רָעַע
𐤓𐤏𐤏
râʻaʻ
H7489 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To be or become bad, evil, or injurious; to act wickedly or cause harm. Encompasses a range of meanings from physical damage or breaking (of objects or situations) to moral wrong or social injustice. In different contexts, can denote being wicked or corrupt, causing harm, acting unjustly, or deteriorating in condition.
Semantic Range
to become bad or evil, to act wickedly, to do harm, to be injurious, to deteriorate, to act unjustly, to break down, to spoil, to be corrupted
Root / Etymology
From the root רעע (ר-ע-ע), which conveys the idea of breaking, being bad, or becoming evil. The verb is a standard Qal root in Hebrew, underlying various verbs and nouns denoting 'badness,' 'evil,' or harm. Distinguished from רעה ('to shepherd, to feed') in both vocalization and meaning.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, רָעַע frequently appears in contexts describing personal or societal wickedness, physical destruction, or moral corruption. The semantic field overlaps with, but is distinct from, רָעָה (evil, adversity) and רָעַע is almost exclusively active, denoting the act or state of becoming evil or causing harm. While some English translations render it generically as 'evil' or 'do evil,' this may obscure nuances such as physical harm, injustice, or deteriorating circumstances. In narrative passages, the verb may describe the moral decline of individuals or collectives (such as the Israelites), while in prophetic literature, it often conveys the social consequences of corruption or injustice. In some cases, ancient translations or scribal errors have confounded רָעַע with רָעָה ('to shepherd, to befriend'), but the distinction is clear in Masoretic vocalization. The word does not necessarily denote ritual or religious wrongdoing, but focuses on moral, ethical, or social harm.
Translation Consistency
'Do' is the most flexible and natural single verb to cover the typical range of רָעַע: doing evil, doing harm, acting wickedly, causing spoilage or injury. Many English translations render this root as 'do evil' or 'did' (evil/harm), so using the neutral verb 'do' allows consistent inflection while letting context supply the direct object (evil, harm, spoil, etc.), accommodating both moral and physical senses.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; properly, to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces); figuratively, to make (or be) good fornothing, i.e. bad (physically, socially or morally); afflict, associate selves (by mistake for רָעָה), break (down, in pieces), [phrase] displease, (be, bring, do) evil (doer, entreat, man), show self friendly (by mistake for רָעָה), do harm, (do) hurt, (behave self, deal) ill, [idiom] indeed, do mischief, punish, still, vex, (do) wicked (doer, -ly), be (deal, do) worse.
Bantu Hebrew
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+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
רעע (r-ʿ-ʿ) — to be bad, to become evil, to break, to cause harm
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1251 | בַּר | bad |
| H1254 | בָּרָא | bad |
| H1262 | בָּרָה | bad |
| H1283 | בְּרִיעָה | Beriyyah |
| H4828 | מֵרֵעַ | to his associate |
Word Forms
43 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7489-17 |
מְרֵעִ֔ים | mereim | HVhrmpa |
evildoers | harm-causers | doers of harm | 14 |
H7489-31 |
וַ/יֵּ֧רַע | vayera | HC/Vqw3ms |
and it was evil | and he was harmed | and it was evil | 12 |
H7489-12 |
לְ/הָרַ֖ע | lehara | HR/Vhc |
to do evil | to cause harm | to do harm | 6 |
H7489-23 |
תָּרֵֽעוּ | tareu | HVhi2mp |
do evil | you will cause harm | you (masculine plural) will do harm | 5 |
H7489-39 |
יָרֵ֥עוּ | yareu | HVhi3mp |
hurt | they acted wickedly | they do evil | 4 |
H7489-09 |
הֵרַ֖ע | hera | HVhp3ms |
has afflicted | he caused harm | he did harm | 4 |
H7489-10 |
הֵרֵ֖עוּ | hereu | HVhp3cp |
have done evil | they caused harm | they did harm | 3 |
H7489-06 |
הֲרֵעֹתֶ֖ם | hareotem | HVhp2mp |
you have done evil | you caused harm | you did harm | 3 |
H7489-03 |
הָרֵ֖עַ | harea | HVha |
evil | to cause harm | to do harm | 3 |
H7489-07 |
הֲרֵעֹ֖תִי | hareoti | HVhp1cs |
have I harmed | I have caused harm | I have done harm | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
102 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7489-23 |
Genesis 19:7 | תָּרֵֽעוּ | tareu | HVhi2mp |
do wickedly | you will cause harm | you (masculine plural) will do harm |
H7489-18 |
Genesis 19:9 | נָרַ֥ע | nara | HVhi1cp |
we will deal worse / we will do evil | we will cause harm | we will cause harm |
H7489-31 |
Genesis 21:11 | וַ/יֵּ֧רַע | vayera | HC/Vqw3ms |
was very displeasing | and he was harmed | and it was bad |
H7489-41 |
Genesis 21:12 | יֵרַ֤ע | yera | HVqj3ms |
let it be evil | may he do harm | be evil |
H7489-12 |
Genesis 31:7 | לְ/הָרַ֖ע | lehara | HR/Vhc |
to harm | to cause harm | to do harm |
H7489-31 |
Genesis 38:10 | וַ/יֵּ֛רַע | vayera | HC/Vqw3ms |
and it displeased | and he was harmed | and it was evil |
H7489-06 |
Genesis 43:6 | הֲרֵעֹתֶ֖ם | hareotem | HVhp2mp |
did you deal evilly | you caused harm | you did harm |
H7489-06 |
Genesis 44:5 | הֲרֵעֹתֶ֖ם | hareotem | HVhp2mp |
you have done evil | you caused harm | you did harm |
H7489-31 |
Genesis 48:17 | וַ/יֵּ֣רַע | vayera | HC/Vqw3ms |
and it displeased | and he was harmed | and it displeased |
H7489-05 |
Exodus 5:22 | הֲרֵעֹ֨תָה֙ | hareotah | HVhp2ms |
have You done evil | you have caused harm | you have caused harm |