Hebrew word · H6148

עָרַב

'arav

to pledge

ʿārab I (qal): to give a pledge, stand as guarantor (Proverbs 6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26).

Appears 22 times in 22 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to pledge, exchange, mortgage, engage, occupy, undertake for, give pledges, be or become surety, take on pledge, give in pledge

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to take on pledge, go surety for

1a2) to give in pledge

1a3) to exchange

1a4) to pledge

1b) (Hithpael)

1b1) to exchange pledges

1b2) to have fellowship with, share

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 Proverbs 20:19

Range of meaning

ʿārab I (qal): to give a pledge, stand as guarantor (Proverbs 6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26). Reflexive form (hithpael): to exchange pledges, make a deal or wager with (2 Kings 18:23 // Isaiah 36:8), to share in (Proverbs 14:10), to associate or get mixed up with (Proverbs 24:21; compare Psalm 106:35; Ezra 9:2, often linked to ʿārab II 'mix').

Against the English

NIV/BSB 'avoid', NASB/ESV 'associate with' and NLT 'hang around with' give the general sense. KJV 'meddle' meant 'mix / have dealings with' in 1611 but now sounds like 'interfere'. YLT 'make not thyself surety' presses the pledging sense too literally.

How it drifted

The Hebrew suggests binding your affairs to someone, as when a guarantor's fate is tied to a debtor's. English 'avoid' or 'associate' loses that sense of entanglement.

Used elsewhere in the period

In this part of Proverbs the root is in the air. 20:16 has just warned against standing surety (ʿārab) for a stranger. Proverbs 24:21 has the identical form with ʾal: 'do not get involved with those given to change.'

From the study of Isaiah 38:14

Range of meaning

To pledge, to stand surety, to guarantee someone's debt or obligation with your own person or goods, to put up bail. Also to exchange or trade (a separate sense).

Against the English

KJV 'undertake for me'. BSB/WEB/NASB 'be my security'. YLT 'be my surety'. ESV 'be my pledge of safety'. NIV 'come to my aid'. NLT 'Help me!'. Only YLT keeps the legal guarantee clearly in modern English.

How it drifted

In 1611 'undertake for' meant to make oneself answerable for someone, to go bail for them. Today 'undertake' means to begin a task (or suggests funeral directors). 'Security' now usually means safety or protection. It keeps its old financial sense (collateral) only in banking. NIV and NLT drop the legal metaphor completely.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 43:9; 44:32–33: Judah 'becomes surety' for Benjamin and offers himself as a slave in his place. Job 17:3: 'Lay down a pledge, be surety for me with yourself; who else will strike hands with me?' Here Job asks God to guarantee him against God, the closest parallel to this verse. Proverbs repeatedly warns against standing surety (6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 22:26) because the guarantor becomes liable for the whole debt.

From the study of Isaiah 36:8

Range of meaning

The root ʿ-r-v belongs to the world of pledges and surety: to stand surety for someone (Gen 43:9; Prov 6:1), to give a pledge, to guarantee. The reflexive-reciprocal stem used here (Hithpael) means 'to exchange pledges with someone.' In context that means making a bet or a deal where both sides put up a stake. BDB gives 'exchange pledges'; HALOT gives 'make a wager.' The same stem of this root is also used in Proverbs for 'meddling/getting involved with' someone (Prov 20:19; 24:21), a related sense of entering into dealings.

Against the English

KJV 'give pledges … to' and WEB 'make a pledge to' keep the pledge idea but drop the two-sidedness, and they can sound like a call to pledge loyalty or hand over hostages. YLT 'negotiate' and BSB/NIV 'make a bargain' get the deal idea. ESV/NRSV 'make a wager' best catch the sarcastic betting tone.

How it drifted

In modern English, 'give pledges' sounds like promising allegiance or putting up security for a loan. The Hebrew picture is a two-sided bet in which each party stakes something.

Used elsewhere in the period

Same wording in the parallel 2 Kings 18:23. Elsewhere the root is the standard Hebrew vocabulary of surety (Judah's pledge for Benjamin, Gen 43:9; 44:32; warnings against standing surety, Prov 6:1; 11:15; 17:18). The Greek translators read the root in its other sense, 'mingle/join,' and render it with a word meaning 'be joined to' my lord.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 43:9 אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔נּוּ I will stand surety for him

    I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.

