Hebrew word · H6895

קָבַב

kavah-

to curse

To curse, to put a spell or hex on, to pronounce an imprecation (a formal spoken curse). The word is rare and specialised. Most of its uses are in the Balaam story (Num 22:11, 17; 23:8, 11, 13, 25, 27; 24:10).

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

What it means

1) to curse, utter a curse against

1a) (Qal) to curse

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 23:8

Range of meaning

To curse, to put a spell or hex on, to pronounce an imprecation (a formal spoken curse). The word is rare and specialised. Most of its uses are in the Balaam story (Num 22:11, 17; 23:8, 11, 13, 25, 27; 24:10). Elsewhere it appears in Job 3:8 and 5:3 and in Proverbs 11:26 and 24:24, where the people curse someone who hoards grain or who acquits the guilty.

Against the English

Every major English version says "curse," and that is right. But modern English "curse" usually means swearing or a vague run of bad luck. This word means a deliberate, performed curse by a specialist, meant to bring real harm on a target. YLT's "pierce" comes from linking the word to a different root, nāqav, "to pierce, mark out."

How it drifted

In English, "curse" moved from ritual imprecation toward profanity ("cursing" = swearing) and toward a loose word for misfortune. The ritual, professional sense has to be put back.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Proverbs 24:24 qāvav appears in the same pair as here: "peoples will curse him (yiqqəvuhu), nations will denounce him (yizʿamuhu)." That shows the two verbs were a standard pair for public condemnation. The wider ancient Near East had professional cursing. Egyptian execration texts wrote enemies' names on bowls and figurines and then smashed them. Mesopotamian specialists performed curse and counter-curse rituals. An 8th-century BC wall inscription from Deir ʿAlla in Jordan names "Balaam son of Beor, seer of the gods," which shows that Transjordanian memory kept such a figure as a famous visionary.

From the study of Job 5:3

Range of meaning

To curse: to pronounce or call down harm on someone with solemn words. The exact form אֶקֹּב also appears in Balaam's question, "How can I curse those God has not cursed?" (Num 23:8). It could also come from a look-alike root, naqav, which means "pierce, designate" and, in Leviticus 24:11 and 16, "blaspheme".

Against the English

KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB keep the Hebrew's first-person "I cursed". BSB and NIV have "his house was cursed", which is easier to read but removes Eliphaz as the subject. YLT's "I mark" follows the look-alike root. NLT drops the curse and speaks of "sudden disaster".

How it drifted

Modern English "curse" often means swearing or foul language, or else suggests magic. Neither fits. This is a solemn verbal pronouncement of doom.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is concentrated in the Balaam story (Num 22-24). It also appears in Proverbs 11:26 and 24:24, where the people curse a person whose conduct has harmed them. Job 3:8 uses it just two chapters earlier, when Job calls on those who curse the day to curse the day of his birth.

From the study of Proverbs 11:26

Range of meaning

To curse, to pronounce a curse: speaking words that call harm down on someone, with the ancient assumption that such words were not empty. It overlaps with ʾārar (to curse) and is paired with zāʿam ('denounce, express indignation').

Against the English

Modern 'curse' often means swearing or profanity ('he cursed at the driver'). The Hebrew means pronouncing a curse on a person: an imprecation, like 'May God…' said against him. YLT's 'execrate' captures this.

How it drifted

In modern English 'curse' has weakened toward 'use bad language.' The older sense of a spoken malediction survives mostly in fairy tales.

Used elsewhere in the period

The key word in the Balaam story: Numbers 22:11, 17; 23:8 ('How can I curse whom God has not cursed?'), 23:11, 25, 27; 24:10. Job 3:8 ('those who curse the day'); Job 5:3. Proverbs 24:24 is a close parallel in wording: 'peoples will curse him (yiqqəbuhû), nations will denounce him.'

Where it appears

Numbers · 10

  1. Numbers 22:11 קָֽבָה־ curse !

    ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’”

  2. Numbers 22:17 קָֽבָה־ curse !

    for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’”

  3. Numbers 23:8 אֶקֹּ֔ב קַבֹּ֖ה will I curse, he has cursed him

    How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?

    Here: "Shall I / could I curse?" The form looks to the future and expresses possibility. It is the professional seer's word for pronouncing a curse, the word Balak keeps using when he gives Balaam his orders.

  4. Numbers 23:11 לָקֹ֤ב to curse

    Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”

  5. Numbers 23:13 וְקָבְנוֹ־ and curse it

    Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”

  6. Numbers 23:25 קֹ֖ב תִקֳּבֶ֑נּוּ at all <curse>, you will curse it

    Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

  7. Numbers 23:27 וְקַבֹּ֥תוֹ and you will curse it

    “Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.”

  8. Numbers 24:10 לָקֹ֤ב to curse

    Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together and said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times.

Job · 2

  1. Job 3:8 יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ let them curse it

    May it be cursed by those who curse the day—those prepared to rouse Leviathan.

  2. Job 5:3 וָאֶקּ֖וֹב and I cursed

    I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

    Here: "And then I cursed", a verb form that moves the story to its next step, with Eliphaz himself as the subject. It may mean he pronounced the home doomed or declared it cursed. This is the verse's hardest word, and many translations turn it into a passive.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 11:26 יִקְּבֻ֣הוּ they curse him

    The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.

    Here: 'They will pronounce curses on him.' The verb is plural because 'people' is a collective noun. Qābab is the verb used for Balak hiring Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22–23). It means formally calling down harm on someone, not just insulting them. The imperfect tense marks what reliably happens: this is how the community treats such a man.

  2. Proverbs 24:24 יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ they will curse him

    Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

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