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# אָהֵב

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H157

**love** — used 215 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

love [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/157/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

אָהֵב: vb. love [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/157/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** vb. love— Pf. אָהֵ֑ב Gn 27:9 + 7times; אָהֵ֥ב Gn 27:14; אָהַב Gn 37:3 + 3 times; אֲהֵֽבְךָ Dt 15:16; 3 fs. אָֽהֲבָה Ct 1:7 +, etc.; impf. יֶאֱהַב (־הָ֑ב) Pr 3:12 +; 1 s. אֵהָ֑ב Pr 8:17 (cf. Ew§ 192 d Ges§ 68.1); וָֽאֹהַ֖ב Mal 1:2; וָאֹהֲבֵהוּ Ho 11:1; אֹהֲבֵם Ho 14:5; וָאֹהֲבֵם ψ 119:167; 2 mpl. תְּאֵהֲבוּ Pr 1:22 (cf. KöI p. 394 Ges§ 63 R. 2); תֶּאֱהָ֑בוּ Zc 8:17; תֶּאֱהָבוּן ψ 4:3; Imv. אֱהַב־ Ho 3:1; אֱהָבֶהָ Pr 4:6; אֶהֱבוּ ψ 31:24 Am 5:15; אֱהָ֑בוּ Zc 8:19; inf. cstr. אֱהֹב Ec 3:8; אַהֲבָה Dt 10:12 +; אֲהֲבַת Mi 6:8 + etc.; cf. also sub n. אהבה infr.; Pt. אֹהֵב (אוֹהֵב) Dt 10:18 + 26 times; f. cstr. אֲהֻבַת Ho 3:1 is prob. active cf. BaNB 174 ff; sf. אֹהֲבִי Is 41:8 etc.; f. אֹהֶ֫בֶת Gn 25:28; אֹהַ֫בְתִּי Ho 10:11 etc.; Pt. pass. אָהוּב Ne 13:26; אֲהוּבָה Dt 21:15(×2), 16.—love (mostly c. acc., sq. לִ + obj. Lv 19:18, 34 2 Ch 19:2 (late), sq. בְּ Ec 5:9; abs. Ec 3:8 & v. infr.), (affection both pure & impure, divine & human);— human love to human object; abs., opp. hate שָׂנֵא Ec 3:8; of love to son Gn 22:2; 25:28; 37:3, 4; 44:20 (JE) Pr 13:24; so also 2 S 13:21 𝔊 Ew Th We, cf. Dr, of Dvd’s loving Amnon; never to parent, but mother-in-law Ru 4:15; of man’s love to woman; wife Gn 24:67; 29:20, 30 (cf. v 18) 32 (JE), also Dt 21:15(×2), 16 Ju 14:16 1 S 1:5 2 Ch 11:21 Est 2:17 Ho 3:1 Ec 9:9; but also Gn 34:3 (J) Ju 16:4, 15 2 S 13:1, 4, 15 (where of carnal desire) 1 K 11:1 cf. v 2 Ho 3:1; א׳ רֵעַ loving a paramour, v. BaNB 176; woman’s love to man 1 S 18:20 (so v 28 MT, but read וְכִי כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֹהֵב אֹתוֹ 𝔊 We Dr) Ct 1:3, 4, 7; 3:1, 2, 3, 4 (5 times subj. נַפְשִׁי; cf. also fig. of adulterous Judah Je 2:25 Is 57:8 Ez 16:37; of love of slave to master Ex 21:5 (JE) Dt 15:16; inferior to superior 1 S 18:22 cf. v 16; love to neighbour Lv 19:18 (וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעְךָ כָּמוֹ֑ךָ), partic. to stranger Lv 19:34 (both P), Dt 10:18, 19; love of friend to friend 1 S 16:21; 18:1, 3; 20:17(×2) Jb 19:19 Pr 17:17 cf. 2 S 19:7(×2) 2 Ch 19:2; v. also Pr 9:8; 16:13 cf. 15:12; v. especially Pt. infr. less often of appetite, obj. food, Gn 27:4, 9, 14 (JE) Ho 3:1; drink Pr 21:17; husbandry 2 Ch 26:10; cf. fig. of Ephraim Ho 10:11 sq. inf.; length of life ψ 34:13; of cupidity Ho 9:1 Is 1:23 Ec 5:9(×2); of love of sleep Pr 