Hebrew word · H4569

מַעֲבָרָה

ma'barah

ford

A place where you cross: the ford of a river (the Jordan fords, Josh 2:7; Judg 3:28; 12:5–6) or a pass across a gorge or ridge (1 Sam 13:23, 'the pass of Michmash'; 14:4). It comes from ʿābar, 'to cross over'.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) ford, pass, passing

1a) ford

1b) pass

1c) passing, sweep

Also means: ma.a.var (מַעֲבָר "ford" H4569A)

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 Isaiah 10:29

Range of meaning

A place where you cross: the ford of a river (the Jordan fords, Josh 2:7; Judg 3:28; 12:5–6) or a pass across a gorge or ridge (1 Sam 13:23, 'the pass of Michmash'; 14:4). It comes from ʿābar, 'to cross over'.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'passage' and WEB 'pass' keep the general idea. BSB 'ford' is a correct dictionary sense, but it makes most readers picture wading a river. NIV, ESV and NASB generally use 'pass'.

How it drifted

In modern English 'passage' mostly means a corridor or a piece of text, and 'ford' means a river crossing. Neither fits a rocky wadi (a valley that is dry most of the year) on the Benjamin plateau.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Sam 13:23 and 14:4 the same word (masculine form maʿăbar) names the crossing between Michmash and Geba, where Jonathan climbed the cliffs to attack the Philistine garrison. The geography in Isa 10:28–29 (Michmash, then the crossing, then Geba) matches exactly. The deep gorge today is called Wadi Suweinit.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 32:22 מַעֲבַ֥ר [the] ford of

    During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 2:7 הַֽמַּעְבְּר֑וֹת the fords

    So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut.

Judges · 3

  1. Judges 3:28 מַעְבְּר֤וֹת [the] fords of

    “Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and they did not allow anyone to cross over.

  2. Judges 12:5 מַעְבְּר֥וֹת [the] fords of

    The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,”

  3. Judges 12:6 מַעְבְּר֣וֹת [the] fords of

    they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 13:23 מַעֲבַ֖ר [the] pass of

    And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.

  2. 1 Samuel 14:4 הַֽמַּעְבְּר֗וֹת the passes

    Now there were cliffs on both sides of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost. One was named Bozez and the other Seneh.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 10:29 מַעְבָּרָ֔ה [the] pass

    They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.

    Here: The crossing point, here almost certainly the steep gorge between Michmash and Geba (the 'pass of Michmash', 1 Sam 13:23). It is a dry ravine you climb across, not a river ford. Getting over it was the hardest part of the approach.

  2. Isaiah 16:2 מַעְבָּרֹ֖ת [the] fords

    Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:

  3. Isaiah 30:32 מַֽעֲבַר֙ blow of

    And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 51:32 וְהַמַּעְבָּר֣וֹת and the fords

    The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers are terrified.”

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