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בָּעוּ

𐤁𐤏𐤅

bâʻûw

H1159 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A formal request, appeal, or petition made to an authority, deity, or person in power; used especially in administrative or legal settings in Aramaic texts of the Hebrew Bible to denote petitions brought before rulers or officials.

Semantic Range

request, petition, formal appeal, supplication, legal plea

Root / Etymology

Root: בְּעָא (bʿʾ), Aramaic verb meaning 'to seek, request, ask.' The noun form בָּעוּ is formed with the typical Aramaic nominal suffix -וּ/-ו (w), indicating the thing sought—'a request' or 'petition.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

בָּעוּ occurs only in the Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible (notably in Ezra), reflecting the administrative language of the Persian period. It designates formal appeals usually involving legal or governmental matters—petitions brought before imperial or local authorities by subjects. The word is less common than other Hebrew terms for requests, such as שְׁאֵלָה (sha'elah), and highlights the bureaucratic and multilingual milieu of the post-exilic period. In Greek translations, it is often rendered as δέησις (deēsis) or αἴτημα (aitēma), both signifying a request or supplication. English translations as 'petition' or 'request' are generally accurate, but the term's technical, administrative flavor may be underrepresented in such renderings. In later Aramaic and Jewish legal literature, related forms continue to designate formal written or oral appeals.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) from בְּעָא; a request; petition.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בעא (b-ʿ-ʾ) — seek, request, ask

Root בעא to seek, to request, to ask

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1159-01 בָּעוּתֵֽ/הּ bauteh ANcfsc/Sp3ms his-petitions his formal petition his petitions 1
H1159-02 בָ֠עוּ vau ANcfsa petition they came petition 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1159-02 Daniel 6:8 בָ֠עוּ vau ANcfsa petition they came petition
H1159-01 Daniel 6:14 בָּעוּתֵֽ/הּ bauteh ANcfsc/Sp3ms his-petitions his formal petition his petitions
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