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# רָחַף

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H7363

**hover** — used 3 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

hover [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/7363/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

רָחַף²: vb. Pi. hover [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/7363/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** vb. Pi. hover (NH id., cf. Grünbaumzmg xxxix (1885), 607; Syriac Pa. ܪܰܚܶܦ move gently, also cherish, and brood, cf. Thess. v.; connexion with I. ר׳ dub.);— Impf. 3 ms. יְרַחֵף עַל Dt 32:11 (poem) of vulture hovering over young; Pt. רוּחַ א׳ מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּ֑יִם Gn 1:2 (P); hovering over face of waters, or perhaps (v. Syriac) brooding (and fertilizing), so JerQuaest. in Gen. ed. Lag. 4 (reading ‘marahaefeth’), cf. Di Gunk.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 2 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (2 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: \[was\] hovering (1); it hovers (1); they have become weak (1).

## In the verses

[Deuteronomy 32:11](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/DEU.32.11/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/DEU.32.11/#tree)

כְּנֶ֙שֶׁר֙ יָעִ֣יר קִנּ֔וֹ עַל־גּוֹזָלָ֖יו יְרַחֵ֑ף יִפְרֹ֤שׂ כְּנָפָיו֙ יִקָּחֵ֔הוּ יִשָּׂאֵ֖הוּ עַל־אֶבְרָתֽוֹ׃

*Word for word:* like an.eagle \[which\].it.stirs.up nest its over ones its.young it.hovers it.spreads.out wings its it takes.it it carries.it on pinion its

*JPS 1917:* As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, hovereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions —

[Genesis 1:2](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.1.2/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.1.2/#tree)

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

*Word for word:* and the earth it.was formlessness and emptiness and darkness \[was\].over the.surface of.the.deep and the.spirit of.God \[was\].hovering over the.surface of the.waters

*JPS 1917:* Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/7363.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/7363/): 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).