 34:8
אָֽוֶן׃ 19x ’ā·wen Job 22:15, Job 31:3, Job 34:22, Job 34:36
אָ֥וֶן 6x ’ā·wen Psalms 14:4, Psalms 28:3, Psalms 41:6, Psalms 53:4
אָ֙וֶן֙ 3x ’ā·wen Numbers 23:21, Hosea 12:11, Habakkuk 1:3
אָ֣וֶן 3x ’ā·wen Job 11:14, Psalms 36:3, Psalms 59:5
אָ֖וֶן 3x ’ā·wen Isaiah 1:13, Isaiah 55:7, Jeremiah 4:15
אָ֔וֶן 3x ’ā·wen Isaiah 59:6, Isaiah 59:7, Habakkuk 3:7
אָ֝֗וֶן 2x ’ā·wen Job 11:11, Psalms 55:3
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 66x Numbers 23:21, Job 4:8, Job 5:6, Job 11:11
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 4x 1 Samuel 15:23, Psalms 10:7, Psalms 55:10, Psalms 90:10
Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Psalms 125:5
Noun - masculine plural 1x Hosea 9:4
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular 1x Jeremiah 4:14
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural 1x Psalms 94:23
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 1x Job 21:19
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct 1x Deuteronomy 26:14
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Radical emptiness underlying all forms of evil, trouble, and idolatry—nothingness as moral and spiritual corruption.
Source Gloss
strictly nothingness ; also trouble , vanity , wickedness ; specifically an idol
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Radical emptiness underlying all forms of evil, trouble, and idolatry—nothingness as moral and spiritual corruption.
strictly nothingness; also trouble, vanity, wickedness; specifically an idol BDB: trouble Usage: affliction, evil, false, idol, iniquity, mischief, mourners(-ing), naught, sorrow, unjust, unrighteous, vain, vanity, wicked(-ness). Compare 369.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
wickedness
wickedness
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 79 lexical occurrence verses.
Why This Word Matters
Describes moral corruption of Gilead. Hosea 6:7-11
Describes deep moral corruption. Hosea 7:1-7
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