What does כָּבַד · אָב · אֵם mean in the Bible?
כָּבַד · אָב · אֵם is a Hebrew phrase meaning "Honor your father and your mother — the hinge commandment between the two tables".
Hebrew · H3513, H1, H517
כַּבֵּד אֶת-אָבִיךָ וְאֶת-אִמֶּךָ
To be heavy , i.e. in a bad sense ( burdensome , severe , dull ) or in a good sense ( numerous , rich , honorable ); causatively, to make weighty (in the same two senses) · father , in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application · a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively [like father])
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
כָּבַד H3513 to be heavy , i.e. in a bad sense ( burdensome , severe , dull ) or in a good sense ( numerous , rich , honorable ); causatively, to make weighty (in the same two senses)
Pronunciation kābad
Weight as moral-existential force: dishonor/burden in negative sense, glory/dignity in positive sense.
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אָב H1 father , in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application
Pronunciation ʾāb
Father as both literal parent and figurative source/founder; extends to ancestor, chief, and originating authority
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אֵם H517 a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively [like father])
Pronunciation ʾēm
Mother as the relational bond holding family together; extends figuratively to cities, nations, and source-origins.
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What does כַּבֵּד אֶת-אָבִיךָ וְאֶת-אִמֶּךָ (kaved et-avikha ve-et-imekha) mean in the Bible?
כָּבַד · אָב · אֵם is a Hebrew phrase meaning "Honor your father and your mother — the hinge commandment between the two tables".
Full entry for כַּבֵּד אֶת-אָבִיךָ וְאֶת-אִמֶּךָ (H3513, H1, H517) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for H3513, H1, H517?
H3513, H1, H517 is connected to 1,549 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew phrase. Honor your father and your mother — the hinge commandment between the two tables
Source Gloss
Honor your father and your mother — the hinge commandment between the two tables
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 6 Aligned forms 65
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 17×
Participle active 1Chr 4:9 · 1Chr 11:21 · 1Chr 11:25 · 1Sam 9:6 · 2Sam 23:19 · 2Sam 23:23 · Gen 34:19 · Isa 23:8 · Isa 23:9 · Prov 8:24 · Ps 87:3 11×
Perfect Isa 26:15 · Isa 43:4 · 2Sam 6:20 3×
Sequential imperfect 2Kgs 14:10 1×
Cohortative 2Sam 6:22 1×
Imperfect Lev 10:3 1×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 15×
Imperfect Isa 66:5 · Job 6:3 · Job 33:7 · Exod 5:9 · Ps 32:4 · Job 14:21 · Ps 38:5 · 2Sam 13:25 8×
Perfect 1Sam 5:11 · Gen 18:20 · Isa 59:1 · Job 23:2 · Judg 20:34 · Neh 5:18 · Gen 48:10 7×
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 11×
Perfect 1Kgs 12:10 · 1Kgs 12:14 · 2Chr 10:10 · Isa 8:23 · Lam 3:7 · Neh 5:15 · Zech 7:11 · Exod 10:1 · Isa 47:6 9×
Imperfect 2Chr 10:14 1×
Sequential imperfect Isa 6:10 1×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 15×
Imperfect Dan 11:38 · Mal 1:6 · Ps 15:4 · 1Sam 2:30 · Isa 60:13 · 1Sam 6:6 · Judg 9:9 8×
Infinitive absolute Deut 5:16 · Exod 20:12 · Num 22:17 · Num 24:11 4×
Sequential imperfect Isa 24:15 · Prov 3:9 2×
Perfect 1Sam 6:6 1×
Pual intensive passive — intensive action received by the subject 3×
Imperfect Prov 13:18 · Prov 27:18 2×
Participle passive Isa 58:13 1×
Hithpael reflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others 2×
Sequential imperfect Nah 3:15 2×
Word Origins
כַּבֵּד אֶת-אָבִיךָ וְאֶת-אִמֶּךָ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
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