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רְעָבוֹן

𐤓𐤏𐤁𐤅𐤍

rᵉʻâbôwn

H7459 noun

SILEX Entry

Root רעב to be hungry, suffer hunger

Definition

A state or period of severe hunger or scarcity of food, typically affecting a community or region. In biblical usage, often denotes a calamity in which the regular supply of food is disrupted, leading to deprivation and hardship for the population. The term can indicate both the literal absence of food as well as the distress caused by this shortage.

Semantic Range

state of famine, period of severe food shortage, hunger as a communal affliction, economic disaster resulting from crop failure or siege, divine curse or punishment

Root / Etymology

From the root רָעֵב (rā‘ēv), meaning 'to be hungry.' רְעָבוֹן (rᵉ‘âbôn) is a noun formation denoting the condition or period of hunger (i.e., famine), abstracting the experience of hunger to a collective or societal scale.

Historical & Contextual Notes

רְעָבוֹן appears primarily in exilic or post-exilic texts (e.g., Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Psalms) to describe periods of famine as part of covenant curses or dire circumstances facing the Israelite or Judahite population, often as a result of divine judgment or natural disaster. Distinct from the more common noun רָעָב (rā‘āḇ), which also means 'famine' or 'hunger,' but is younger and occurs less frequently. While English translations generally render both רְעָבוֹן and רָעָב as 'famine,' the former is a more abstract or formal noun, sometimes employed poetically or rhetorically. Its usage is concentrated in later biblical Hebrew, reflecting some diachronic development in the lexicon and shifting linguistic preferences.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from רָעֵב; famine; famine.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

רעב (r-ʿ-b) — to be hungry, suffer hunger

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H7456 רָעֵב I will hunger
H7457 רָעֵב the hungry man
H7458 רָעָב in the famine

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7459-01 רַעֲב֥וֹן raavon HNcmsc famine hunger-famine of 2
H7459-02 רְעָב֣וֹן reavon HNcmsa famine hunger-famine 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7459-01 Genesis 42:19 רַעֲב֥וֹן raavon HNcmsc famine hunger-famine of
H7459-01 Genesis 42:33 רַעֲב֥וֹן raavon HNcmsc famine hunger-famine of
H7459-02 Psalms 37:19 רְעָב֣וֹן reavon HNcmsa famine hunger-famine
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