  2. Genesis 44:32 עָרַ֣ב he stood surety for

    Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 18:23 הִתְעָ֣רֶב make a wager

    Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 9:2 וְהִתְעָֽרְבוּ֙ and they have mixed themselves

    Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

    Here: A reflexive form: 'they have mixed themselves' or 'intermingled'. The same form appears in Psalm 106:35, 'they mingled with the nations and learned their works'. The idea is a boundary dissolving, not a chemical or racial 'pollution'.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 5:3 עֹרְבִ֑ים [are] mortgaging

    Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

Job · 1

  1. Job 17:3 עָרְבֵ֣נִי stand surety for me

    Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand. Who else will be my guarantor?

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 106:35 וַיִּתְעָרְב֥וּ and they mixed themselves

    but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.

    Here: A reflexive form: 'they mixed themselves in.' Israel did this to itself; it was not something done to them. The same form describes the 'holy seed' mixing with the peoples of the land through marriage in Ezra 9:2. Here it names the social mixing (living alongside, trading, marrying) that set up everything after it.

  2. Psalm 119:122 עֲרֹ֣ב stand surety for

    Ensure Your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me.

Proverbs · 9

  1. Proverbs 6:1 עָרַ֣בְתָּ you have stood surety

    My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,

    Here: The perfect tense means the deal is already done: 'you have made yourself guarantor.' The word is technical, from the language of law and trade. You have taken personal legal responsibility for another man's debt. If he defaults, the creditor comes after you.

  2. Proverbs 11:15 עָ֣רַב he stood surety for

    He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.

    Here: Perfect tense: the deal is already done. To make oneself legally liable for another person's debt or obligation, so that if he defaults the guarantor pays, with property, goods, or even his own or his family's freedom.

  3. Proverbs 14:10 יִתְעָ֥רַב he shares

    The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy.

    Here: In this reflexive form it means 'mixes himself in', 'joins in', 'takes part'. The tense describes what is always the case: another person never fully enters into it.

  4. Proverbs 17:18 עֹרֵ֥ב [is] pledging

    A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.

  5. Proverbs 20:16 עָ֣רַב he stands surety for

    Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

  6. Proverbs 20:19 תִתְעָרָֽב׃ you will get involved

    He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.

    Here: A reflexive form of the verb used for giving pledges and standing as guarantor (20:16, three verses earlier). Here it means binding yourself to someone, mixing your affairs with theirs, 'getting mixed up with' them. The same form appears in 24:21: 'do not associate with those given to change'.

  7. Proverbs 22:26 בַּ֝עֹרְבִ֗ים among <the> [those who] stand surety for

    Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts.

    Here: 'Among those who stand surety.' This is the technical word for guaranteeing another person's obligation: if the borrower fails to pay, the guarantor pays. The second half of the line explains in plain legal terms what the handshake in the first half meant.

  8. Proverbs 24:21 תִּתְעָרָֽב׃ you get involved

    My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

    Here: The verb form means doing something to oneself: 'mingle yourself' or 'get yourself mixed up with.' It pictures joining a group and sharing its fate. The same form is used in Proverbs 20:19 ('do not associate with a gossip').

  9. Proverbs 27:13 עָ֣רַב he stands surety for

    Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 36:8 הִתְעָ֣רֶב make a wager

    Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

    Here: An order to enter a deal where each side puts up a stake. Here it is a mocking bet: 'Go on, have a wager with my king.' The command is singular, aimed at Hezekiah through his officials.

  2. Isaiah 38:14 עָרְבֵֽנִי׃ stand surety for me

    I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”

    Here: A command: 'go guarantor for me,' 'stand bail for me.' Hezekiah asks God to take legal responsibility for his debt and stand between him and the one pressing him, as Judah offered to stand in for Benjamin (Gen 43:9).

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 30:21 עָרַ֧ב has he pledged

    Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the LORD.

    Here: 'Has pledged / put up as collateral.' It is a legal and commercial word for standing surety or giving a pledge. Here it pictures someone staking his own life as security in order to approach God.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 27:9 לַעֲרֹ֖ב to trade

    The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise.

  2. Ezekiel 27:27 וְֽעֹרְבֵ֣י and [the] traders of

    Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.

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