כּוֹכָב

Genesis 1:16 הַכּוֹכָבִֽים׃ the stars

God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.

Here: The ancient world's great objects of worship and omen-reading get only two Hebrew words, tacked onto the end of the verse. They have no stated job of their own here, though v. 18 and Psalm 136:9 group them with the lights of the night.

Genesis 15:5 הַכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים the stars

And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Here: The stars of the night sky, which in Abram's Mesopotamian homeland were treated as divine powers. Here they are simply things to be counted, created objects serving as a picture.

Genesis 22:17 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י like [the] stars of

I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

Here: This recalls Gen 15:5, where God told Abraham to count the stars if he could. The picture is a number too large to count.

Genesis 26:4 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י like [the] stars of

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

Here: "Like the stars of." The picture is of something too many to count, taken directly from the promises to Abraham (Gen 15:5; 22:17).

Genesis 37:9 כּֽוֹכָבִ֔ים stars

Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Exodus 32:13 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֖י like [the] stars of

Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”

Here: 'Like the stars of': the classic image of countless numbers from Genesis 15:5, where God took Abraham outside to look at the night sky.

Numbers 24:17 כּוֹכָ֜ב a star

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.

Here: 'A star'. Across the ancient Near East a star stood for a king or a divine figure. The parallel with 'scepter' shows that the star is the ruler himself, not a sign pointing to him.

Deuteronomy 1:10 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י [are] like [the] stars of

The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Here: "Like the stars of". The comparison picks up the exact image of God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:5; 22:17).

Deuteronomy 4:19 הַכּֽוֹכָבִ֗ים the stars

When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

Here: 'The stars', which includes the planets. Ancient people did not distinguish them, and Venus (Ishtar/Astarte) was a major deity.

Deuteronomy 10:22 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י like [the] stars of

Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Here: A comparison that quotes the promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:5; 22:17). The stars are the image for a number too great to count.

Deuteronomy 28:62 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י like [the] stars of

You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Here: "Like the stars of." This picks up God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:5; 22:17) word for word. The image is of a number past counting.

Judges 5:20 הַכּֽוֹכָבִים֙ the stars

From the heavens the stars fought; from their courses they fought against Sisera.

Here: The stars, possibly including planets, named as the fighters. In Israel's world they were the ranks of the 'host of heaven,' and in neighbouring cultures they were linked with rain and treated as gods.

1 Chronicles 27:23 כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י like [the] stars of

David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.

Nehemiah 4:21 הַכּוֹכָבִֽים׃ the stars

So we continued the work, while half of the men held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.

Nehemiah 9:23 כְּכֹכְבֵ֖י like [the] stars of

You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.

Here: The stock image for countless offspring from God's promise to Abraham (Gen 15:5; 22:17), applied in Deuteronomy to Israel on the edge of the land (Deut 1:10; 10:22).

Job 3:9 כּוֹכְבֵ֪י [the] stars of

May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn.

Job 9:7 כּוֹכָבִ֣ים [the] stars

He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.

Job 22:12 כּוֹכָבִ֣ים [the] stars

Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!

Job 25:5 וְ֝כוֹכָבִ֗ים and [the] stars

If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,

Job 38:7 כּ֣וֹכְבֵי [the] stars of

while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Here: 'Stars of…', plural and bound to the next word. In Israel's poetry stars belong to the 'host of heaven' (God's heavenly army) and are often pictured as living members of God's heavenly retinue, not just lights.

Psalm 8:3 וְ֝כוֹכָבִ֗ים and [the] stars

When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—

Here: 'And stars'. Together with the moon they are further objects of 'I see'. They spell out what 'your heavens' contain. Neighbouring peoples treated the stars as gods or as signs of fate. Here they are simply things God set in place.

Psalm 136:9 וְ֭כוֹכָבִים and stars

the moon and stars to govern the night. His loving devotion endures forever.

Here: There is no 'the' in front of 'stars'. The stars are added to the moon as fellow rulers of the night, as at the end of Genesis 1:16, 'and the stars.'

Psalm 147:4 לַכּוֹכָבִ֑ים of the stars

He determines the number of the stars; He calls them each by name.

Here: 'Of the stars', with the article: all the lights of the night sky. To Israel's neighbours these were gods or the signs of gods. Here they are things that get counted.

Psalm 148:3 כּ֥וֹכְבֵי [the] stars of

Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.

Here: 'Stars of…', joined grammatically to the next word. In Hebrew poetry stars are often pictured as living members of the heavenly host who sing and even fight (Job 38:7; Judges 5:20).

Ecclesiastes 12:2 וְהַכּוֹכָבִ֑ים and the stars

before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,

Isaiah 13:10 כוֹכְבֵ֤י [the] stars of

For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.

Here: 'Stars of', the first link in the phrase 'stars of the heavens'. Every point of light in the night sky, which in Israel's world also stood for the heavenly host and the order of time.

Isaiah 14:13 לְכֽוֹכְבֵי־ <to> [the] stars of

You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.

Here: "The stars of...". In Israel's poetry stars often stand for heavenly beings, the members of God's court (Job 38:7). Here they are not just points of light.

Isaiah 47:13 בַּכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים on the stars

You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.

Jeremiah 31:35 וְכוֹכָבִ֖ים and [the] stars

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

Here: The stars, which people in the ancient Near East closely watched for omens. Here they are ruled by decree, not consulted as signs.

Ezekiel 32:7 כֹּֽכְבֵיהֶ֑ם stars their

When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.

Here: 'Their' points back to the heavens. In Hebrew the word for heavens is grammatically plural, so the pronoun is plural too: the sky's own stars.

Daniel 8:10 הַכּוֹכָבִ֖ים the stars

It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth and trampled them.

Daniel 12:3 כַּכּוֹכָבִ֖ים like the stars

Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

Here: The stars were the brightest lasting lights, and Israel commonly linked them with God's heavenly host, the angels (Judges 5:20; Job 38:7; Daniel 8:10). The verb 'will shine' is carried over from the first line.

Joel 2:10 וְכוֹכָבִ֖ים and [the] stars

Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.

Here: The stars, the 'host of heaven'. They are the third set of lights, completing the picture: every source of light in the sky is affected.

Joel 3:15 וְכוֹכָבִ֖ים and [the] stars

The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

Here: "And stars." This rounds out the full set of heavenly lights, which the Bible also calls "the host of heaven" and which Israel was warned not to worship (Deuteronomy 4:19).

Amos 5:26 כּוֹכַב֙ [the] star of

You have taken along Sakkuth your king and Kaiwan your star god, the idols you made for yourselves.

Here: 'Star of …' names the deity as a heavenly body. In the ancient world planets were 'stars', so this probably refers to Saturn worshipped as a god. It does not describe a symbol or a shape.

Obadiah 1:4 כּֽוֹכָבִ֖ים [the] stars

Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

Here: The highest thing an ancient observer could point to. It is a deliberate exaggeration for the highest place imaginable.

Nahum 3:16 מִכּוֹכְבֵ֖י more than [the] stars of

You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.