עָרֵי/הֶֽם

𐤏𐤓𐤉/𐤄𐤌

areyhem

their 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

Numbers 21:2 · Word #15

Lexicon H5892

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

Morphology HNcfpc/Sp3mp 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 H5892-06

their watch-cities

Rootעור (ʿ-w-r)
Core Meaningsto wake, to rouse, to be alert, watchfulness
Semantic Rangecity, town, fortified settlement, encampment, administrative center
Conceptual SignificanceThe עִיר represents the organized, defended center of communal life in ancient Israel—places of governance, refuge, commerce, and covenantal identity—embodying the idea of a watchful, protected community within the land.
Morphological NotesCommon feminine plural noun in construct form (עָרֵי) with 3rd masculine plural pronominal suffix (הֶם), yielding "their cities."
Rendering RationaleThe noun עִיר is traditionally understood as deriving from the root עור ("to be awake, watchful"), reflecting a guarded or wakeful settlement. The form עָרֵי־הֶם is feminine plural construct with a 3rd masculine plural suffix, thus "their" (3mp) "cities" (f.pl.), rendered here as "their watch-cities" to preserve both the root sense of guarded alertness and the plural possessive morphology.

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

Words from Root עור (to wake, to rouse, to be alert, watchfulness)

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