עָבוּר

Genesis 3:17 בַּֽעֲבוּרֶ֔ךָ for sake of you

And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

Here: Gives the cause: the ground suffers because of what the man did. It does not mean 'for your benefit'.

Genesis 8:21 בַּעֲב֣וּר for sake of

When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

Here: 'Because of' humankind, meaning as a consequence of human wrongdoing. The KJV's 'for man's sake' sounds like 'for man's benefit,' but the sense is 'on account of what humans do.'

Genesis 12:13 בַעֲבוּרֵ֔ךְ for sake of you

Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”

Genesis 12:16 בַּעֲבוּרָ֑הּ for sake of her

He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

Genesis 18:26 בַּעֲבוּרָֽם׃ for sake of them

So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”

Genesis 18:29 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”

Here: 'For the sake of, because of.' The forty would be the reason the whole city is spared. This is the same word the LORD used in v.26 ('I will spare the whole place for their sake').

Genesis 18:31 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

And Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.”

Here: 'Because of' or 'for the sake of.' The presence of the few becomes the reason the whole city is spared, which is the turning point of the whole dialogue.

Genesis 18:32 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”

Here: “For the sake of, because of.” The presence of the few becomes the reason the whole city is spared.

Genesis 21:30 בַּעֲבוּר֙ in order that

He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well.”

Genesis 26:24 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

Here: “For the sake of.” It gives the basis of the promise, which lies in God’s relationship with Abraham and not in anything Isaac has done.

Genesis 27:4 בַּעֲב֛וּר in order that

Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”

Here: A purpose word. The hunting, cooking and eating all lead toward the blessing. The meal is the lead-in, and the blessing is the goal.

Genesis 27:10 בַּעֲבֻ֛ר in order that

Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”

Here: With the next word it forms a purpose clause: 'so that.' Isaac used the same word in verse 4 ('so that my soul may bless you'), and Rebekah repeats his logic: the meal exists for the sake of the blessing.

Genesis 27:19 בַּעֲב֖וּר in order that

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”

Genesis 27:31 בַּעֲב֖וּר in order that

He too made some tasty food, brought it to his father, and said to him, “My father, sit up and eat of your son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

Genesis 46:34 בַּעֲב֗וּר in order that

you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

Exodus 9:14 בַּעֲב֣וּר in order that

Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

Here: States the purpose: the blows are meant to bring about knowledge, not only to punish.

Exodus 9:16 בַּעֲב֥וּר בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of, in order

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Here: 'For the sake of' or 'on account of'. With 'this' it means 'for this reason', and it points ahead to the purposes listed next.

Exodus 13:8 בַּעֲב֣וּר for sake of

And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

Here: 'For the sake of / because of.' It can name a cause ('because of') or a purpose ('in order that'). Which one is meant here decides how the sentence is read.

Exodus 19:9 בַּעֲב֞וּר in order that

The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.

Here: Introduces the purpose of the cloud. God is not hiding for the sake of hiding. The cloud is there so that something can be heard and believed.

Exodus 20:20 לְבַֽעֲבוּר֙ וּבַעֲב֗וּר <to> in order, and in order that

“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”

Here: An emphatic, rarely used form of 'in order to'. Stacking the prepositions stresses purpose: God came for this very reason.

1 Samuel 1:6 בַּעֲב֖וּר in order

Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her.

1 Samuel 12:22 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

Here: Gives the motive. The LORD's faithfulness here comes from his concern for his own name, not from anything Israel deserves.

1 Samuel 23:10 בַּעֲבוּרִֽי׃ because of me

And David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account.

Here: “Because of me”: David is the cause of the threatened destruction. It does not mean 'for my benefit.' David knows that Nob was already wiped out on his account (22:19–22).

2 Samuel 5:12 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

And David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

2 Samuel 6:12 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

Now it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing.

2 Samuel 7:21 בַּעֲב֤וּר for sake of

For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

Here: Gives the reason or motive behind an action. It is the first word in the sentence, so the emphasis falls on why God acted: his own word, not anything David earned.

2 Samuel 9:1 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

Then David asked, “Is there anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”

Here: "On account of": gives the ground for the action. The person helped is not the reason for it. Jonathan is, along with what David owes him.

2 Samuel 9:7 בַּֽעֲבוּר֙ for sake of

“Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

Here: Names the reason for the kindness: Jonathan. Mephibosheth receives it as Jonathan's son, through his father's relationship with David.

2 Samuel 10:3 בַּעֲב֞וּר in order

the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?”

2 Samuel 12:21 בַּעֲב֞וּר for sake of

“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.”

2 Samuel 12:25 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

and sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah because the LORD loved him.

2 Samuel 13:2 בַּֽעֲבוּר֙ for sake of

Amnon was sick with frustration over his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed implausible for him to do anything to her.

2 Samuel 14:20 לְבַעֲב֤וּר <to> in order

Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

Here: A doubled preposition ("to" + "for the sake of") that introduces purpose: "in order to." This exact combined form is very rare in the Hebrew Bible. Putting it first stresses that Joab had a goal in mind.

2 Samuel 17:14 לְבַעֲב֗וּר <to> in order

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

Here: A purpose phrase: the breaking of the counsel was aimed at a goal.

2 Samuel 18:18 בַּעֲב֖וּר in order

During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

1 Chronicles 14:2 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

And David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had highly exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

1 Chronicles 17:19 בַּעֲב֤וּר for sake of

O LORD. For the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and made known all these great promises.

1 Chronicles 19:3 בַּ֠עֲבוּר in order

the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Have not his servants come to you to explore the land, spy it out, and overthrow it?”

2 Chronicles 28:19 בַּעֲב֖וּר for sake of

For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.

Job 20:2 וּ֝בַעֲב֗וּר and in order

“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.

Here: "And on account of." It brings in a second reason, or the same reason put more strongly: the inner agitation itself.

Psalm 105:45 בַּעֲב֤וּר׀ in order that

that they might keep His statutes and obey His laws. Hallelujah!

Here: A preposition used as a conjunction meaning 'so that' or 'to this end'. It points back over the whole psalm: everything God did from Abraham to the land (vv. 8–44) had this aim.

Psalm 106:32 בַּעֲבוּרָֽם׃ because of them

At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them.

Here: 'On account of them.' Here it gives the cause: Moses' loss came about because of the people's provocation, not to benefit them. It echoes Deuteronomy, where Moses says the LORD was angry with him 'because of you' (Deut 1:37; 3:26).

Psalm 132:10 בַּ֭עֲבוּר for sake of

For the sake of Your servant David, do not reject Your anointed one.

Jeremiah 14:4 בַּעֲב֤וּר for sake of

The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

Amos 2:6 בַּעֲב֥וּר for sake of

This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.

Here: 'For the sake of / over': an unusual way to state a price. It suggests the poor person is sold off over something as slight as a pair of sandals.

Amos 8:6 בַּעֲב֣וּר for sake of

Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”

Here: Here it gives the price: 'in exchange for'. The same word appears in the identical phrase in Amos 2:6. Some scholars read it as 'on account of' (see debates).

Micah 2:10 בַּעֲב֥וּר <in> because

Arise and depart, for this is not your place of rest, because its defilement brings destruction—a grievous destruction!

Here: 'Because of'. It introduces the reason the land has stopped being rest. It is normally followed by a noun, which is one reason many read the next word as 'uncleanness'.