Hebrew word · H7258

רֵ֫בֶץ

rivtzah

rest

A place of lying down, a resting place, the lair of animals or the resting spot of flocks (Isaiah 35:7 jackals' haunt; Isaiah 65:10 'a place for herds to lie down'; Jeremiah 50:6 'they forgot their resting place,' of scattered sheep).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

resting or dwelling place, place of lying down

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 24:15

Range of meaning

A place of lying down, a resting place, the lair of animals or the resting spot of flocks (Isaiah 35:7 jackals' haunt; Isaiah 65:10 'a place for herds to lie down'; Jeremiah 50:6 'they forgot their resting place,' of scattered sheep). It comes from the verb ravats, 'to lie down, crouch,' used of animals (Genesis 49:9) and of the flock in Psalm 23:2.

Against the English

'Resting place' is a good literal rendering. Today, though, the phrase is most often used for a grave ('final resting place'), which is not meant here. ESV 'home' and NIV 'dwelling place' avoid that but lose the picture of lying down in peace.

How it drifted

Modern English uses 'resting place' mostly for burial sites, a later idiom.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare noun (four occurrences), every one of them in pastoral or animal settings. The verb ravats is common for flocks lying down in safety (Ezekiel 34:14–15; Zephaniah 3:13 'they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid').

From the study of Jeremiah 50:6

Range of meaning

A place of lying down: the resting spot of a flock or herd, or an animal's lair. It comes from the verb רָבַץ, 'to lie down, crouch'.

Against the English

'Resting place' is accurate but general. YLT's 'crouching-place' keeps the animal image. 'Sheepfold' (used in some paraphrases) is a different thing, a built enclosure, not the open resting ground.

Used elsewhere in the period

Herds lying down in the Valley of Achor (Isa 65:10); the 'lair' of jackals (Isa 35:7); the righteous man's 'resting place' (Prov 24:15). The verb appears in 'He makes me lie down (yarbitseni) in green pastures' (Ps 23:2) and 'I will make them lie down' (Ezek 34:15).

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 24:15 רִבְצוֹ׃ resting place his

    Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.

    Here: 'His lying-down place.' The word comes from the verb used for animals lying down to rest (as in Psalm 23:2). With navéh it pictures a settled pastoral home where people and flocks lie down in safety.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 35:7 רִבְצָ֔הּ resting place its

    The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.

    Here: "Its/her place of lying down," the spot where an animal beds down. The "her" is grammatically awkward and probably refers back to the land. Because of that awkwardness, some scholars emend the word to "swamp" (see variants).

  2. Isaiah 65:10 לְרֵ֣בֶץ <into> a resting place of

    Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 50:6 רִבְצָֽם׃ resting place their

    My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

    Here: 'Their lying-down place': the safe spot where a flock settles to rest, usually near water and pasture. Verse 7 names the true 'pasture' as the LORD himself.

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