20:13 cf. fig. of sluggish watchmen (sq. inf.)Is 56:10; also c. obj. abstr. wisdom (personif.), knowledge, righteousness, etc. Pr 4:6; 8:17, 21; 12:1; 22:11; 29:3 Am 5:15 Mi 6:8 (inf. ‖ infinitives) Zc 8:19 cf. Pr. 19:8 קֹנֶה לֵב אֹהֵב נַפְשׁוֹ; obj. folly, evil, etc., Mi 3:2 ψ 4:3; 11:5; 52:5, 6; 109:17 Pr 1:22; 8:36 17:19(×2), cf. 18:21 Zc 8:17, w. כֵּן Je 5:3 Am 4:5†, sq. inf. Ho 12:8 Je 14:10, especially of idolatry Ho 4:18 (where del. הֵבוּ cf. KöI, p. 395) Je 8:2. love to God Ex 20:6 (JE) elsewhere Hex only Dt 5:10; 6:5; 7:9 + 9 times Dt + Jos 22:5; 23:11; also Ju 5:31 1 K 3:3 Ne 1:5 Dn 9:4 especially in (late) ψ 31:24; 97:10; 116:1; 145:20, but usually sq. name, law, etc. of י׳ ψ 5:12; 26:8; 40:17; 69:37; 70:5; 119:47 + 11 times ψ 119; cf. Is 56:6; cf. also of love to Jerusalem Is 66:10 ψ 122:6. especially Pt. אֹהֵב = (a) lover, La 1:2 (fig. of Jerus.); (b) friend Hiram of David 1 K 5:15, cf. Je 20:4, 6 Est 5:10, 14; 6:13 ψ 38:12 (‖ רֵעַ) so 88:19, & Pr 14:20; also 18:24; 27:6 Abr. of God Is 41:8 2 Ch 20:7. of divine love (a) to individual men Dt 4:37 2 S 12:24 Pr 3:12; 15:9 ψ 146:8 Ne 13:26; (b) to people Israel, etc. Dt 7:8, 13; 23:6 Ho 3:1; 9:15 11:1; 14:5 1 K 10:9 2 Ch 2:10; 9:8 Is 43:4; 48:14 Je 31:3 Mal 1:2(×3) ψ 47:5; to Jerusalem ψ 78:68; 87:2; (c) to righteousness, etc. ψ 11:7; 33:5; 37:28; 45:8; 99:4 Is 61:8 Mal 2:11. Pt. pl. הַנֶּאֱהָבִים 2 S 1:23 lovely, loveable of Saul & Jonath. (‖ הַנְּעִימִם). Pt. pl. sf. מְאַהֲבַי (־בָ֑י) Ho 2:7 + 3 times; מְאַהֲבַיִךְ (־בָ֑יִךְ) Je 22:20 + 6 times; מְאַהֲבֶיהָ Ho 2:9 + 4 times friends Zc 13:6; lovers in fig. of adulter. Isr. Ho 2:7, 9, 12, 14, 15 Ez 23:5, 9; Judah Je 22:20, 22; 30:14 La 1:19 Ez 16:33, 36, 37; 23:22.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 179 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (3 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: love (19); he loved (17); I love (15).

## In the verses

[Psalms 52:6](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.52.6/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.52.6/#tree)

אָהַ֥בְתָּ כָֽל־דִּבְרֵי־בָ֗לַע לְשׁ֣וֹן מִרְמָֽה׃

*Word for word:* you.love all words of.swallowing a.tongue of.deceit

*JPS 1917:* Thou lovest all devouring words, the deceitful tongue.

[Psalms 119:113](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.119.113/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.119.113/#tree)

סֵעֲפִ֥ים שָׂנֵ֑אתִי וְֽתוֹרָתְךָ֥ אָהָֽבְתִּי׃

*Word for word:* half-hearted.people I.hate and law your I.love

*JPS 1917:* I hate them that are of a double mind; but Thy law do I love.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/157.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/157/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).