Hebrew word · H3993

מַאֲרָב

hama'rav

ambush

A noun from the verb ’arav, "to lie in wait, ambush." It can mean the hidden place, the act of lying in wait, or the hidden troops themselves (BDB, HALOT). The verb is used for military ambushes and also, in Psalms and Proverbs, for criminals or enemies lurking to attack (Ps 10:9; Prov 1:11).

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) ambush, (hunter's) blind

1a) ambush, lurking place

1b) liers-in-wait

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 Joshua 8:9

Range of meaning

A noun from the verb ’arav, "to lie in wait, ambush." It can mean the hidden place, the act of lying in wait, or the hidden troops themselves (BDB, HALOT). The verb is used for military ambushes and also, in Psalms and Proverbs, for criminals or enemies lurking to attack (Ps 10:9; Prov 1:11).

Against the English

KJV turns the noun into a verb ("went to lie in ambush"). BSB and some modern versions say "place of ambush." WEB says "to set up the ambush." YLT keeps the bare noun ("unto the ambush"). All are fair; the Hebrew covers both the place and the tactic at once.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same root runs through the Ai story (8:2, 4, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21) and the closely matching battle at Gibeah (Judges 20:29–38), where Israel again pretends to flee and draws the defenders out while a hidden force takes the town. Abimelech's ambush at Shechem (Judges 9:25, 32–35) uses the same vocabulary. Feigned retreat combined with an ambush is a known ancient tactic, and Israel's own literature uses it more than once.

From the study of Psalm 10:8

Range of meaning

An ambush, either the place of concealment or the force placed there. It comes from the verb arav, "to lie in wait."

Against the English

KJV and NASB say "lurking places," which keeps the idea of location. YLT and ESV say "ambush," which keeps the tactical edge. BSB and NIV turn the phrase into "lies in wait near the villages" and use "ambush" in the next line.

Used elsewhere in the period

Apart from this verse the noun appears in military narrative: Joshua 8:9 (the force set against Ai), Judges 9:35 (Abimelech's men) and 2 Chronicles 13:13 (Jeroboam's flanking force). The related verb describes bandits and killers in Judges 9:25, Hosea 6:9 and Proverbs 1:11.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 8:9 הַמַּאְרָ֔ב the ambush

    So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.

    Here: "The ambush": both the hidden position and the act of lying in wait. With the article it points back to the ambush Joshua described in vv. 2–8: the one already planned.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 9:35 הַמַּאְרָֽב׃ the ambush

    Now Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelech and his men came out from their hiding places.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 13:13 הַמַּאְרָ֔ב וְהַמַּאְרָ֖ב the ambush, and the ambush

    Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 10:8 בְּמַאְרַ֬ב in an ambush of

    He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.

    Here: In an ambush of: a word otherwise used for military ambushes (Joshua 8:9; Judges 9:35). It treats ordinary people as a target to be taken by a planned operation.

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