Hebrew word · H3533

כָּבַשׁ

kibesh

to subdue

To subdue, bring into submission, press down. It is used for conquering land (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11), forcing people into slavery (Jer 34:11, 16; Neh 5:5; 2 Chr 28:10), and assaulting a woman (Esth 7:8). It is always a forceful verb, and nowhere does it mean gentle care.

Appears 14 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to subject, subdue, force, keep under, bring into bondage

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to bring into bondage, make subservient

1a2) to subdue, force, violate

1a3) to subdue, dominate, tread down

1b) (Niphal) to be subdued

1c) (Piel) to subdue

1d) (Hiphil) to bring into bondage

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 Genesis 1:28

Range of meaning

To subdue, bring into submission, press down. It is used for conquering land (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11), forcing people into slavery (Jer 34:11, 16; Neh 5:5; 2 Chr 28:10), and assaulting a woman (Esth 7:8). It is always a forceful verb, and nowhere does it mean gentle care.

Against the English

"Subdue" (KJV, ESV, NIV, BSB) is accurate. The NLT's "govern it" softens the word. Readers who hear "subdue" as "exploit" and readers who hear it as "tenderly care for" both go beyond the evidence.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Joshua 18:1 "the land was subdued before them" refers to bringing territory under settled control so it could be lived on and farmed. The suffix in Gen 1:28 ("it", feminine) points to the earth, not to the animals.

From the study of Joshua 18:1

Range of meaning

To subdue, bring into subjection, make subservient. It is used of land and peoples (Numbers 32:22, 29; 2 Samuel 8:11; 1 Chronicles 22:18) and of people forced into slavery (Jeremiah 34:11, 16; Nehemiah 5:5). In some uses it is harsh: Esther 7:8, of assaulting the queen. In the passive form it means 'to be brought under control'.

Against the English

'Subdued' (KJV, BSB, WEB, NASB, ESV 'lay subdued') is accurate. NIV's 'brought under their control' is a fair paraphrase. Neither should be read as 'emptied of Canaanites' or 'completely occupied'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 1:28 has 'fill the earth and subdue it (kibshuha)'. Numbers 32:22, 29 says the Transjordan tribes may go home once 'the land is subdued before YHWH / before you', and Joshua 18:1 is almost word for word Numbers 32:29. 1 Chronicles 22:18–19 joins 'the land is subdued before YHWH and his people' to the command to build the sanctuary.

From the study of 1 Chronicles 22:18

Range of meaning

To subdue, bring under control, subjugate, or force into submission. It is used of conquering land (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11), of forcing people into slavery (Jer 34:11, 16; Neh 5:5), and once of assaulting a woman (Esth 7:8). It also appears in Gen 1:28, 'fill the earth and subdue it.' It always involves bringing something under control against its resistance.

Against the English

'Subdued' is accurate. Softer renderings such as 'is subject to' or 'is under control' keep the result but lose the force of the conquest.

Used elsewhere in the period

The exact phrase 'and the land is subdued before the LORD' (וְנִכְבְּשָׁה הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה) comes from Num 32:22, where Moses tells the Transjordan tribes they may go home once the land is subdued. Josh 18:1 says that after 'the land was subdued before them,' Israel set up the tent of meeting at Shiloh.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 1:28 וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ and subdue it

    God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

    Here: A forceful verb: bring under control, press into submission. "It" is feminine and refers to the earth, not the animals. So here it means bringing land under human control, the kind of work Genesis 2:15 describes as working and keeping the ground.

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 32:22 וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֨ה and it will be subdued

    then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.

  2. Numbers 32:29 וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֥ה and it will be subdued

    And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 18:1 נִכְבְּשָׁ֖ה it was subdued

    Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,

    Here: A passive form, 'had been brought into subjection'. It describes a situation already in place: Israel now held the upper hand, even though Canaanite enclaves remained (Joshua 13:1; 17:12–13).

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 8:11 כִּבֵּֽשׁ׃ he had subdued

    and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued—

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 22:18 וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֥ה and it has been subdued

    “Is not the LORD your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and His people.

    Here: A passive form: 'has been brought under control' or 'subjugated.' It is a strong word for forcing something into submission. Here it picks up the conquest-era phrase 'the land was subdued' (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1).

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:10 לִכְבֹּ֛שׁ to subjugate

    And now you intend to reduce to slavery the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem. But are you not also guilty before the LORD your God?

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 5:5 כֹ֠בְשִׁים נִכְבָּשׁוֹת֙ [are] bringing into bondage, being brought into bondage

    We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

Esther · 1

  1. Esther 7:8 לִכְבּ֧וֹשׁ to violate

    Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 34:11 וַֽיִּכְבְּשׁ֔וּם and they subjugated them

    but later they changed their minds and took back the menservants and maidservants they had freed, and they forced them to become slaves again.

  2. Jeremiah 34:16 וַתִּכְבְּשׁ֣וּ and you subjugated

    But now you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each of you has taken back the menservants and maidservants whom you had set at liberty to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 7:19 יִכְבֹּ֖שׁ he will subdue

    He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.

    Here: "He will subdue / tread down." This is a conqueror's word. Iniquities are pictured as a hostile force that God beats and puts under his feet.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 9:15 וְכָֽבְשׁוּ֙ and they will subdue

    The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar.

    Here: 'And they will tread down.' The word has a strong physical sense of putting something under one's feet. Here its direct object is 'slingstones'.

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