What does אָבַד (to'vad) mean in the Bible?
e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy )".
Hebrew · H6
אָבַד
Properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy )
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אָבַד H6
Pronunciation to'vad
What does אָבַד (to'vad) mean in the Bible?
אָבַד (to'vad) is a Hebrew word meaning "properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy )".
Full entry for אָבַד (H6) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6?
The BSB source-word alignment has 184 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include will perish (16), perish (12), has perished (6), and destroy (5), destroy (5).
Where does אָבַד (to'vad) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 10:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (26), Psalms (26), Deuteronomy (24), Job (15).
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 will perish 16× 2 Kings 9:8, Esther 4:14, Job 8:13, Psalms 1:6
perish 12× Deuteronomy 4:26, Deuteronomy 28:20, Joshua 23:16, Judges 5:31
has perished 6× Jeremiah 7:28, Jeremiah 48:36, Lamentations 3:18, Ezekiel 37:11
and destroy 5× Numbers 24:19, Jeremiah 15:7, Jeremiah 49:38, Ezekiel 25:16
destroy 5× Numbers 33:52, 2 Kings 10:19, Psalms 143:12, Jeremiah 31:28
. . . 4× Deuteronomy 4:26, Deuteronomy 8:19, Deuteronomy 12:2, Deuteronomy 30:18
to destroy 4× 2 Kings 24:2, Esther 8:5, Psalms 119:95, Jeremiah 1:10
and destroyed 3× Esther 9:6, Esther 9:12, Jeremiah 18:7
have perished 3× Deuteronomy 7:20, 2 Samuel 1:27, Jeremiah 48:46
I will destroy 3× Leviticus 23:30, Jeremiah 46:8, Ezekiel 30:13
lost 3× Numbers 17:12, Ecclesiastes 5:14, Jeremiah 50:6
perishes 3× Job 4:11, Job 18:17, Proverbs 11:7
they perish 3× Job 4:9, Job 4:20, Psalms 80:16
- 2× Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 22:3
and annihilate 2× Esther 3:13, Esther 8:11
and destroyed them 2× 2 Kings 19:18, Isaiah 37:19
and perish 2× Job 6:18, Psalms 9:3
and you will perish 2× Jeremiah 27:10, Jeremiah 27:15
I perish 2× Esther 4:16
perished 2× Jeremiah 49:7, Micah 4:9
the lost 2× Ezekiel 34:4, Ezekiel 34:16
they will perish 2× Jeremiah 10:15, Jeremiah 51:18
to annihilate 2× Deuteronomy 28:63, 2 Kings 11:1
to destroy them 2× Esther 3:9, Esther 9:24
you perish 2× Deuteronomy 28:22, Joshua 23:13
You will perish 2× Leviticus 26:38, Deuteronomy 8:20
you will surely perish 2× Deuteronomy 8:19, Deuteronomy 30:18
and annihilate them 1× Deuteronomy 9:3
and annihilation 1× Esther 7:4
and be forgotten 1× Psalms 41:5
and destroy it 1× Jeremiah 12:17
and destroy them 1× Esther 9:24
and destroying 1× Ezekiel 22:27
and destroys them 1× Job 12:23
and exterminate you 1× Ezekiel 25:7
and I banished you 1× Ezekiel 28:16
and I will destroy 1× Ezekiel 6:3
and perished 1× Jonah 4:10
and they vanished 1× Numbers 16:33
and those who were perishing 1× Isaiah 27:13
and will perish 1× Isaiah 41:11
and wipe out 1× Deuteronomy 12:3
and wreck 1× Micah 5:10
and you perish 1× Psalms 2:12
and you will soon perish 1× Deuteronomy 11:17
and you will wipe out 1× Deuteronomy 7:24
be lost 1× Jeremiah 18:18
but when they perish 1× Proverbs 28:28
corrupts 1× Ecclesiastes 7:7
dashed 1× Psalms 9:18
Destroy completely 1× Deuteronomy 12:2
destroyed 1× Jeremiah 9:12
destroyed them completely 1× Deuteronomy 11:4
destroys 1× Ecclesiastes 9:18
devoid 1× Deuteronomy 32:28
fails 1× Ezekiel 12:22
had destroyed 1× 2 Kings 21:3
