Hebrew word · H7241

רְבִיבִים

revivim

shower

Copious showers, abundant rain, from a root meaning 'many, numerous.' It is always plural and always a picture of the land being soaked.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) copious showers, heavy showers

1a) as bringing fertility

1b) of prophetic influence (fig)

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 Jeremiah 14:22

Range of meaning

Copious showers, abundant rain, from a root meaning 'many, numerous.' It is always plural and always a picture of the land being soaked.

Against the English

'Showers' in all major versions. Modern English 'shower' can sound light. Revivim are heavy, life-giving rains.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 32:2 ('like showers on the grass'); Ps 65:10 (God softens the earth with revivim); Ps 72:6; Mic 5:7. Above all Jer 3:3: 'therefore the revivim have been withheld… yet you have the brow of a prostitute,' where the same word links the lack of rain to Judah's unfaithfulness.

From the study of Micah 5:7

Range of meaning

Heavy showers, soaking rain. The word is always plural and comes from the root rbb, 'to be many or great'. Other uses: Deut 32:2; Jer 3:3; 14:22; Ps 65:10; 72:6.

Against the English

'Showers' in English can sound light. The Hebrew points to a lot of rain.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 32:2 is very close in wording: 'let my speech distil as the dew, … and as showers (revivim) upon the grass ('esev)'. There Moses' teaching is the dew and rain. Jeremiah 14:22 asks: 'Can the heavens give showers (revivim)?' His answer is that only YHWH can. Psalm 72:6 compares the righteous king to 'showers that water the earth'.

From the study of Psalm 72:6

Range of meaning

Abundant showers, soaking rain. It is always plural and comes from rbb, 'to be many, abundant'.

Against the English

'Showers' is right, but in modern English it can sound light. BSB's 'spring showers' adds a season the word itself does not name, though the farming setting makes the late rains of spring plausible.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 32:2: 'like showers on the grass' (a teaching that revives like rain). Mic 5:7 [Heb 5:6]: 'like showers on the grass, which wait for no one'. Jer 3:3 and 14:22: showers held back in drought, or given by God alone. Ps 65:10 [Heb 65:11]: 'you soften it with showers'.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 32:2 וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים and like copious showers

    Let my teaching fall like rain and my speech settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants.

    Here: From the root 'to be many': heavy, plentiful showers that soak the ground (Ps 65:10; 72:6; Jer 3:3, where they are withheld as judgment). This line rises from fine drops to full rainfall.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 65:10 בִּרְבִיבִ֥ים with copious showers

    You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.

  2. Psalm 72:6 כִּ֝רְבִיבִ֗ים like copious showers

    May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.

    Here: 'Like showers.' The word comes from a root meaning 'to be many', so it suggests heavy, plentiful rain that soaks the ground, not a light drizzle.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 3:3 רְבִבִ֔ים copious showers

    Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.

    Here: Heavy, soaking showers. The word comes from a root meaning 'to be many', so it suggests rain falling in great abundance. In this pair it most likely means the main winter rains that soak the ground.

  2. Jeremiah 14:22 רְבִבִ֑ים copious showers

    Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

    Here: From a root meaning 'to be many.' These are heavy, soaking showers, many drops together. It is the same word Jeremiah used earlier (3:3) when he said these showers had been held back because of Judah's unfaithfulness.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 5:7 כִּרְבִיבִ֖ים like copious showers

    Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.

    Here: Heavy, soaking rain showers. The word comes from a root meaning 'to be many', so it suggests rain in great amounts, not a light drizzle.

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