Hebrew word · H6156

עָרֵב

'arev

sweet

Pleasant, sweet, delightful. The adjective appears only here and in Prov 20:17 ("bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man"). The related verb means to be pleasing: sleep is sweet (Jer 31:26; Prov 3:24), meditation pleases God (Ps 104:34), and offerings please the LORD (Mal 3:4).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

sweet, pleasant

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 Song of Songs 2:14

Range of meaning

Pleasant, sweet, delightful. The adjective appears only here and in Prov 20:17 ("bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man"). The related verb means to be pleasing: sleep is sweet (Jer 31:26; Prov 3:24), meditation pleases God (Ps 104:34), and offerings please the LORD (Mal 3:4).

Against the English

"Sweet" (KJV, BSB, ESV, WEB, YLT) fits well. NLT's "pleasant" is also fine.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint translates it hēdeia, "sweet, pleasing"; the Vulgate dulcis.

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 20:17 עָרֵ֣ב [is] sweet

    Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 2:14 עָרֵ֖ב [is] sweet

    O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.

    Here: "Pleasant, sweet": something that gives delight. The related verb is used of pleasant sleep and of offerings that please God.

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