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אָחוּ

𐤀𐤇𐤅

ʼâchûw

H260 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain marsh plant, reed, meadow grass

Definition

A marsh plant or reed, especially one growing in wet or swampy areas, such as along riverbanks or in meadows subject to flooding. In biblical usage, it refers to the type of water plant found along the Nile or other marshlands, primarily in reference to natural vegetation characteristic of these areas.

Semantic Range

marsh grass, reed, wetland plant, riverbank vegetation, Nile grass, waterside meadow

Root / Etymology

Etymology uncertain; possibly of foreign (Egyptian) origin, as the plant itself is contextualized with Egyptian geography and flora in biblical passages. No clear derivation from a known Semitic root.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אָחוּ (ʼâchûw) appears rarely in the Hebrew Bible, most notably in Genesis 41:2, 18, which describes cattle coming up out of the Nile and feeding in the 'marsh grass' or meadow along the Nile's edge. The word identifies a specific type of lush, marshy vegetation typical of Egyptian riverbanks and describes the fertile areas where cattle grazed. The term is not used as a general word for grass or pasture, but narrowly designates vegetation of a wetland or floodplain. Later Hebrew terms (such as גֶּבֶא, geva‘) may refer more generically to meadow or marsh, but אָחוּ specifically evokes the ecological setting of the Nile, which may suggest an Egyptian loanword or at least an Egypt-associated context. English translations, especially in the King James tradition, sometimes render the word as 'meadow', 'flag', or 'marsh grass', but these can obscure the precise environmental reference to riverine or marshland flora. No religious or ethnic connotations are attached to the term; it is strictly botanical and geographic in its biblical context.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of uncertain (perhaps Egyptian) derivation; a bulrush or any marshy grass (particularly that along the Nile); flag, meadow.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אחו (ʾ-ḥ-w) — marsh plant, reed, meadow grass

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H263 אַחֲוָה and to make known

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H260-02 בָּ/אָֽחוּ baachu HRd/Ncmsa in the reeds marsh reed 2
H260-01 אָ֥חוּ achu HNcmsa the reed marsh reed 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H260-02 Genesis 41:2 בָּ/אָֽחוּ baachu HRd/Ncmsa in the reeds marsh reed
H260-02 Genesis 41:18 בָּ/אָֽחוּ baachu HRd/Ncmsa in the reeds marsh reed
H260-01 Job 8:11 אָ֥חוּ achu HNcmsa the reed marsh reed
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