בַּ֫עַד

From the study of Proverbs 6:26

Range of meaning

Basically 'behind' or 'through' (through a window, Gen 26:8), and by extension 'around', 'on behalf of' (praying 'for' someone), and 'in exchange for' (Job 2:4: 'all that a man has he will give for his life'). BDB lists Prov 6:26 under the sense 'for the price of'.

Against the English

KJV 'by means of', NASB 'on account of' and WEB 'reduces you' read it as cause: because of a prostitute, a man ends up with nothing but bread. ESV, NIV and NRSV read it as price: a prostitute costs only a loaf. BSB's 'levy… is poverty' mixes the two, using a price word but giving it the poverty meaning.

How it drifted

The King James translators had to supply words ('a man is brought') to make the causal reading work. That reading came into English through the KJV tradition and is still followed by the BSB, WEB and NASB.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has timē gar pornēs, 'for the price of a harlot', and the Vulgate has pretium enim scorti, 'for the price of a whore'. So both ancient translations understood this word as a price.

From the study of Psalm 3:3

Range of meaning

A preposition meaning 'behind', 'through', 'around/about' (protective enclosure), and 'on behalf of, for' (as in praying 'for' someone, Gen 20:7).

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'for me', which brings out the 'on my behalf' sense. BSB, WEB, NASB and NIV have 'around me', and ESV 'about me', which bring out the surrounding sense. The supplied contextual gloss 'behind me' is a narrower physical reading.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 1:10: 'Have you not put a hedge around him (ba'ado)?' The word is also used of shutting a door 'behind' someone (Gen 7:16; 2 Kings 4:4) and of interceding 'for' someone (1 Sam 7:9; Jer 7:16).

From the study of Job 2:4

Range of meaning

At root, 'behind' or 'around' as a barrier: shutting a door behind someone (Gen 7:16; 2 Kgs 4:4), a hedge around someone (Job 1:10, where the same adversary says God has 'put a hedge around' Job). From that come 'through' (Joel 2:8; Gen 26:8), 'on behalf of' (praying 'for' someone, Gen 20:7), and 'in exchange for' or 'to protect' (Prov 6:26, 'for the price of').

Against the English

English 'for' is vague enough to cover both 'in exchange for' and 'to protect,' which actually suits the ambiguity. BSB makes the second use explicit: 'in exchange for his life.'

Used elsewhere in the period

BDB and HALOT both list the 'on behalf of' and 'in exchange for' senses. In Job 1:10 the adversary used beʿad for God's protective 'hedge around' Job. That echo suggests the word carries a sense of shielding as well as payment.