What does כָּבֵד (kābēd) mean in the Bible?
כָּבֵד (kābēd): Weight as moral/relational burden: heaviness denotes God's glory, human stubbornness, or overwhelming obligation.
Hebrew · H3515
כָּבֵד
Heavy ; figuratively in a good sense ( numerous ) or in a bad sense ( severe , difficult , stupid )
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כָּבֵדH3515
Pronunciationkābēd
What does כָּבֵד (kābēd) mean in the Bible?
כָּבֵד (kābēd): Weight as moral/relational burden: heaviness denotes God's glory, human stubbornness, or overwhelming obligation.
Full entry for כָּבֵד (H3515) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3515?
The BSB source-word alignment has 41 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include large (3), severe (3), and the heavy (2), you with a heavy (2), . . . (1).
Where does כָּבֵד (kābēd) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 12:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Exodus (12), Genesis (9), 1 Kings (4), 2 Chronicles (3).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itlarge3×Genesis 50:9, 1 Kings 10:2, 2 Chronicles 9:1
severe3×Genesis 41:31, Genesis 47:13, Exodus 9:24
and the heavy2×1 Kings 12:4, 2 Chronicles 10:4
you with a heavy2×1 Kings 12:11, 2 Chronicles 10:11
. . .1×Genesis 50:10
[is] unyielding1×Exodus 7:14
a severe1×Exodus 9:3
A thick1×Exodus 19:16
along with a great army1×2 Kings 18:17
along with great droves of1×Exodus 12:38
am slow1×Exodus 4:10
and1×Exodus 4:10
and a great1×2 Kings 6:14
and difficult1×Ezekiel 3:6
and heavy1×1 Samuel 4:18
great1×1 Kings 3:9
grew heavy1×Exodus 17:12
has been severe1×Genesis 47:4
his hair got so heavy1×2 Samuel 14:26
is a solemn1×Genesis 50:11
is too heavy1×Exodus 18:18
laden1×Isaiah 1:4
many1×Exodus 10:14
of a great1×Isaiah 32:2
or difficult1×Ezekiel 3:5
outweighs them1×Proverbs 27:3
the worst1×Exodus 9:18
Thick1×Exodus 8:24
too burdensome1×Numbers 11:14
too heavy1×Psalms 38:4
was severe1×Genesis 12:10
was still severe1×Genesis 43:1
wealthy1×Genesis 13:2
with a great1×Isaiah 36:2
with a large1×Numbers 20:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 12:10כָבֵ֥דtowas severeAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 13:2כָּבֵ֣דtowealthyAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 41:31כָבֵ֥דtosevereAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 43:1כָּבֵ֥דtowas still severeAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 47:4כָבֵ֥דtohas been severeAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 47:13כָבֵ֥דtosevereAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 50:9כָּבֵ֥דtolargeAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 50:10וְכָבֵ֖דto. . .Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singularGenesis 50:11כָּבֵ֥דtois a solemnAdjective - masculine singularExodus 4:10כְבַד־toam slowAdjective - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 12:10
Aligned rows41
Books represented12
Genesis9Exodus12Numbers21 Samuel12 Samuel11 Kings42 Kings22 Chronicles3Psalms1Proverbs1Isaiah3Ezekiel2
Source forms
כָּבֵ֣ד6xkā·ḇêḏGenesis 13:2, Exodus 9:18, Exodus 9:24, Exodus 10:14
כָּבֵ֥ד6xkā·ḇêḏGenesis 43:1, Genesis 50:9, Genesis 50:11, Exodus 9:3
כָבֵ֥ד5xḵā·ḇêḏGenesis 12:10, Genesis 41:31, Genesis 47:4, Genesis 47:13
כָּבֵ֖ד4xkā·ḇêḏExodus 7:14, Numbers 20:20, 2 Kings 18:17, Isaiah 32:2
כָּבֵ֔ד3xkā·ḇêḏExodus 8:24, 1 Kings 12:11, 2 Chronicles 10:11
הַכָּבֵ֛ד2xhak·kā·ḇêḏ1 Kings 12:4, 2 Chronicles 10:4
כָּבֵ֑ד2xkā·ḇêḏ2 Kings 6:14, Isaiah 36:2
הַכָּבֵ֖ד1xhak·kā·ḇêḏ1 Kings 3:9
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular30xGenesis 12:10, Genesis 13:2, Genesis 41:31, Genesis 43:1
Article | Adjective - masculine singular3x1 Kings 3:9, 1 Kings 12:4, 2 Chronicles 10:4
Adjective - masculine singular construct2xExodus 4:10, Isaiah 1:4
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural construct2xEzekiel 3:5, Ezekiel 3:6
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular2xGenesis 50:10, 1 Samuel 4:18
Adjective - masculine plural1xExodus 17:12
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct1xExodus 4:10
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Weight as moral/relational burden: heaviness denotes God's glory, human stubbornness, or overwhelming obligation.
Source Gloss
heavy ; figuratively in a good sense ( numerous ) or in a bad sense ( severe , difficult , stupid )
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Weight as moral/relational burden: heaviness denotes God's glory, human stubbornness, or overwhelming obligation.
heavy; figuratively in a good sense (numerous) or in a bad sense (severe, difficult, stupid) BDB: heavy Usage: (so) great, grievous, hard(-ened), (too) heavy(-ier), laden, much, slow, sore, thick.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Moses describes his speech impediment as a burden, physical difficulty with speaking
Showing 1 selected witness from 39 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
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.