עָרֵ֣י

𐤏𐤓𐤉

arey

cities

or (in the plural) עָר; or עָיַר; (Judges 10:4), from עוּר; a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post); Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town.

H5892

Joshua 13:21 · Word #2

Lexicon H5892

Lemmaעִיר
Lemma (Paleo)𐤏𐤉𐤓
Transliterationʻîyr
Strong'sH5892
In-contextcities

Morphology HNcfpc All morphology codes

Part of Speech N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea
Subtype c — Common — Common noun
Gender f — Feminine — Feminine
Number p — Plural — Plural
State c — Construct — The noun is bound to the following word

SIBI-P1 H5892-04

watch-cities of

Rootעיר (ʿ-y-r)
Core Meaningswakefulness, vigilance, watchfulness, guarded settlement
Semantic Rangecity, town, fortified settlement, walled center, administrative center, encampment, guarded post
Conceptual SignificanceIn the biblical world, a city was not merely a population center but a fortified, guarded community—an organized space of protection, governance, and covenant life. The link to wakefulness underscores the role of vigilance and defense in sustaining communal identity and stability within the land.
Morphological NotesCommon feminine noun; plural construct form (feminine plural construct of עִיר). The construct state links it to a following noun, forming a genitive relationship ("cities of …").
Rendering RationaleThe noun עָרֵי is the feminine plural construct form of עִיר, retaining the sense of a settled place characterized by watchfulness or guarding (from the root idea of being awake). Rendering it "watch-cities of" preserves both the root connection to vigilance and the plural construct form, which requires the sense "cities of…" followed by a genitive.

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

Words from Root עיר (wakefulness, vigilance, watchfulness, guarded settlement)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H6144-01 ar Ar (the City)
H5892-02 arayikhe your watch-cities
H5892-11 bearayv in his watch-cities
H5892-23 hearim the guarded cities
H5892-40 mearayv from his watch-cities
H5892-59 vearim and watch-cities

Word Usage (1095 occurrences of H5892)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 4:17 עִ֔יר ir a city
Genesis 4:17 הָ/עִ֔יר hair of the city
Genesis 10:11 עִ֖יר ir Ir
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