בַּ/מִּדְבָּֽר

𐤁/𐤌𐤃𐤁𐤓

bamidebar

in the wilderness

from דָבַר in the sense of driving; a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs); desert, south, speech, wilderness.

H4057

2 Chronicles 1:3 · Word #20

Lexicon H4057

Lemmaמִדְבָּר
Lemma (Paleo)𐤌𐤃𐤁𐤓
Transliterationmidbâr
Strong'sH4057
In-contextin the wilderness

Morphology HRd/Ncmsa All morphology codes

Part of Speech N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea
Subtype c — Common — Common noun
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular
State a — Absolute — The noun stands independently

SIBI-P1 H4057-01

in the driving-wilderness

Rootדבר (d-b-r)
Core Meaningsto drive, lead, order, speak
Semantic Rangepastureland, open steppe, wilderness, desert, uncultivated land; by extension a place of isolation or testing
Conceptual SignificanceThe midbâr is the formative landscape of Israel’s identity—where YHWH drives, leads, and speaks to His people. It is both a literal grazing land and a theological space of testing, dependence, covenant revelation, and divine guidance.
Morphological NotesPreposition בְּ ("in") with assimilated definite article ("the") + masculine singular absolute noun מִדְבָּר.
Rendering RationaleThe noun מִדְבָּר derives from the root דבר in the sense of driving or leading livestock, referring to open land where flocks are driven. Rendering it as "driving-wilderness" preserves this pastoral-root connection rather than treating it as a generic desert. The prefixed בַּ־ ("in the") reflects the preposition with definite article, and the noun is masculine singular absolute.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root דבר (to drive, lead, order, speak)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H1696-01 adaber I will declare
H1696-02 adaberah Let me speak forth
H1697-01 badavar in the word

Word Usage (271 occurrences of H4057)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 14:6 הַ/מִּדְבָּֽר hamidebar the wilderness
Genesis 16:7 בַּ/מִּדְבָּ֑ר bamidebar in the wilderness
Genesis 21:14 בְּ/מִדְבַּ֖ר bemidebar in the wilderness