What does רָעֵב (rāʿēb) mean in the Bible?
רָעֵב (rāʿēb): Hunger as physical deprivation, often signaling divine judgment or abandonment in covenantal contexts
Hebrew · H7457
רָעֵב
Hungry (more or less intensely)
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רָעֵב H7457
Pronunciation rāʿēb
What does רָעֵב (rāʿēb) mean in the Bible?
רָעֵב (rāʿēb): Hunger as physical deprivation, often signaling divine judgment or abandonment in covenantal contexts
Full entry for רָעֵב (H7457) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7457?
The BSB source-word alignment has 20 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to the hungry (4), The hungry (2), . . . (1), a hungry man (1), and hungry (1).
Where does רָעֵב (rāʿēb) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Samuel 2:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (5), Job (4), Psalms (4), Ezekiel (2).
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 to the hungry 4× Psalms 146:7, Isaiah 58:10, Ezekiel 18:7, Ezekiel 18:16
The hungry 2× Job 5:5, Psalms 107:9
. . . 1× Isaiah 32:6
a hungry man 1× Isaiah 29:8
and hungry 1× Isaiah 8:21
are starving 1× 2 Kings 7:12
but still go hungry 1× Job 24:10
but the starving 1× 1 Samuel 2:5
but to a hungry 1× Proverbs 27:7
depleted 1× Job 18:12
from the famished 1× Job 22:7
have become hungry 1× 2 Samuel 17:29
He causes the hungry 1× Psalms 107:36
is hungry 1× Proverbs 25:21
They were hungry 1× Psalms 107:5
with the hungry 1× Isaiah 58:7
Show sample aligned rows
1 Samuel 2:5 וּרְעֵבִ֖ים to but the starving Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural 2 Samuel 17:29 רָעֵ֛ב to have become hungry Adjective - masculine singular 2 Kings 7:12 רְעֵבִ֣ים to are starving Adjective - masculine plural Job 5:5 רָ֘עֵ֤ב to The hungry Adjective - masculine singular Job 18:12 רָעֵ֥ב to depleted Adjective - masculine singular Job 22:7 וּ֝מֵרָעֵ֗ב to from the famished Conjunctive waw, Preposition | Adjective - masculine singular Job 24:10 וּ֝רְעֵבִ֗ים to but still go hungry Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural Psalms 107:5 רְעֵבִ֥ים to They were hungry Adjective - masculine plural Psalms 107:9 רְ֝עֵבָה to the hungry Adjective - feminine singular Psalms 107:36 רְעֵבִ֑ים to He causes the hungry Adjective - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 Samuel 2:5
Aligned rows 20
Books represented 8
1 Samuel 1 2 Samuel 1 2 Kings 1 Job 4 Psalms 4 Proverbs 2 Isaiah 5 Ezekiel 2
Source forms
לְרָעֵ֣ב 2x lə·rā·‘êḇ Ezekiel 18:7, Ezekiel 18:16
לָֽרָעֵב֙ 2x lā·rā·‘êḇ Isaiah 58:7, Isaiah 58:10
הָרָעֵ֜ב 1x hā·rā·‘êḇ Isaiah 29:8
וּ֝מֵרָעֵ֗ב 1x ū·mê·rā·‘êḇ Job 22:7
וְרָעֵ֑ב 1x wə·rā·‘êḇ Isaiah 8:21
וּרְעֵבִ֖ים 1x ū·rə·‘ê·ḇîm 1 Samuel 2:5
וּ֝רְעֵבִ֗ים 1x ū·rə·‘ê·ḇîm Job 24:10
לָרְעֵבִ֑ים 1x lā·rə·‘ê·ḇîm Psalms 146:7
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular 5x 2 Samuel 17:29, Job 5:5, Job 18:12, Proverbs 25:21
Adjective - masculine plural 3x 2 Kings 7:12, Psalms 107:5, Psalms 107:36
Adjective - feminine singular 2x Psalms 107:9, Proverbs 27:7
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural 2x 1 Samuel 2:5, Job 24:10
Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular 2x Ezekiel 18:7, Ezekiel 18:16
Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular 2x Isaiah 58:7, Isaiah 58:10
Article | Adjective - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 29:8
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 8:21
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Hunger as physical deprivation, often signaling divine judgment or abandonment in covenantal contexts
Source Gloss
hungry (more or less intensely)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Hunger as physical deprivation, often signaling divine judgment or abandonment in covenantal contexts
hungry (more or less intensely) BDB: hungry Usage: hunger bitten, hungry.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Physical hunger as a basic human need requiring compassionate response
Hunger as a state affecting appetite and perception of food
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 20 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
רָעֵב is built from this root:
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