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אֹיֵב

𐤀𐤉𐤁

ʼôyêb

H341 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

An adversary or enemy, specifically one who bears enmity or hostility toward another individual or group. The term encompasses both personal and collective opposition, often referring to enemies in armed conflict, but also extending to any context of antagonism or active opposition. In the Hebrew Bible, it designates those opposed to individuals (e.g., David's personal enemies), to the people as a group (Israelites' national foes), or, metaphorically, to abstract or cosmic adversaries.

Semantic Range

enemy, adversary, foe, personal enemy, national enemy, opponent in conflict, one who is hostile, abstract or cosmic adversary

Root / Etymology

From the root אָיַב (ʾ-y-b), meaning 'to be hostile, to be an enemy, to hate'. The form אֹיֵב is the active participle, functioning nominally to mean 'enemy, one who is hostile'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term אֹיֵב is a standard designation for an enemy in biblical Hebrew, appearing across various literary genres—legal, narrative, poetic, and prophetic. In early Israelite texts, it typically refers to individuals or nations in military or legal opposition. In poetic sections (e.g., Psalms), it often expands to describe cosmic, spiritual, or existential foes, serving as a symbol for life’s challenges or evil in general. Over time, the line between literal and metaphorical usage becomes blurred, especially in later Psalms and wisdom literature. The standard translation 'enemy' usually captures the term's sense, but does not differentiate between the intensity or type of opposition involved (personal, corporate, military, legal, or abstract). English 'enemy' does not convey certain cultural valences, such as the potential for reconciliation or the dynamics of social enmity present in ancient Israelite society. אֹיֵב is distinct from other near-synonyms (e.g., צַר 'adversary, oppressor'), which may emphasize persecution, restraint, or distress rather than pure enmity. The term is used consistently throughout the biblical corpus and does not undergo significant semantic shift across the major periods, though its metaphorical potential is more developed in poetic, post-exilic, and Second Temple era texts. In Greek Septuagint translation, it is often rendered as ἐχθρός, which also became the standard for designating 'enemy' in later Jewish and Christian Greek literature.

Translation Consistency

primary "enemy" 9 occurrences

אֹיֵב consistently denotes one who is hostile or opposed—personal, national, or abstract. 'Enemy' is the most common, natural, and easily inflected English equivalent (matches the dominant P2 renderings 'enemy/enemies') and covers the full typical semantic range better than more formal alternatives like 'adversary' or stylistic choices like 'foe.' This choice maximizes clarity and consistency across all forms.

Alternatives (41 occurrences):
"enemies" (38x) "enemy-ones" (3x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or (fully) אוֹיֵב; active participle of אָיַב; hating; an adversary; enemy, foe.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

איב (Iov) — to be hostile, act as an enemy, make oneself an enemy

Root איב to be hostile, to be an enemy, to hate
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H340 אָיַב and I will act as an enemy
H342 אֵיבָה hostility
H347 אִיּוֹב in Iyov

Word Forms

44 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H341-18 אוֹיֵ֖ב oyev HVqrmsa the enemy hostile one enemy 39
H341-28 אוֹיְבֶ֖י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies 37
H341-27 אֹיְבֵי/הֶ֖ם oyeveyhem HVqrmpc/Sp3mp their-enemies their hostile-ones their enemy-ones 31
H341-19 אוֹיְבַ֛/י oyevay HVqrmpc/Sp1cs my enemies my hostile ones my enemies 28
H341-21 אוֹיְבָ֖י/ו oyevayv HVqrmpc/Sp3ms his enemies his hostile ones his enemies 24
H341-29 אֹֽיְבֵי/כֶם֙ oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies 20
H341-25 אֹיְבֵ֣י oyevey HVqrmpc enemies hostile ones of enemies of 9
H341-30 אֹיְבֵֽי/נוּ oyeveynu HVqrmpc/Sp1cp our enemies our hostile ones our enemies 9
H341-11 מֵ/אֹ֣יְבַ֔/י meoyevay HR/Vqrmpc/Sp1cs from-my-enemies from my hostile-ones from my enemying-ones 7
H341-31 אֹיְבִ֑/י oyevi HVqrmsc/Sp1cs my enemy my hostile one my enemy 7

