יָגַב
𐤉𐤂𐤁
yâgab
H3009 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
A verbal root meaning to till, cultivate, or break up soil for agriculture. In its attested usage, the word refers specifically to the act of cultivating land, particularly by digging or plowing in preparation for planting. It does not refer to the person (farmer) but rather to the action itself. The sense of working or preparing ground for crops is primary.
Semantic Range
to dig (soil), to plow, to till, to prepare land for sowing; to perform agricultural labor (limited to soil cultivation)
Root / Etymology
Root is יגב, a primitive Semitic root. The semantic core relates to 'breaking up,' 'digging,' or 'cultivating' the soil; the verb יָגַב expresses the act rather than a descriptive status or profession. The formation is typical for agricultural and action-oriented verbal roots.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The root יגב is rare and attested primarily in poetic or older texts (e.g., Job 3:17), where it conveys agricultural labor, especially digging or tilling ground. It is not the common word for 'plow' or 'plowing' in most of the Hebrew Bible, for which חָרַשׁ (charash) is used more frequently. Similarly, the term does not denote a 'husbandman' (farmer) as a noun; this is a misunderstanding of its verbal nature in earlier lexicons. Later translations (e.g., KJV) sometimes supply 'husbandman' or 'plowman' for context. Its occurrence reflects an archaic or poetic register, possibly reflecting older agricultural vocabulary. There is no direct evidence that the root continued to be used in post-biblical Hebrew, nor in Aramaic or other Semitic dialects with a cognate meaning. The lexical scope of יָגַב remains narrow and is best understood by the immediate context of soil cultivation.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to dig or plow; husbandman.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
יגב (y-g-b) — to dig, to till, to plow, to break up soil
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H3010 | יָגֵב | and plowed fields |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3009-01 |
וּ/לְ/יֹגְבִֽים | uleyogevim | HC/R/Vqrmpa |
and for farmers | and to the tilling ones | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3009-01 |
Jeremiah 52:16 | וּ/לְ/יֹגְבִֽים | uleyogevim | HC/R/Vqrmpa |
and for farmers | and to the tilling ones |