לֶֽ/עָרִ֛ים

𐤋/𐤏𐤓𐤉𐤌

learim

by 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 18:9 · Word #6

Lexicon H5892

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

Morphology HRd/Ncfpa 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 a — Absolute — The noun stands independently

SIBI-P1 H5892-49

to the wake-guarded cities

Rootעור (ʿ-w-r)
Core Meaningsto rouse, awaken, be alert, keep watch
Semantic Rangecity, town, fortified settlement, encampment, administrative center
Conceptual SignificanceIn biblical thought, a city is not merely a population center but a protected, watch-guarded community. The term evokes security, organized society, and covenant life lived within defended boundaries.
Morphological NotesPreposition לְ (to/for) with assimilated definite article + noun עִיר, feminine plural absolute ("the cities").
Rendering RationaleThe noun עִיר derives from a root associated with wakefulness and watchfulness, reflecting a settlement protected by alert guardians. The form לֶעָרִים combines the preposition לְ ("to/for") with the definite article and the feminine plural noun, yielding "to the ... cities," here rendered in a way that preserves the root sense of watchful guarding.

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

Words from Root עור (to rouse, awaken, be alert, keep watch)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H5782-01 airah Let me rouse myself
H5892-01 aray my watch-cities
H5892-03 arayv his watch-guarded 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