had destroyed them 1× 2 Kings 13:7
had left them 1× Job 30:2
has destroyed 1× Deuteronomy 8:20
has ever perished 1× Job 4:7
has vanished 1× Psalms 9:6
He has destroyed 1× Lamentations 2:9
he will perish 1× Job 20:7
He will silence 1× Jeremiah 51:55
I will destroy you 1× Zephaniah 2:5
I will slaughter 1× Ezekiel 32:13
I would have perished 1× Psalms 119:92
in order to destroy 1× Esther 4:7
is destroyed 1× Numbers 21:30
let us perish 1× Jonah 1:14
lies in ruins 1× Exodus 10:7
like a broken 1× Psalms 31:12
like a lost 1× Psalms 119:176
may they perish 1× Psalms 83:17
Moreover, I will banish 1× Jeremiah 25:10
of their destruction 1× Obadiah 1:12
one perish 1× Job 31:19
perishing 1× Ecclesiastes 7:15
so You destroy 1× Job 14:19
squanders 1× Proverbs 29:3
The dying man 1× Job 29:13
There is no 1× Psalms 142:4
There will cease to be 1× Zechariah 9:5
they have caused you to perish 1× Deuteronomy 28:51
to be destroyed 1× Joshua 7:7
to count as lost 1× Ecclesiastes 3:6
to one who is perishing 1× Proverbs 31:6
vanished 1× Ecclesiastes 9:6
vanishes 1× Proverbs 11:7
wandered off 1× 1 Samuel 9:3
was a wandering 1× Deuteronomy 26:5
was lost 1× Ezekiel 19:5
We are lost 1× Numbers 17:12
we may not perish 1× Jonah 1:6
who destroy 1× Jeremiah 23:1
will also be ruined 1× Jeremiah 48:8
will also perish 1× Amos 3:15
will destroy them 1× Proverbs 1:32
will elude them 1× Job 11:20
will evade 1× Jeremiah 25:35
will fail 1× Amos 2:14
will lose 1× Jeremiah 4:9
will vanish 1× Isaiah 29:14
with destruction 1× Deuteronomy 7:10
would perish 1× Jeremiah 40:15
You are destroyed 1× Numbers 21:29
You destroy 1× Psalms 5:6
You have destroyed 1× Psalms 9:5
you have perished 1× Ezekiel 26:17
You have wiped out 1× Isaiah 26:14
you lost 1× 1 Samuel 9:20
You will wipe 1× Psalms 21:10
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 10:7 אָבְדָ֖ה to lies in ruins Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular Leviticus 23:30 וְהַֽאֲבַדְתִּ֛י to I will destroy Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Leviticus 26:38 וַאֲבַדְתֶּ֖ם to You will perish Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural Numbers 16:33 וַיֹּאבְד֖וּ to and they vanished Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural Numbers 17:12 אָבַ֖דְנוּ to We are lost Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural Numbers 17:12 אָבָֽדְנוּ׃ to lost Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural Numbers 21:29 אָבַ֖דְתָּ to You are destroyed Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular Numbers 21:30 אָבַ֥ד to is destroyed Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 24:19 וְהֶֽאֱבִ֥יד to and destroy Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 33:52 וְאִ֨בַּדְתֶּ֔ם to destroy Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Exodus 10:7
Aligned rows 184
Books represented 25
Exodus 1 Leviticus 2 Numbers 8 Deuteronomy 24 Joshua 3 Judges 1 1 Samuel 2 2 Samuel 1 2 Kings 7 Esther 13 Job 15 Psalms 26 Proverbs 10 Ecclesiastes 6 Isaiah 7 Jeremiah 26 Lamentations 2 Ezekiel 14 Joel 1 Amos 3 Obadiah 2 Jonah 4 Micah 3 Zephaniah 2 Zechariah 1
Source forms
יֹאבֵ֑דוּ 5x yō·ḇê·ḏū Job 4:9, Psalms 49:10, Psalms 73:27, Psalms 92:9
יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃ 4x yō·ḇê·ḏū Job 4:20, Psalms 80:16, Jeremiah 10:15, Jeremiah 51:18
תֹּאבֵֽד׃ 4x tō·ḇêḏ Job 8:13, Psalms 1:6, Psalms 112:10, Proverbs 10:28
