Hebrew word · H2101

זוֹב

zov

discharge

A flow or discharge. The verb zub is also used of the land "flowing" with milk and honey and of water gushing from a rock (Ps 78:20). In Lev 15 the noun means an abnormal discharge from the genitals, either runny or blocking the organ (v. 3). For a woman it is bleeding outside her normal period (v.

Appears 13 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a flow, issue, discharge, flux

1a) semen, discharge (venereal disease) (of men)

1b) issue, flux (of woman)

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 Leviticus 15:15

Range of meaning

A flow or discharge. The verb zub is also used of the land "flowing" with milk and honey and of water gushing from a rock (Ps 78:20). In Lev 15 the noun means an abnormal discharge from the genitals, either runny or blocking the organ (v. 3). For a woman it is bleeding outside her normal period (v. 25).

Against the English

KJV "issue" is old-fashioned but accurate. "Discharge" (BSB, WEB, ESV) is clear. Some readers assume it means semen. The text separates it from an emission of semen (v. 16), which needs only bathing and makes a man unclean until evening, with no sacrifice.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mishnah Zavim defines the zav's flow as watery or mucus-like, unlike normal semen. Many modern commentators suggest gonorrhea or another long-lasting urethral discharge. The identification is uncertain.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 13

  1. Leviticus 15:2 זוֹב֖וֹ discharge his

    “Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.

    Here: The noun from the same root, 'his flow'. It is set at the front of the clause, as if to say 'as for his flow...'. The repetition zav ... zovo ('flowing... his flow') keeps attention on the discharge itself.

  2. Leviticus 15:3 בְּזוֹב֑וֹ זוֹב֗וֹ מִזּוֹב֔וֹ by discharge his, discharge his, from discharge his

    This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.

  3. Leviticus 15:13 מִזּוֹב֔וֹ from discharge his

    When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean.

    Here: 'From his flow': the discharge itself. The verb and the noun share a root (zav … zov), so the wording repeats it: 'the flower is cleared from his flow'.

  4. Leviticus 15:15 מִזּוֹבֽוֹ׃ ס from discharge his

    The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man before the LORD because of his discharge.

    Here: "From/because of his flow." Zov is an abnormal, ongoing discharge from the genitals, not a normal emission (contrast v. 16). The "from" can mean both "because of" and "away from": the rite deals with the impurity the flow caused. The Hebrew text then marks a section break (ס).

  5. Leviticus 15:19 זֹבָ֖הּ discharge her

    When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.

    Here: The noun from the same root as 'flowing'. Repeating the root ('flowing… her flow') is ordinary Hebrew legal precision, pinning the case down.

  6. Leviticus 15:25 ז֨וֹב ז֣וֹב [the] discharge of

    When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days at a time other than her menstrual period, or if it continues beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, just as she is during the days of her menstruation.

    Here: The noun from the same root as the verb. In Leviticus 15 it is the technical term for an abnormal genital discharge. That is why this woman is later called a zavah, 'a woman with a flow'.

  7. Leviticus 15:26 זוֹבָ֔הּ discharge her

    Any bed on which she lies or any furniture on which she sits during the days of her discharge will be unclean, like her bed during her menstrual period.

  8. Leviticus 15:28 מִזּוֹבָ֑הּ from discharge her

    When a woman is cleansed of her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean.

  9. Leviticus 15:30 מִזּ֖וֹב from [the] discharge of

    The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD for her unclean discharge.

  10. Leviticus 15:33 זוֹב֔וֹ discharge his

    of a woman in her menstrual period, of any male or female who has a discharge, and of a man who lies with an unclean woman.’”

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