Hebrew word · H1717

דַּד

dadeiha

breast

Breast or nipple. It is rare and frank, and found only here and in Ezekiel 23:3, 8 and 21.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

breast, nipple, teat

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 Proverbs 5:19

Range of meaning

Breast or nipple. It is rare and frank, and found only here and in Ezekiel 23:3, 8 and 21.

Against the English

Most English versions keep 'breasts'. YLT reads 'loves', and the Greek Septuagint drops the image altogether.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ezekiel 23 it is used for the fondling of the sisters' breasts in an allegory of unfaithfulness. In Song of Songs 4:5 and 7:3 the more common word šādayim ('breasts') is compared to 'two fawns, twins of a gazelle'. Breasts and gazelles are paired imagery in Hebrew love poetry.

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 5:19 דַּ֭דֶּיהָ breasts her

    A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

    Here: A rare and frank word for breasts, used elsewhere only in Ezekiel 23 (verses 3, 8 and 21). It is the subject of the next verb: her breasts are what drench him. The same consonants could also be read 'her lovemaking' (see textual notes).

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 23:3 דַּדֵּ֖י [the] nipples of

    and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.

    Here: 'The breasts / teats of'. It works as a synonym for shad. Outside Ezekiel 23 it appears only in Prov 5:19, of a wife's breasts in a loving marriage. Here it is the girl's body being handled.

  2. Ezekiel 23:8 דַּדֵּ֣י [the] nipples of

    She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.

  3. Ezekiel 23:21 דַּדַּ֔יִךְ nipples your

    So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.

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