Occurrences in Scripture

284 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H341-21 Genesis 22:17 אֹיְבָֽי/ו oyevayv HVqrmpc/Sp3ms of his enemies his hostile ones his enemies
H341-28 Genesis 49:8 אֹיְבֶ֑י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms of your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-18 Exodus 15:6 אוֹיֵֽב oyev HVqrmsa enemy hostile one enemy
H341-18 Exodus 15:9 אוֹיֵ֛ב oyev HVqrmsa enemy hostile one the enemy
H341-34 Exodus 23:4 אֹֽיִבְ/ךָ֛ oyivekha HVqrmsc/Sp2ms of your enemy your hostile-one your enemy
H341-28 Exodus 23:22 אֹ֣יְבֶ֔י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Exodus 23:27 אֹיְבֶ֛י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:7 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֑ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:8 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֛ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:16 אֹיְבֵי/כֶֽם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your(pl)-enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:17 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֑ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-18 Leviticus 26:25 אוֹיֵֽב oyev HVqrmsa of enemy hostile one enemy
H341-29 Leviticus 26:32 אֹֽיְבֵי/כֶ֔ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your-enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:34 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֑ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-27 Leviticus 26:36 אֹיְבֵי/הֶ֑ם oyeveyhem HVqrmpc/Sp3mp of their enemies their hostile-ones their enemy-ones
H341-29 Leviticus 26:37 אֹֽיְבֵי/כֶֽם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:38 אֹיְבֵי/כֶֽם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp of your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Leviticus 26:39 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֑ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp of your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-27 Leviticus 26:41 אֹיְבֵי/הֶ֑ם oyeveyhem HVqrmpc/Sp3mp of their enemies their hostile-ones their enemy-ones
H341-27 Leviticus 26:44 אֹֽיְבֵי/הֶ֗ם oyeveyhem HVqrmpc/Sp3mp of their enemies their hostile-ones their enemy-ones
H341-14 Numbers 10:9 מֵ/אֹיְבֵי/כֶֽם meoyeveykhem HR/Vqrmpc/Sp2mp from your enemies from your hostile ones from your enemies
H341-28 Numbers 10:35 אֹֽיְבֶ֔י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-29 Numbers 14:42 אֹיְבֵי/כֶֽם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-19 Numbers 23:11 אֹיְבַ/י֙ oyevay HVqrmpc/Sp1cs my enemies my hostile ones my enemies
H341-19 Numbers 24:10 אֹֽיְבַ/י֙ oyevay HVqrmpc/Sp1cs my enemies my hostile ones my enemies
H341-21 Numbers 24:18 אֹיְבָ֑י/ו oyevayv HVqrmpc/Sp3ms his enemies his hostile ones his enemies
H341-21 Numbers 32:21 אֹיְבָ֖י/ו oyevayv HVqrmpc/Sp3ms his enemies his hostile ones his enemies
H341-18 Numbers 35:23 אוֹיֵ֣ב oyev HVqrmsa enemy hostile one enemy
H341-29 Deuteronomy 1:42 אֹיְבֵי/כֶֽם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 6:19 אֹיְבֶ֖י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-29 Deuteronomy 12:10 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֛ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 20:1 אֹיְבֶ֗י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-29 Deuteronomy 20:3 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֑ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-29 Deuteronomy 20:4 אֹיְבֵי/כֶ֖ם oyeveykhem HVqrmpc/Sp2mp your enemies your hostile-ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 20:14 אֹיְבֶ֔י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms of your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 21:10 אֹיְבֶ֑י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 23:10 אֹיְבֶ֑י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 23:15 אֹיְבֶ֨י/ךָ֙ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 25:19 אֹ֨יְבֶ֜י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 28:7 אֹיְבֶ֨י/ךָ֙ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 28:25 אֹיְבֶי/ךָ֒ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-08 Deuteronomy 28:31 לְ/אֹיְבֶ֔י/ךָ leoyeveykha HR/Vqrmpc/Sp2ms to your enemies to your hostile ones to your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 28:48 אֹיְבֶ֗י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile ones your enemies
H341-22 Deuteronomy 28:53 אֹיְבֶֽ/ךָ oyevekha HVqrmsc/Sp2ms your enemies your hostile one your enemy
H341-34 Deuteronomy 28:55 אֹיִבְ/ךָ֖ oyivekha HVqrmsc/Sp2ms your-enemy your hostile-one your enemy
H341-34 Deuteronomy 28:57 אֹיִבְ/ךָ֖ oyivekha HVqrmsc/Sp2ms your enemy your hostile-one your enemy
H341-08 Deuteronomy 28:68 לְ/אֹיְבֶ֛י/ךָ leoyeveykha HR/Vqrmpc/Sp2ms to-your-enemies to your hostile ones to your enemies
H341-28 Deuteronomy 30:7 אֹיְבֶ֥י/ךָ oyeveykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms enemies-your your hostile ones your enemies
H341-18 Deuteronomy 32:27 אוֹיֵב֙ oyev HVqrmsa of enemy hostile one enemy
H341-42 Deuteronomy 32:31 וְ/אֹיְבֵ֖י/נוּ veoyeveynu HC/Vqrmpc/Sp1cp and our enemies and our enemies and our enemies
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