What does עָב (ʿāb) mean in the Bible?
A cloud can be part of a narrated event, the created sky or a prophetic comparison. Exodus says the Lord will come in a dense cloud so that the people hear Him speaking with Moses.
Hebrew · H5645
עָב
A cloud can be part of a narrated event, the created sky or a prophetic comparison. Exodus says the Lord will come in a dense cloud so that the people hear Him speaking with Moses.
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עָבH5645
Pronunciationʿāb
What does עָב (ʿāb) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for עָב (H5645) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5645?
The BSB source-word alignment has 31 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the clouds (10), like a cloud (3), with clouds (2), . . . (1), a cloud (1).
Where does עָב (ʿāb) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 19:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Job (8), Isaiah (7), Psalms (5), Ecclesiastes (3).
What This Word Actually Means
A cloud can be part of a narrated event, the created sky or a prophetic comparison. Exodus says the Lord will come in a dense cloud so that the people hear Him speaking with Moses. First Kings describes a small cloud reported by Elijah's servant before the sky darkens and heavy rain falls. Isaiah compares the blotting out of transgressions with a cloud and calls the people to return because the Lord has redeemed them.
These settings do not give every cloud the same message. Its significance comes from the divine speech, the narrated sequence or the explicit comparison. Readers should notice what the passage says the cloud does and what the Lord says around it, without turning an ordinary appearance in the sky into a personal prophetic sign.
How the Bible Uses It
Sinai's dense cloud, the reported cloud before rain and Isaiah's forgiveness comparison have different functions. Each receives meaning from explicit speech or its own narrated movement.
- Exod.19.9
The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the Lord what the people had said.
The Lord states that the dense cloud accompanies His speaking with Moses so the people will hear and put trust in him.
- 1Kgs.18.44
On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
The servant reports a small cloud after repeated looking, and the next verse records darkening sky, wind and heavy rain.
- Isa.44.22
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Cloud and mist form explicit comparisons for blotted transgressions and sins, followed by the Lord's call to return because He has redeemed.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itthe clouds10×Judges 5:4, Job 20:6, Job 37:11, Job 37:16
like a cloud3×Job 30:15, Isaiah 18:4, Isaiah 44:22
with clouds2×1 Kings 18:45, Psalms 147:8
. . .1×2 Samuel 23:4
a cloud1×1 Kings 18:44
and the clouds1×Ecclesiastes 12:2
and thick clouds1×2 Samuel 22:12
cloud1×Isaiah 19:1
clouds1×Psalms 18:11
His clouds1×Psalms 18:12
how the clouds1×Job 36:29
in His clouds1×Job 26:8
is like a rain cloud1×Proverbs 16:15
like clouds1×Isaiah 60:8
of a cloud1×Isaiah 25:5
of the clouds1×Isaiah 14:14
the thickets1×Jeremiah 4:29
Thick clouds1×Job 22:14
you in a dense1×Exodus 19:9
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 19:9בְּעַ֣בtoyou in a densePreposition-b | Noun - common singular constructJudges 5:4עָבִ֖יםtothe cloudsNoun - common plural2 Samuel 22:12עָבֵ֥יtoand thick cloudsNoun - common plural construct2 Samuel 23:4עָב֔וֹתto. . .Noun - common plural1 Kings 18:44עָ֛בtoa cloudNoun - common singular1 Kings 18:45עָבִ֣יםtowith cloudsNoun - common pluralJob 20:6לָעָ֥בtothe cloudsPreposition-l, Article | Noun - common singularJob 22:14עָבִ֣יםtoThick cloudsNoun - common pluralJob 26:8בְּעָבָ֑יוtoin His cloudsPreposition-b | Noun - common plural construct | third person masculine singularJob 30:15וּ֝כְעָ֗בtolike a cloudConjunctive waw, Preposition-k | Noun - common singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 19:9
Aligned rows31
Books represented10
Exodus1Judges12 Samuel21 Kings2Job8Psalms5Proverbs1Ecclesiastes3Isaiah7Jeremiah1
Source forms
עָ֑ב4x‘āḇJob 36:29, Job 37:11, Job 37:16, Isaiah 14:14
עָבֵ֥י2x‘ā·ḇê2 Samuel 22:12, Psalms 18:11
