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רַב

𐤓𐤁

rab

H7227 adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

An adjective denoting greatness in number, quantity, or magnitude; frequently used to indicate 'many,' 'much,' or 'great' as opposed to few or little. In certain contexts, also functions as a substantive to mean 'a great one,' 'chief,' 'leader,' or 'officer.' The term encompasses both quantitative and qualitative greatness, including age, importance, power, or status.

Semantic Range

great (in number, magnitude, status), many, much, abundant, chief, leader, officer, captain, elder, exceedingly, full, plentiful, populous, principal person or official, master

Root / Etymology

Derived from the Hebrew root רבב (rbb), meaning 'to be or become many, to multiply, to be numerous.' The form רַב (rab) is an adjective and sometimes a noun meaning 'great' or 'many,' reflecting the root idea but with a lexical emphasis on magnitude or status rather than the verbal sense of multiplying.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, רַב is most commonly used as an adjective describing people, things, or qualities that are numerous or great—'a great people,' 'many years,' 'great wealth.' When used substantively, especially with additional terms such as רַב־סָרִיס (chief eunuch) or רַב סֹפֵר (chief scribe), it denotes a chief or high-ranking official, often in royal or military contexts. Over time, particularly in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic contexts, the term developed into a formal title for teachers or leaders (as in 'rabbi'), but in classical biblical usage this developed sense is not present. The term can indicate seniority by age (an elder) or in command (a captain, chief, officer). While English translations often render it as 'great,' 'many,' 'chief,' or 'captain,' the nuances depend strongly on context. The word is more flexible in biblical Hebrew than in later tradition, sometimes merely indicating largeness or abundance, and sometimes conferring honor or high status. In contrast with other terms for leadership, such as נָשִׂיא (nasi, 'prince') or שֹׁפֵט (shofet, 'judge'), רַב is more general, emphasizing greatness or preeminence without specifying office. In poetic, wisdom, and prophetic literature, it may highlight abundance, duration, or intensity.

Translation Consistency

primary "great" 389 occurrences

'Great' best captures the primary semantic range of רַב—magnitude, quantity, importance, and status—while remaining natural in English. It can render both quantitative senses ('great numbers', 'great abundance') and qualitative/substantive senses ('a great one', 'great leader'), so a single consistent word works across the varied uses. Although 'many' is the single most frequent literal gloss, 'great' is more versatile and reads naturally in contexts where רַב denotes size, power, or rank.

Alternatives (72 occurrences):
"many" (32x) "enough" (8x) "much" (4x) "mighty" (3x) "too much" (2x) "numerous" (2x) "too many" (2x) "more" (2x) "increased" (2x) "captain" (2x) "increase" (1x) "who has many" (1x) "many ones" (1x) "among the many" (1x) "chiefs of" (1x) "chief of" (1x) "greatness" (1x) "among many" (1x) "greatly" (1x) "greatness of" (1x) "multiplied" (1x) "abundant" (1x) "more than many" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

by contracted from רָבַב; abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality); (in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), (ship-)master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

רבב (r-b-b) — to be many, to become great, to multiply

Root רבב to be many, to become great, to multiply
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1337 בַּת רַבִּים many
H2579 חֲמַת רַבָּה great
H4764 מֵרָב Abundant one
H7228 רַב his archers
H7229 רַב the great one

Word Forms

25 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H7227-14 רַבִּֽים rabim HAampa many many great ones 172
H7227-16 רָ֔ב rav HAamsa great great great 139
H7227-10 רַבָּ֛ה rabah HAafsa great great great 35
H7227-15 רַבּ֔וֹת rabot HAafpa many many (feminine plural) great (feminine plural) 30
H7227-25 וְ/רַ֖ב verav HC/Aamsa and great and great and great 20
H7227-04 הָֽ/רַבִּ֜ים harabim HTd/Aampa the many the many the great ones 11
H7227-11 רַבַּ֖ת rabat HAafsc many Great One (feminine) Great One (feminine) 10
H7227-23 וְ/רַבִּ֖ים verabim HC/Aampa and many many and great 7
H7227-05 הָ/רַב֙ harav HTd/Aamsa great the great one the great 7
H7227-18 וָ/רָ֖ב varav HC/Aamsa and numerous and great and great 5

Occurrences in Scripture

461 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H7227-10 Genesis 6:5 רַבָּ֛ה rabah HAafsa great great great
H7227-10 Genesis 7:11 רַבָּ֔ה rabah HAafsa great great great
H7227-16 Genesis 13:6 רָ֔ב rav HAamsa great great great
H7227-10 Genesis 18:20 רָ֑בָּה rabah HVqp3fs is great great great
H7227-14 Genesis 21:34 רַבִּֽים rabim HAampa many many great ones
H7227-16 Genesis 24:25 רַ֣ב rav HAamsa plentiful great great
H7227-25 Genesis 25:23 וְ/רַ֖ב verav HC/Aamsa and the older and great and great
H7227-10 Genesis 26:14 רַבָּ֑ה rabah HAafsa household great great
H7227-15 Genesis 30:43 רַבּ֔וֹת rabot HAafpa large many (feminine plural) great (feminine plural)
H7227-16 Genesis 33:9 רָ֑ב rav HAamsa plenty great great
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