What does כָּבַשׁ (kābaš) mean in the Bible?
כָּבַשׁ (kābaš): Forceful domination through treading down: conquest, subjugation, or deliberate disregard of resistance.
Hebrew · H3533
כָּבַשׁ
To tread down ; hence, negatively, to disregard ; positively, to conquer , subjugate , violate
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כָּבַשׁ H3533
Pronunciation kābaš
What does כָּבַשׁ (kābaš) mean in the Bible?
כָּבַשׁ (kābaš): Forceful domination through treading down: conquest, subjugation, or deliberate disregard of resistance.
Full entry for כָּבַשׁ (H3533) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3533?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include is subdued (2), and conquer (1), and subdue it (1), and they forced them (1), and you have again forced (1).
Where does כָּבַשׁ (kābaš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:28. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (2), Nehemiah (2), Numbers (2), 1 Chronicles (1).
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 is subdued 2× Numbers 32:22, Numbers 32:29
and conquer 1× Zechariah 9:15
and subdue it 1× Genesis 1:28
and they forced them 1× Jeremiah 34:11
and you have again forced 1× Jeremiah 34:16
are already enslaved 1× Nehemiah 5:5
are subjecting 1× Nehemiah 5:5
assault 1× Esther 7:8
has been subdued 1× 1 Chronicles 22:18
he had subdued 1× 2 Samuel 8:11
He will vanquish 1× Micah 7:19
to reduce to slavery 1× 2 Chronicles 28:10
was subdued 1× Joshua 18:1
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 1:28 וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ to and subdue it Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural | third person feminine singular Numbers 32:22 וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֨ה to is subdued Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular Numbers 32:29 וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֥ה to is subdued Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular Joshua 18:1 נִכְבְּשָׁ֖ה to was subdued Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person feminine singular 2 Samuel 8:11 כִּבֵּֽשׁ׃ to he had subdued Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular 1 Chronicles 22:18 וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֥ה to has been subdued Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular 2 Chronicles 28:10 לִכְבֹּ֛שׁ to to reduce to slavery Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Nehemiah 5:5 כֹ֠בְשִׁים to are subjecting Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural Nehemiah 5:5 נִכְבָּשׁוֹת֙ to are already enslaved Verb - Nifal - Participle - feminine plural Esther 7:8 לִכְבּ֧וֹשׁ to assault Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 1:28
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 11
Genesis 1 Numbers 2 Joshua 1 2 Samuel 1 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 1 Nehemiah 2 Esther 1 Jeremiah 2 Micah 1 Zechariah 1
Source forms
וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֥ה 2x wə·niḵ·bə·šāh Numbers 32:29, 1 Chronicles 22:18
וַיַּכְבִּישׁוּם 1x way·yaḵ·bī·šūm Jeremiah 34:11
וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ 1x wə·ḵiḇ·šu·hā Genesis 1:28
וְכָֽבְשׁוּ֙ 1x wə·ḵā·ḇə·šū Zechariah 9:15
וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֨ה 1x wə·niḵ·bə·šāh Numbers 32:22
וַתִּכְבְּשׁ֣וּ 1x wat·tiḵ·bə·šū Jeremiah 34:16
יִכְבֹּ֖שׁ 1x yiḵ·bōš Micah 7:19
כִּבֵּֽשׁ׃ 1x kib·bêš 2 Samuel 8:11
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular 3x Numbers 32:22, Numbers 32:29, 1 Chronicles 22:18
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct 2x 2 Chronicles 28:10, Esther 7:8
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine plural 1x Jeremiah 34:11
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural 1x Zechariah 9:15
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - second person masculine plural 1x Jeremiah 34:16
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural | third person feminine singular 1x Genesis 1:28
Verb - Nifal - Participle - feminine plural 1x Nehemiah 5:5
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person feminine singular 1x Joshua 18:1
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Forceful domination through treading down: conquest, subjugation, or deliberate disregard of resistance.
Strong's H3533
Lexical occurrences 15 verses Word forms 3 forms 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Genesis 1:26-28 Source Gloss
to tread down ; hence, negatively, to disregard ; positively, to conquer , subjugate , violate
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Forceful domination through treading down: conquest, subjugation, or deliberate disregard of resistance.
to tread down; hence, negatively, to disregard; positively, to conquer, subjugate, violate BDB: subdue Usage: bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, bring into subjection.
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 3 Aligned forms 5
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 1×
Perfect 2Sam 8:11 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 2×
Perfect Josh 18:1 1×
Participle passive Neh 5:5 1×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 2×
Imperfect Mic 7:19 1×
Participle active Neh 5:5 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Humanity commanded to exercise dominion over creation and living creatures
Showing 1 selected witness from 15 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
כָּבַשׁ 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