אָבַ֣ד 3x ’ā·ḇaḏ Job 11:20, Psalms 142:4, Lamentations 3:18
אָבַ֖ד 3x ’ā·ḇaḏ Psalms 9:6, Jeremiah 48:46, Joel 1:11
אֹבֵ֣ד 3x ’ō·ḇêḏ Deuteronomy 26:5, Job 4:11, Ecclesiastes 7:15
וְאָבַ֥ד 3x wə·’ā·ḇaḏ Psalms 41:5, Jeremiah 25:35, Jeremiah 48:8
אָבָ֔ד 2x ’ā·ḇāḏ Isaiah 57:1, Micah 4:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 14x Numbers 21:30, Job 4:7, Job 11:20, Job 18:17
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural 13x Judges 5:31, Job 4:9, Job 4:20, Psalms 37:20
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular 9x Deuteronomy 22:3, Job 8:13, Psalms 1:6, Psalms 9:18
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular 8x Leviticus 23:30, Jeremiah 25:10, Jeremiah 49:38, Ezekiel 25:16
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 8x 2 Kings 9:8, Psalms 41:5, Ecclesiastes 5:14, Jeremiah 25:35
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular 7x Deuteronomy 26:5, Job 4:11, Job 29:13, Job 31:19
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular 7x Exodus 10:7, Proverbs 11:7, Ecclesiastes 9:6, Jeremiah 7:28
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural 5x Leviticus 26:38, Deuteronomy 11:17, Joshua 23:16, Jeremiah 27:10
Evidence Summary
Revelation
Hebrew word. properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy )
Strong's H6
Lexical occurrences 185 verses Word forms 3 forms 91 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Proverbs 11:10 Source Gloss
properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy )
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy) BDB: perish Usage: break, destroy(-uction), not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, × and surely, take, be undone, × utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
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 91
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 76×
Perfect Isa 57:1 · Jer 48:46 · Job 4:7 · Job 11:20 · Job 18:17 · Job 30:2 · Joel 1:11 · Jonah 4:10 · Lam 3:18 · Mic 4:9 · Mic 7:2 · Num 21:30 · Ps 9:7 · Ps 142:5 · Eccl 9:6 · Exod 10:7 31×
Imperfect Isa 60:12 · Jer 6:21 · Jer 10:15 · Jer 51:18 · Job 4:9 · Job 4:20 · Judg 5:31 · Ps 37:20 · Ps 49:11 · Ps 68:3 · Ps 73:27 · Ps 80:17 · Ps 92:10 · Ps 102:27 · Deut 22:3 · Ezek 7:26 31×
Participle active Deut 26:5 · Deut 32:28 · Eccl 7:15 · Jer 50:6 · Job 4:11 · Job 29:13 · Job 31:19 · Ps 31:13 · Ps 119:176 9×
Infinitive absolute Deut 4:26 · Deut 8:19 · Deut 30:18 3×
Infinitive construct Deut 7:20 1×
Cohortative Jonah 1:14 1×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 11×
Imperfect Eccl 9:18 · Prov 29:3 · Ps 5:7 · Ps 21:11 · Num 33:52 5×
Perfect 2Kgs 21:3 · Lam 2:9 · Jer 15:7 · Ps 9:6 4×
Infinitive absolute Deut 12:2 1×
Participle active Jer 23:1 1×
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 4×
Infinitive construct 2Kgs 10:19 1×
Participle active Deut 8:20 1×
Cohortative Jer 46:8 1×
Perfect Job 14:19 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
to perish or disappear
to vanish, be destroyed, or disappear
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 185 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אָבַד is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
The removal of wicked influence restores peace and order. Proverbs 11:10
The word stresses the complete disappearance of false hope. Proverbs 11:7
Canonical Themes
Revelation
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