עִבְרִי

Genesis 14:13 הָעִבְרִ֑י the Hebrew

Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by treaty to Abram.

Here: 'The Hebrew.' This is the first time the word appears in the Bible. It labels Abram from the outside, among foreign kings and Amorite neighbours, as a descendant of Eber or 'the one from across [the river]'. It is not yet the name of a nation, a religion or a language.

Genesis 39:14 עִבְרִ֖י a Hebrew

she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.

Genesis 39:17 הָֽעִבְרִ֛י the Hebrew

Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me,

Genesis 40:15 הָעִבְרִ֑ים the Hebrews

For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”

Genesis 41:12 עִבְרִ֗י a Hebrew

Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually.

Genesis 43:32 הָֽעִבְרִים֙ the Hebrews

They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

Here: "The Hebrews." In Genesis and Exodus this is mostly what outsiders, especially Egyptians, call Abraham's descendants. It is how Egyptians see them: foreigners from beyond the border.

Exodus 1:15 הָֽעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת <the> Hebrew

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

Exodus 1:16 הָֽעִבְרִיּ֔וֹת the Hebrew [women]

“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

Exodus 1:19 הָֽעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת the Hebrew [women]

The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

Exodus 2:6 הָֽעִבְרִ֖ים the Hebrews

When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Exodus 2:7 הָעִבְרִיֹּ֑ת the Hebrew [women]

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

Exodus 2:11 עִבְרִ֖י Hebrew

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

Exodus 2:13 עִבְרִ֖ים Hebrew

The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”

Exodus 3:18 הָֽעִבְרִיִּים֙ the Hebrews

The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

Here: 'The Hebrews'. In Exodus this is the name used by or toward Egyptians. It presents the speakers to Pharaoh as the foreign labor group he already knows by that name.

Exodus 5:3 הָעִבְרִ֖ים the Hebrews

“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

Exodus 7:16 הָעִבְרִים֙ the Hebrews

Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

Exodus 9:1 הָֽעִבְרִ֔ים the Hebrews

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Exodus 9:13 הָֽעִבְרִ֔ים the Hebrews

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Exodus 10:3 הָֽעִבְרִ֔ים the Hebrews

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Here: The name outsiders used for Israelites, and the name Israelites used when speaking to outsiders. Moses uses this title only before Pharaoh (3:18; 5:3; 7:16; 9:1, 13; 10:3). In effect: "the God of your slave population".

Exodus 21:2 עִבְרִ֔י Hebrew

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.

Here: Defines who this law covers: a Hebrew man, which Deuteronomy 15:12 later spells out as "your brother". Scholars debate whether the word first named a people or a social class of landless, uprooted people (see debates).

Deuteronomy 15:12 הָֽעִבְרִ֗י הָֽעִבְרִיָּ֔ה <the> Hebrew [masc], <the> Hebrew [fem]

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.

1 Samuel 4:6 הָעִבְרִ֑ים the Hebrews

On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp,

1 Samuel 4:9 לָעִבְרִ֔ים <to> the Hebrews

Take courage and be men, O Philistines! Otherwise, you will serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!”

Here: The name outsiders used for Israelites. In Philistine mouths in 1 Samuel it often carries contempt: the underlings, the hill people. Serving such people would be the ultimate humiliation.

1 Samuel 13:3 הָעִבְרִֽים׃ the Hebrews

Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

1 Samuel 13:7 וְעִבְרִ֗ים and Hebrews

Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, remained at Gilgal, and all his troops were quaking in fear.

1 Samuel 13:19 הָעִבְרִ֔ים the Hebrews

And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”

1 Samuel 14:11 עִבְרִים֙ Hebrews

So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”

1 Samuel 14:21 וְהָעִבְרִ֗ים and the Hebrews

And the Hebrews who had previously gone up into the surrounding camps to join the Philistines now went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

1 Samuel 29:3 הָעִבְרִ֣ים [are] the Hebrews

Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”

Jeremiah 34:9 הָעִבְרִ֥י וְהָעִבְרִיָּ֖ה <the> Hebrew [masc], and <the> Hebrew [fem]

that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.

Jeremiah 34:14 הָעִבְרִ֜י <the> Hebrew

Every seventh year, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your fathers did not listen or incline their ear.

Here: The ethnic name for an Israelite, used in the slave-release laws (Exod 21:2; Deut 15:12). Verse 9 glosses it as "a Judean, his brother," so here it means a fellow Judean.

Jonah 1:9 עִבְרִ֣י [am] a Hebrew

“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Here: This is the name Israelites used for their people when speaking to foreigners. It answers only the last of the sailors' questions, “who are your people?” It comes first in the sentence for emphasis: “A Hebrew is what I am.”