עָבִ֣ים2x‘ā·ḇîm1 Kings 18:45, Job 22:14
בְּעַ֣ב1xbə·‘aḇExodus 19:9
בְּעָבָ֑יו1xbə·‘ā·ḇāwJob 26:8
בְּעָבִ֗ים1xbə·‘ā·ḇîmPsalms 147:8
בֶעָבִ֖ים1xḇe·‘ā·ḇîmEcclesiastes 11:4
בֶּעָבִ֔ים1xbe·‘ā·ḇîmJeremiah 4:29
Parsing patterns
Noun - common singular7x1 Kings 18:44, Job 36:29, Job 37:11, Job 37:16
Noun - common plural6xJudges 5:4, 2 Samuel 23:4, 1 Kings 18:45, Job 22:14
Article | Noun - common plural3xEcclesiastes 11:3, Ecclesiastes 12:2, Isaiah 5:6
Noun - common plural construct2x2 Samuel 22:12, Psalms 18:11
Preposition-b | Noun - common singular construct2xExodus 19:9, Proverbs 16:15
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - common plural2xEcclesiastes 11:4, Jeremiah 4:29
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - common singular2xIsaiah 44:22, Isaiah 60:8
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - common singular2xJob 20:6, Job 38:34
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Invite attention to the Lord's stated words rather than unsupported weather-based messages.
- Do not promise a personal breakthrough solely from resemblance to Elijah's reported cloud.
Avoid claiming...
- The cloud noun does not supply a universal code for personalized divine guidance.
- Shared cloud language does not give every current leader Moses' particular commission.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Cloud as an envelope of divine presence and concealment; darkness signifying God's transcendence and mystery.
Source Gloss
properly, an envelope , i.e. darkness (or density , 2 Chronicles 4:17); specifically, a (scud) cloud ; also a copse
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Cloud as an envelope of divine presence and concealment; darkness signifying God's transcendence and mystery.
properly, an envelope, i.e. darkness (or density, 2 Chronicles 4:17); specifically, a (scud) cloud; also a copse BDB: dark cloud Usage: clay, (thick) cloud, × thick, thicket. Compare 5672.
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
Figurative: dark cloud as metaphor for displeasure or disfavor
Showing 1 selected witness from 32 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עָב is built from this root:
עוּבH5743
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Isaiah's cloud image receives its meaning from the verbs and declaration around it: transgressions are blotted out, the people are called to return and the Lord says He has redeemed them. A teacher should not reverse that movement or make every cloud a sign of forgiveness. Exodus likewise gives a stated reason for the dense cloud at Sinai, and First Kings places a reported small cloud within the actual arrival of rain.
These are different kinds of explanation. Reading them together can sharpen attention to divine speech, narrated events and comparison without producing a sky-based guidance system. The ordinary noun cannot give a contemporary observer Moses' commission or Elijah's particular testimony. Its teaching value lies in clarifying what the selected passage itself attributes to the cloud.
Anchor passage
Isa.44.22
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 19:9 connects the dense cloud with the people hearing God's speech.
- Exodus 19:10-11 follows with preparation for the Lord's coming at Sinai.
- First Kings 18:42-45 connects the servant's report with the narrated arrival of rain.
- Isaiah 44:21-23 places blotted sins beside remembered belonging, redemption and praise.
- Psalm 147:8-9 praises the Lord's rain and provision through clouds and growing grass.
- Job 26:8-10 describes waters held in clouds within speech about God's power.
The licensed Hebrew record includes dense or dark cloud language and other contextual uses. This study selects cloud settings; divine presence, weather and forgiveness imagery remain claims of their passages rather than meanings automatically carried by the noun.
From Old to New Testament
Acts 1:9 describes a cloud hiding Jesus from the witnesses' sight in the ascension account. That narrated event can be compared with other cloud settings while retaining Jesus' adjacent warning about times and seasons. It does not make every observed cloud an ascension sign or a timetable.