Hebrew word · H7234
רָבַד
ravadti
to spread
To spread (bedding), to deck a couch. This is the only place the verb occurs in the Bible. The meaning comes from the related noun and from cognates in other Semitic languages.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Qal) to spread, bespread, deck
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 7:16
- Range of meaning
To spread (bedding), to deck a couch. This is the only place the verb occurs in the Bible. The meaning comes from the related noun and from cognates in other Semitic languages.
- Against the English
'Decked' (KJV, BSB) means 'adorned' or 'covered'. 'Spread' (WEB) is closer to the literal action. No English version can easily copy the sound repetition with the noun.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The verb is used only here. The noun from the same root appears in Proverbs 7:16 and 31:22.
Where it appears
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 7:16 רָבַ֣דְתִּי I have spread
I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt.
Here: 'I have spread', from the same root as the noun before it, so the clause says roughly 'spreads I have spread'. The sound repetition (mar-bad-dim ra-bad-ti) makes the line feel lush and deliberate. The Hebrew perfect form shows the job is already done: the bed was ready before she 'happened' to find him.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.