What does מְעָרָה (mĕʿārāh) mean in the Bible?
מְעָרָה (mĕʿārāh): Cave as place of refuge, concealment, or isolation; darkness emphasizes separation from normal community life
Hebrew · H4631
מְעָרָה
A cavern (as dark)
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מְעָרָה H4631
Pronunciation mĕʿārāh
What does מְעָרָה (mĕʿārāh) mean in the Bible?
מְעָרָה (mĕʿārāh): Cave as place of refuge, concealment, or isolation; darkness emphasizes separation from normal community life
Full entry for מְעָרָה (H4631) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4631?
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the cave (13), in the cave (5), of the cave (5), a cave (2), caves (2).
Where does מְעָרָה (mĕʿārāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 19:30. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (11), Joshua (8), 1 Samuel (7), 1 Kings (4).
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 the cave 13× Genesis 23:9, Genesis 23:17, Genesis 23:19, Genesis 25:9
in the cave 5× Genesis 50:13, Joshua 10:16, Joshua 10:17, 1 Samuel 24:10
of the cave 5× Joshua 10:18, Joshua 10:22, Joshua 10:27, 1 Samuel 24:3
a cave 2× 1 Samuel 24:3, 1 Kings 19:9
caves 2× Judges 6:2, Isaiah 32:14
per cave 2× 1 Kings 18:4, 1 Kings 18:13
. . . 1× Joshua 10:22
a den 1× Jeremiah 7:11
and caves 1× Ezekiel 33:27
and the cave 1× Genesis 49:32
cave 1× Genesis 23:20
in a cave 1× Genesis 19:30
in caves 1× 1 Samuel 13:6
into the cave 1× Psalms 57:1
to caves 1× Isaiah 2:19
you the cave 1× Genesis 23:11
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 19:30 בַּמְּעָרָ֔ה to in a cave Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 23:9 מְעָרַ֤ת to the cave Noun - feminine singular construct Genesis 23:11 וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה to you the cave Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 23:17 וְהַמְּעָרָ֣ה to the cave Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 23:19 מְעָרַ֞ת to the cave Noun - feminine singular construct Genesis 23:20 וְהַמְּעָרָ֧ה to cave Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 25:9 מְעָרַ֖ת to the cave Noun - feminine singular construct Genesis 49:29 הַ֨מְּעָרָ֔ה to the cave Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 49:30 בַּמְּעָרָ֞ה to The cave Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 49:32 וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה to and the cave Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 19:30
Aligned rows 39
Books represented 11
Genesis 11 Joshua 8 Judges 1 1 Samuel 7 2 Samuel 1 1 Kings 4 1 Chronicles 1 Psalms 2 Isaiah 2 Jeremiah 1 Ezekiel 1
Source forms
בַּמְּעָרָ֔ה 4x bam·mə·‘ā·rāh Genesis 19:30, 1 Samuel 24:10, 1 Kings 18:4, 1 Kings 18:13
הַמְּעָרָ֑ה 4x ham·mə·‘ā·rāh Joshua 10:18, Joshua 10:22, Joshua 10:23, 1 Kings 19:13
הַמְּעָרָ֖ה 3x ham·mə·‘ā·rāh Joshua 10:27, 1 Samuel 24:3, 1 Kings 19:9
מְעָרַ֖ת 3x mə·‘ā·raṯ Genesis 25:9, 2 Samuel 23:13, 1 Chronicles 11:15
וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה 2x wə·ham·mə·‘ā·rāh Genesis 23:11, Genesis 49:32
בַמְּעָרָ֖ה 1x ḇam·mə·‘ā·rāh Joshua 10:16
בַמְּעָרָ֣ה 1x ḇam·mə·‘ā·rāh Psalms 142:1
בַּמְּעָרָ֞ה 1x bam·mə·‘ā·rāh Genesis 49:30
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - feminine singular 10x Genesis 49:29, Joshua 10:18, Joshua 10:22, Joshua 10:23
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular 9x Genesis 19:30, Genesis 49:30, Joshua 10:16, Joshua 10:17
Noun - feminine singular construct 6x Genesis 23:9, Genesis 23:19, Genesis 25:9, 1 Samuel 22:1
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular 4x Genesis 23:11, Genesis 23:17, Genesis 23:20, Genesis 49:32
Preposition-m, Article | Noun - feminine singular 2x 1 Samuel 24:7, 1 Samuel 24:8
Article | Noun - feminine plural 1x Judges 6:2
Article | Noun - feminine singular construct 1x Jeremiah 7:11
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural 1x Ezekiel 33:27
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Cave as place of refuge, concealment, or isolation; darkness emphasizes separation from normal community life
Source Gloss
a cavern (as dark)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Cave as place of refuge, concealment, or isolation; darkness emphasizes separation from normal community life
a cavern (as dark) BDB: cave Usage: cave, den, hole.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
מְעָרָה is built from this root:
עוּר H5783
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