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אָבַד

𐤀𐤁𐤃

ʼâbad

H6 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To be lost, to perish, to come to ruin or destruction. Used to describe the state of being lost (literally or figuratively), perishing in adversity, or experiencing complete ruin or obliteration. In causative stems, to destroy or bring to ruin. The verb is used for physical objects, people, entire communities, moral character, or outcomes, ranging from simple loss and disappearance to annihilation or death.

Semantic Range

to be lost, to perish, to be destroyed, to die, to go astray, to be rendered void, to vanish, to fail (utterly)

Root / Etymology

From the root אבד, whose base meaning is 'to lose' or 'to perish.' The primary lexical sense 'to be lost' or 'to perish' extends naturally to the causative sense 'to cause to perish' or 'to destroy,' as found in the piel and hiphil forms.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אָבַד occurs throughout all periods of Biblical Hebrew, appearing in prose, poetry, narrative, and legal texts. In narratives, it describes both literal loss (such as lost objects or livestock) and destruction/perishing (of people, cities, or nations). In legal and prophetic passages, it conveys judicial destruction or catastrophe, often as a result of wrongdoing. The term encompasses irreversible loss or annihilation, but can also refer to less dramatic states, such as a lost object, depending on context. In wisdom literature, it may refer to moral or existential ruin. In contrast to שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to corrupt, to spoil, to destroy”), אָבַד emphasizes the lost or vanishing state rather than moral corruption or decay. English translations vary widely, using 'perish,' 'be lost,' 'be destroyed,' or 'go astray,' and at times narrow the scope; none reflect the full semantic breadth. Later rabbinic usage and post-biblical Hebrew continue to use אָבַד for both physical loss and metaphoric perishing or moral ruin.

Translation Consistency

primary "perish" 38 occurrences

Perish fits the primary intransitive sense (‘be lost, die, come to ruin’) while naturally extending to causative/destructive contexts (be destroyed, brought to ruin). It is the most frequent and semantically central rendering in the SILEX data and yields natural English across people, objects, and communities without forcing overly technical wording.

Alternatives (12 occurrences):
"destroy" (6x) "destroyed" (2x) "lost ones" (1x) "brought to ruin" (1x) "destroyers" (1x) "every" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy); break, destroy(-uction), [phrase] not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, [idiom] and surely, take, be undone, [idiom] utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.

Bantu Hebrew

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

Root Family

אבד (Avadon) — to perish, to vanish, to be lost, to be destroyed

Root אבד to be lost, to perish, to be destroyed, to go astray
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H10 אֲבַדֹּה and destruction-of
H11 אֲבַדּוֹן Realm of Destruction
H12 אַבְדָן and utter ruin
H13 אׇבְדַן in ruin-of
H7 אֲבַד to cause to perish

Word Forms

82 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H6-02 אָבָ֔ד avad HVqp3ms has perished he perished he perished 14
H6-81 יֹאבֵ֑דוּ yovedu HVqi3mp will perish they will perish they will perish 13
H6-62 וְ/אָבַ֖ד veavad HC/Vqq3ms and flight shall perish and he perished and it perished 8
H6-68 וְ/הַ֣אֲבַדְתִּ֔י vehaavadeti HC/Vhq1cs and I will destroy and I made perish and I will destroy 8
H6-38 אֹבֵ֣ד oved HVqrmsa perishing perishing one perishing one 7
H6-11 אָבְדָ֖ה avedah HVqp3fs has-perished she has perished it has perished 5
H6-45 תֹּאבַ֥ד tovad HVqi3fs be lost she will perish she will perish 5
H6-55 וַ/אֲבַדְתֶּ֣ם vaavadetem HC/Vqq2mp and you will perish and you perished and you perished 5
H6-15 אָבֹ֣ד avod HVqa perish to perish to perish 4
H6-46 תֹּאבֵֽד toved HVqi3fs will perish she will perish it will perish 4

