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עֵבֶר

𐤏𐤁𐤓

ʻêber

H5676 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A region or side that is across or beyond, typically used in reference to a space or area on the far side of a boundary, river, or landmark—most often the side opposite the speaker’s location. Frequently designates the territory or peoples east of the Jordan River (i.e., 'the other side', especially from the perspective west of the Jordan), but can refer generally to any land, quarter, or boundary region lying across or beyond a given point. In some contexts, used adverbially or prepositionally to indicate directionality, opposition, or passage to another side.

Semantic Range

that which is across, the other/opposite side, region beyond, quarter/territory across, area on the far side of a boundary, east of the Jordan, directional use 'beyond' or 'across' in relation to the speaker's location

Root / Etymology

From the root ע-ב-ר (עבר), which means ‘to pass over, cross, go beyond’. The noun עֵבֶר ('êber) derives from this root, concretizing the idea of 'that which is across/passed over'—i.e., the region or space on the far side.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, עֵבֶר functions primarily as a geographical descriptor for places, tribes, or regions situated across a natural boundary (especially rivers). Notably, 'עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן' (“across the Jordan”) became a standard phrase for lands east of the Jordan River—the territory into which the Transjordanian tribes settled. Its usage is relative, depending on the speaker's location: from Canaan, עֵבֶר usually means the land east of the Jordan, but from the east, it could indicate the land to the west. The term also underlies the ethnonym עִבְרִי (Ivri, ‘Hebrew’), which originally identified individuals “from across” (the Euphrates or another significant boundary), distinguishing early Israelites from other local groups. Later English translations often obscure its relational and directional nuance, reducing it to 'beyond' or 'other side', which sometimes over-literalizes or abstracts the contextual meaning.

Translation Consistency

primary "beyond" 82 occurrences

êber most often denotes the place on the other side of a boundary (especially the Jordan) or the idea of something across/on the far side. “Beyond” naturally captures both the locational and directional senses (e.g. “beyond the Jordan,” “on the other side”) and reads naturally in English across the range of uses, so it provides a consistent, idiomatic rendering.

Alternatives (10 occurrences):
"far side" (6x) "sides" (1x) "region across" (1x) "other side" (1x) "sides of" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from עָבַר; properly, a region across; but used only adverbially (with or without a preposition) on the opposite side (especially of the Jordan; ususally meaning the east); [idiom] against, beyond, by, [idiom] from, over, passage, quarter, (other, this) side, straight.

Bantu Hebrew

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

Root Family

עבר (ʿ-b-r) — to pass over, to cross, to go beyond

Root עבר to pass over, to cross, to go beyond
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4569 מַעֲבָר the crossing-places
H5668 עָבוּר for the sake of
H5669 עָבוּר from carried-over grain of
H5674 עָבַר I will cause to pass over
H5675 עֲבַר he crossed over

Word Forms

13 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H5676-02 בְּ/עֵ֣בֶר beever HR/Ncmsc beyond in the region beyond of in the region beyond of 32
H5676-09 מֵ/עֵ֤בֶר meever HR/Ncmsc beyond from the far side of from beyond 26
H5676-04 עֵ֥בֶר ever HNcmsc beyond far side beyond 17
H5676-12 וּ/מֵ/עֵ֜בֶר umeever HC/R/Ncmsa and beyond and from the far side and from beyond 3
H5676-07 לְ/עֵ֣בֶר leever HR/Ncmsa by-the-side-of to the far side to the far side 3
H5676-10 מֵ/הָ/עֵ֨בֶר֙ mehaever HR/Td/Ncmsa from-the-side from the far side from the far side 2
H5676-01 עֲבָרָ֖י/ו avarayv HNcmpc/Sp3ms his borders his far sides his beyonds 2
H5676-03 בְּ/עֶבְרֵ֤י beeverey HR/Ncmpc from beyond in the regions beyond in the sides of 2
H5676-08 לְ/עֶבְר/וֹ֙ leevero HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms to-his-quarter to his far side to his far side 1
H5676-13 ב/עבר vvr HR/Ncmsc beyond region across region across 1

Occurrences in Scripture

92 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H5676-02 Genesis 50:10 בְּ/עֵ֣בֶר beever HR/Ncmsc beyond in the region beyond of in the region beyond of
H5676-02 Genesis 50:11 בְּ/עֵ֥בֶר beever HR/Ncmsc beyond in the region beyond of in the region beyond of
H5676-04 Exodus 25:37 עֵ֥בֶר ever HNcmsc side far side beyond
H5676-04 Exodus 28:26 עֵ֥בֶר ever HNcmsc side far side beyond
H5676-05 Exodus 32:15 עֶבְרֵי/הֶ֔ם evereyhem HNcmpc/Sp3mp their sides their far-side regions their sides
H5676-04 Exodus 39:19 עֵ֥בֶר ever HNcmsc side far side beyond
H5676-09 Numbers 21:13 מֵ/עֵ֤בֶר meever HR/Ncmsc on the other side of from the far side of from beyond
H5676-09 Numbers 22:1 מֵ/עֵ֖בֶר meever HR/Ncmsa beyond from the far side of from beyond
H5676-09 Numbers 32:19 מֵ/עֵ֥בֶר meever HR/Ncmsa from-beyond from the far side of from beyond
H5676-09 Numbers 32:19 מֵ/עֵ֥בֶר meever-2 HR/Ncmsc from-beyond from the far side of from beyond
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