Aramaic word · H5675

עֲבַר

'avar-

beyond

Literally "the crossing-side of the River." In the Persian period it was the official name of the imperial province (satrapy) covering everything west of the Euphrates: Syria, Phoenicia, Samaria, Judah and the coast down toward Egypt.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 14 times in 12 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

region beyond or across

Aramaic of e.ver (עֵ֫בֶר ": side" H5676)

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 Ezra 4:20

Range of meaning

Literally "the crossing-side of the River." In the Persian period it was the official name of the imperial province (satrapy) covering everything west of the Euphrates: Syria, Phoenicia, Samaria, Judah and the coast down toward Egypt.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and ESV keep the literal "beyond the river." NIV coins the label "Trans-Euphrates." BSB and NLT turn it into geography ("west of the Euphrates"). All of these are accurate. The literal versions keep the bureaucratic name, and the paraphrases make clear which river is meant.

How it drifted

No real drift. A modern reader may simply not realise this is an official administrative name, as "Gaul" or "Judea" were under Rome.

Used elsewhere in the period

Akkadian ebir nāri is already used in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions for the lands west of the Euphrates. In Persian-era Babylonian documents, "Babylon and Ebir-nāri" formed one huge satrapy, which was later split. In the Bible: 1 Kgs 5:4 (Eng. 4:24); Ezra 4:10–11, 16–17; 5:3; 6:6; 7:21, 25; 8:36; Neh 2:7, 9.

From the study of Ezra 5:6

Range of meaning

'Beyond the River': the official name of the Persian province (later satrapy) covering the lands west of the Euphrates: Syria, Phoenicia, Judah and neighbouring areas, sometimes Cyprus. The name goes back to Assyrian usage (Ebir-nāri). Herodotus counts the same area as the Persians' fifth tax district.

Against the English

KJV 'on this side the river' reverses the picture for a modern reader. WEB and YLT 'beyond the River' are literal; BSB 'the region west of the Euphrates' and NIV 'Trans-Euphrates' explain it; ESV makes it a proper name ('the province Beyond the River').

How it drifted

The name takes the viewpoint of the eastern capitals (Babylon, Susa). KJV's 'this side' seems to take the viewpoint of Jerusalem and so changes the phrase, leaving modern readers unsure which side is meant.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 4:10–20; 5:3; 6:6–13; 7:21–25; Nehemiah 2:7–9; compare 1 Kings 5:4 (Hebrew ʿever ha-nahar); Akkadian Ebir-nāri in Assyrian and Babylonian texts.

From the study of Ezra 7:25

Range of meaning

'Beyond the River.' This was the official Persian name of the province covering Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine west of the Euphrates.

Against the English

BSB and NIV say 'west of the Euphrates,' which is clear geography but loses the fact that this is an official name. KJV and WEB say 'beyond the river,' which keeps the term but can be opaque.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in Ezra 4–8 and Nehemiah 2–3. Akkadian Ebir-nāri appears in Persian-period cuneiform documents. 1 Esdras substitutes the Hellenistic 'Coele-Syria and Phoenicia' / 'Syria and Phoenicia.'

Where it appears

Ezra · 14

  1. Ezra 4:10 עֲבַֽר־ [the] region beyond

    and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.

  2. Ezra 4:11 עֲבַֽר־ [the] region beyond

    (This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

  3. Ezra 4:16 בַּעֲבַ֣ר in [the] region beyond

    We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

  4. Ezra 4:17 עֲבַֽר־ [the] region beyond

    Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.

  5. Ezra 4:20 עֲבַ֣ר [the] region beyond

    And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

    Here: First half of the official name of the Persian province, "Beyond-the-River." It is an administrative term, not loose geography.

  6. Ezra 5:3 עֲבַֽר־ [the] region beyond

    At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

  7. Ezra 5:6 עֲבַֽר־ בַּעֲבַ֣ר [the] region beyond, [were] in [the] region beyond

    This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

    Here: 'Across, beyond', the first half of the official name of the province: 'Beyond-the-River'.

  8. Ezra 6:6 עֲבַֽר־ בַּעֲבַ֣ר [the] region beyond, [are] in [the] region beyond

    Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!

  9. Ezra 6:8 עֲבַ֣ר [the] region beyond

    I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.

  10. Ezra 6:13 עֲבַֽר־ [the] region beyond

    In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

  11. Ezra 7:21 בַּעֲבַ֣ר [are] in [the] region beyond

    I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly,

  12. Ezra 7:25 בַּעֲבַ֣ר [is] in [the] region beyond

    And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them.

    Here: 'In Beyond-.' This is part of an official place name, not just a direction.

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