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קֶרֶת

𐤒𐤓𐤕

qereth

H7176 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A populated place, typically referring to a city or town distinguished by social, political, or administrative functions, sometimes fortified or notable for its communal structure. It denotes more than just a collection of houses and implies an organized urban center in distinction from villages or unwalled settlements.

Semantic Range

city, town, urban center, fortified place, poetic/literary term for city

Root / Etymology

Originates from the root קָרָה (qarah), generally meaning 'to meet, encounter, happen,' but in the sense relevant here, may reflect an association with gathering or bringing together. However, the derivation is not fully certain—alternative proposals link the term to concepts of building or establishing a settled place, though such semantic connections remain tentative. The form is notably rare and is used mainly in poetic or archaic contexts.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term קֶרֶת appears infrequently in the Hebrew Bible and is characteristically poetic, often paralleled to terms like עִיר (ʿir, 'city') and קִרְיָה (qiryah, 'town, city'). In some contexts, particularly in poetic books (e.g., Isaiah, Proverbs), it can indicate a notable urban center or a fortified city, in contrast to rural or less organized settlements. The distinction from terms like עִיר can be subtle; 'qereth' may carry an archaic, elevated, or literary nuance. Later Jewish and Samaritan traditions do not commonly use this term; post-biblical Hebrew tends to prefer עִיר or קִרְיָה. English translations typically render קֶרֶת as 'city,' but this can obscure the word's poetic and archaic connotations. Its appearance can frame the narrative or discourse in elevated literary style rather than serve as an administrative or legal term for a city in the way that עִיר does.

Translation Consistency

primary "city" 5 occurrences

qereth denotes an organized urban center — a town or fortified settlement. "City" is the most natural, common English equivalent, matches the majority of existing renderings, and covers the semantic range (urban/fortified/administrative center) better than the outlier "gathering."

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from קָרָה in the sense of building; a city; city.

Bantu Hebrew

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

Root Family

קרה (miqreh) — to encounter, to happen, to meet by chance

Root קרה to meet, to happen, to encounter
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4745 מִקְרֶה like a chance-occurrence of
H4746 מְקָרֶה the beam-framing one
H7136 קָרָה the one bringing about
H7137 קָרֶה accidental occurrence of
H7147 קְרִי in adversarial encounter

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H7176-01 קָ֑רֶת qaret HNcfsa of the city gathering city city 5

Occurrences in Scripture

5 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H7176-01 Proverbs 8:3 קָ֑רֶת qaret HNcfsa of the city gathering city city
H7176-01 Proverbs 9:3 קָֽרֶת qaret HNcfsa the city gathering city the city
H7176-01 Proverbs 9:14 קָֽרֶת qaret HNcfsa of the city gathering city the city
H7176-01 Proverbs 11:11 קָ֑רֶת qaret HNcfsa a city gathering city gathering city
H7176-01 Job 29:7 קָ֑רֶת qaret HNcfsa the city gathering city city
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