Hebrew word · H16

אֵ֫בֶה

'eveh

swift

Occurs once in the Hebrew Bible. Modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT) take it as 'reed, papyrus' and compare Akkadian apu, 'reed, reed-bed'. The later guesses should be treated as tentative.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

reed, papyrus

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Job 9:26

Range of meaning

Occurs once in the Hebrew Bible. Modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT) take it as 'reed, papyrus' and compare Akkadian apu, 'reed, reed-bed'. Older interpreters guessed widely: 'swift', 'fruit' (Vulgate), and in medieval Jewish discussion 'desire' (from the verb ʾāḇâ) or 'hostility' (reading ʾêḇâ, meaning hostile or raiding ships). The later guesses should be treated as tentative.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'swift ships' guesses at the meaning from context. BSB/NIV 'boats of papyrus', ESV/NASB 'reed' boats and YLT 'ships of reed' follow the reed explanation.

How it drifted

The KJV translators had no securely known meaning for the word, so they translated from the sense of the passage. The comparison with Akkadian reed words came later, with modern study of Mesopotamian texts.

Used elsewhere in the period

Light papyrus skiffs on the Nile were proverbial. Isaiah 18:2 speaks of messengers sent 'in vessels of papyrus (gōmeʾ) on the waters'. Egyptian art and texts show papyrus boats as the quick, light craft of the river, as opposed to heavy cargo ships.

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 9:26 אֵבֶ֑ה reed

    They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

    Here: This word occurs only here in the Bible. Most modern lexicons connect it with an Akkadian word for 'reed' or 'reed-thicket' and take it to mean light boats made of papyrus or reed. Such boats were famous for being fast and light (compare Isaiah 18:2, 'vessels of papyrus on the waters'). The KJV's 'swift' is a guess from context, not a translation of a known meaning.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.