Hebrew word · H7232

רָבַב

varobu

to multiply ten thousand

BDB and HALOT separate a rare root 'to shoot' (arrows, and in Psalm 18:14 perhaps lightning) from the common root 'to be many'. It is related to rabah II, 'to shoot', in Genesis 21:20 (roveh qashshat, 'an archer').

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

What it means

(Qal) to shoot

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 Genesis 49:23

Range of meaning

BDB and HALOT separate a rare root 'to shoot' (arrows, and in Psalm 18:14 perhaps lightning) from the common root 'to be many'. It is related to rabah II, 'to shoot', in Genesis 21:20 (roveh qashshat, 'an archer').

Against the English

Most English versions render it 'shot (at him)'. The YLT's 'they have striven' follows the other ancient reading, from rîb, 'to quarrel, contend'. The BSB's 'they aimed at him' is a loose version of 'shot'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 21:20 (Ishmael the archer, from the related root). The Septuagint has elodoroun ('they were reviling') and the Vulgate iurgati sunt ('they quarrelled'), both apparently reading a form of rîb. The Masoretic pointing is an unusual perfect form placed between two narrative past-tense verbs, which is why some scholars re-point it.

From the study of Psalm 18:14

Range of meaning

BDB and HALOT list a rare verb רבב II, 'to shoot (arrows)', found in Gen 49:23 (wayyārōbbû, 'and they shot') and taken to be here as well. The common word רַב means 'many, much, great'. The form rāv here could be either the verb or the adjective, with its vowel lengthened at the pause in the line.

Against the English

KJV 'shot out' and BSB 'hurled' read it as a verb. WEB 'great lightning bolts', YLT 'much lightning' and NASB 'in abundance' read it as the adjective. Most modern versions sit somewhere between, and NIV even uses both ideas ('great bolts of lightning').

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 49:23 is the clearest case of the verb. The Septuagint (Ps 17:15) has astrapas eplēthynen, 'he multiplied lightnings', which takes the word as the verb 'be many'. The Vulgate follows with fulgura multiplicavit. The parallel in 2 Sam 22:15 leaves the word out.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 49:23 וָרֹ֑בּוּ and they shot

    The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

    Here: 'And they shot.' The vowels the Masoretes (the medieval scribes who added vowel marks) gave the word take it from a rare verb meaning to shoot. It is related to the phrase for Ishmael in Genesis 21:20, 'he became an archer' (literally 'a shooter of the bow'). Strong's files it under the more common root meaning 'to be many', but the major lexicons separate a second root meaning 'shoot' for this verse. Ancient translators heard 'they quarrelled' here instead.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 18:14 רָ֝ב he shot

    He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

    Here: This is the hardest word in the verse. The supplied source and the major Hebrew dictionaries treat it as a rare verb, 'he shot', also found in Genesis 49:23 ('the archers shot at him'). Read that way, it matches 'sent out' in the first half of the line. Other readers take it as the common adjective 'many/great' ('lightnings in abundance'). The ancient Greek and Latin took it as 'he multiplied.'

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