Occurrences in Scripture

185 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H6-19 Isaiah 27:13 הָ/אֹֽבְדִים֙ haovedim HTd/Vqrmpa those who were lost the perishing ones the lost ones
H6-64 Isaiah 29:14 וְ/אָֽבְדָה֙ veavedah HC/Vqq3fs will perish and she perished and will perish
H6-59 Isaiah 37:19 וַֽ/יְאַבְּדֽוּ/ם vayeabedum HC/Vpw3mp/Sp3mp therefore they have destroyed them they destroyed them and they caused them to perish
H6-76 Isaiah 41:11 וְ/יֹאבְד֖וּ veyovedu HC/Vqi3mp and will perish and they will perish and they will perish
H6-02 Isaiah 57:1 אָבָ֔ד avad HVqp3ms perishes he perished he perished
H6-81 Isaiah 60:12 יֹאבֵ֑דוּ yovedu HVqi3mp will perish they will perish they will perish
H6-51 Jeremiah 1:10 וּ/לְ/הַאֲבִ֣יד ulehaavid HC/R/Vhc and to destroy and to cause to perish and to cause to perish
H6-79 Jeremiah 4:9 יֹאבַ֥ד yovad HVqi3ms will perish he will perish it will perish
H6-82 Jeremiah 6:21 יאבדו yvdv HVqi3mp they will perish they will perish they will perish
H6-63 Jeremiah 6:21 וְ/אָבָֽדוּ veavadu HC/Vqq3cp and they will perish and they perished and they will perish
H6-11 Jeremiah 7:28 אָֽבְדָה֙ avedah HVqp3fs has-perished she has perished it has perished
H6-11 Jeremiah 9:11 אָבְדָ֣ה avedah HVqp3fs has-perished she has perished it has perished
H6-81 Jeremiah 10:15 יֹאבֵֽדוּ yovedu HVqi3mp they shall perish they will perish they will perish
H6-61 Jeremiah 12:17 וְ/אַבֵּ֖ד veabed HC/Vpa and destroy and utterly destroying and destroy
H6-24 Jeremiah 15:7 אִבַּ֨דְתִּי֙ ibadeti HVpp1cs I destroyed I brought to ruin I brought to ruin
H6-51 Jeremiah 18:7 וּֽ/לְ/הַאֲבִֽיד ulehaavid HC/R/Vhc and to destroy and to cause to perish and to cause to perish
H6-45 Jeremiah 18:18 תֹאבַ֨ד tovad HVqi3fs be lost she will perish she will perish
H6-34 Jeremiah 23:1 מְאַבְּדִ֧ים meabedim HVprmpa who are destroying destroyers destroyers
H6-68 Jeremiah 25:10 וְ/הַאֲבַדְתִּ֣י vehaavadeti HC/Vhq1cs and-I-will-cause-to-perish and I made perish and I made perish
H6-62 Jeremiah 25:35 וְ/אָבַ֥ד veavad HC/Vqq3ms and flight shall perish and he perished and it perished
H6-55 Jeremiah 27:10 וַ/אֲבַדְתֶּֽם vaavadetem HC/Vqq2mp and you will perish and you perished and you perished
H6-55 Jeremiah 27:15 וַ/אֲבַדְתֶּ֔ם vaavadetem HC/Vqq2mp and-you-will-perish and you perished and you perished
H6-51 Jeremiah 31:28 וּ/לְ/הַאֲבִ֣יד ulehaavid HC/R/Vhc and to destroy and to cause to perish and to cause to perish
H6-64 Jeremiah 40:15 וְ/אָבְדָ֖ה veavedah HC/Vqq3fs and perish and she perished and it perished
H6-40 Jeremiah 46:8 אֹבִ֥ידָה ovidah HVhh1cs I will destroy let me cause to perish let me cause to perish
H6-62 Jeremiah 48:8 וְ/אָבַ֥ד veavad HC/Vqq3ms and-will-perish and he perished and will perish
H6-10 Jeremiah 48:36 אָבָֽדוּ avadu HVqp3cp have perished they perished they perished
H6-02 Jeremiah 48:46 אָבַ֖ד avad HVqp3ms perished he perished he perished
H6-11 Jeremiah 49:7 אָבְדָ֤ה avedah HVqp3fs perished she has perished it has perished
H6-68 Jeremiah 49:38 וְ/הַאֲבַדְתִּ֥י vehaavadeti HC/Vhq1cs and-I-will-destroy and I made perish and I will destroy
H6-39 Jeremiah 50:6 אֹֽבְדוֹת֙ ovedot HVqrfpa lost perishing ones perishing ones
H6-81 Jeremiah 51:18 יֹאבֵֽדוּ yovedu HVqi3mp they will perish they will perish they will perish
H6-72 Jeremiah 51:55 וְ/אִבַּ֥ד veibad HC/Vpq3ms and will destroy and he destroyed and he destroyed
H6-74 Ezekiel 6:3 וְ/אִבַּדְתִּ֖י veibadeti HC/Vpq1cs and-I-will-destroy and I destroyed and I will destroy
H6-45 Ezekiel 7:26 תֹּאבַ֣ד tovad HVqi3fs will perish she will perish it will perish
H6-62 Ezekiel 12:22 וְ/אָבַ֖ד veavad HC/Vqq3ms perishes and he perished and every
H6-11 Ezekiel 19:5 אָבְדָ֖ה avedah HVqp3fs was lost she has perished she has perished
H6-26 Ezekiel 22:27 לְ/אַבֵּ֣ד leabed HR/Vpc to destroy to cause to perish to cause to perish
H6-69 Ezekiel 25:7 וְ/הַאֲבַדְתִּ֖י/ךָ vehaavadetikha HC/Vhq1cs/Sp2ms and I will destroy you and I will cause you to perish and I will destroy you
H6-68 Ezekiel 25:16 וְ/הַ֣אֲבַדְתִּ֔י vehaavadeti HC/Vhq1cs and I will destroy and I made perish and I will destroy
H6-08 Ezekiel 26:17 אָבַ֔דְתְּ avadete HVqp2fs you have perished you perished you have perished
H6-54 Ezekiel 28:16 וָֽ/אַבֶּדְ/ךָ֙ vaabedekha HC/Vpw1cs/Sp2ms and I destroyed you and I brought you to ruin and I destroyed you
H6-68 Ezekiel 30:13 וְ/הַאֲבַדְתִּ֨י vehaavadeti HC/Vhq1cs and-I-will-destroy and I made perish and I made perish
H6-68 Ezekiel 32:13 וְ/הַֽאֲבַדְתִּי֙ vehaavadeti HC/Vhq1cs And-I-will-destroy and I made perish and I will destroy
H6-18 Ezekiel 34:4 הָ/אֹבֶ֖דֶת haovedet HTd/Vqrfsa lost the perishing one the perishing one
H6-18 Ezekiel 34:16 הָ/אֹבֶ֤דֶת haovedet HTd/Vqrfsa the lost one the perishing one the perishing one
H6-64 Ezekiel 37:11 וְ/אָבְדָ֥ה veavedah HC/Vqp3fs has perished and she perished and it perished
H6-02 Joel 1:11 אָבַ֖ד avad HVqp3ms has perished he perished has perished
H6-65 Amos 1:8 וְ/אָֽבְדוּ֙ veavedu HC/Vqq3cp and-they-will-perish and they served and they will perish
H6-62 Amos 2:14 וְ/אָבַ֤ד veavad HC/Vqq3ms and flight shall perish and he perished and flight shall perish
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