Hebrew word · H6638
צָבָה
vetzavetah
to swell
To swell. It appears only in Numbers 5 (the verb in vv. 21–22, the related adjective in v. 27). Cognate words in related languages support the meaning "swell," but the medical condition behind it cannot be identified with certainty.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to swell, swell up
1a) (Qal) to swell (of adulteress' belly)
1b) (Hiphil) to cause to swell (of adulteress' belly)
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 Numbers 5:22
- Range of meaning
To swell. It appears only in Numbers 5 (the verb in vv. 21–22, the related adjective in v. 27). Cognate words in related languages support the meaning "swell," but the medical condition behind it cannot be identified with certainty.
- Against the English
All major English versions say "swell." The difficulty is not in the English word but in what physical condition is meant.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Numbers 5:21, 22, 27 only. The Greek Septuagint renders it with a verb for swelling or inflaming, and the Latin Vulgate with "tumescere" (to swell).
Where it appears
Numbers · 2
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Numbers 5:22 לַצְבּ֥וֹת to make swell
May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’
Here: "To make swell." The form is a shortened causative ("to cause to swell"). The word is extremely rare and appears only in this chapter (vv. 21, 22, 27), so the exact physical condition it names is uncertain.
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Numbers 5:27 וְצָבְתָ֣ה and it will swell
When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.