Hebrew word · H7301

רָוָה

raveh

to quench

To drink one's fill, be saturated or drenched. In its causative form: to give drink to the full, to soak or water thoroughly (fields by rain, Isa 55:10; Ps 65:10). It can also mean to be drunk, or, in a bad sense, to be glutted.

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

What it means

1) to be satiated or saturated, have or drink one's fill

1a) (Qal) to take one's fill

1b) (Piel)

1b1) to be drunk, be intoxicated

1b2) to drench, water abundantly, saturate

1c) (Hiphil) to saturate, water, cause to drink

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 11:25

Range of meaning

To drink one's fill, be saturated or drenched. In its causative form: to give drink to the full, to soak or water thoroughly (fields by rain, Isa 55:10; Ps 65:10). It can also mean to be drunk, or, in a bad sense, to be glutted.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV and NASB keep 'waters'. BSB, NIV and NLT have 'refreshes'. 'Refresh' brings out the comfort, but it turns a farming and desert image into an emotional one. It also loses the sense of fullness: soaked, not just refreshed.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 55:10 (rain 'waters the earth'). Jer 31:14, 25 ('I will saturate the weary nefesh'), where nefesh and ravah appear together as in this verse. Isa 58:11 'like a watered garden'. Ps 36:8. The Vulgate has inebriat, 'makes drunk' or 'gives drink abundantly'.

From the study of Isaiah 55:10

Range of meaning

To drink one's fill, be saturated, be drenched. In the causative form used here: to give someone or something drink to the full, to soak, to satisfy completely. It can shade into 'make drunk' (the related adjective and noun forms describe being sated or intoxicated).

Against the English

'Watering' (BSB, KJV, WEB) is accurate but weak. A modern reader pictures a watering can or a garden hose. The Hebrew means soaking the ground until it can take no more. Ancient translators felt this: the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both used verbs meaning 'make drunk'.

How it drifted

English 'water' has come to mean any small application of water. The Hebrew verb's sense of full satisfaction does not carry over.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 31:14 'I will saturate (ravah) the soul of the priests with abundance'; Jer 31:25 'I will satisfy the weary soul'; Ps 36:8 (Heb 36:9) 'they drink their fill of the abundance of your house'; Ps 65:10 (Heb 65:11), of God drenching the furrows of the land. Greek Septuagint here: methysē, 'make drunk'; Vulgate: inebriat terram, 'makes the earth drunk'.

From the study of Isaiah 34:5

Range of meaning

To drink one's fill or be satisfied with liquid (Qal), and to drench, saturate or water thoroughly (Piel; the form here is usually read as Piel, though it may carry a passive, intransitive sense). The core idea is fullness of liquid: watered ground (Isa 55:10, Ps 65:10), people refreshed with plenty (Ps 36:8; Jer 31:14, 25), and in war a weapon or land soaked in blood.

Against the English

Translations vary: 'drunk its fill' (BSB, WEB, ESV), 'bathed' (KJV), 'soaked' (YLT), 'satiated' (NASB), and 'finished its work' (NLT, which drops the image). KJV's 'bathed' can sound like washing or cleansing, which is the opposite of the picture.

How it drifted

In modern English 'bathed' mostly suggests washing. In older usage 'bathe' could mean to soak or steep, which is closer to the Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

The closest parallel is Jer 46:10: 'the sword shall devour and be sated, and drink its fill (wərāwətāh) of their blood, for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country.' It has the same verb, the same sword-as-drinker image and the same sacrifice language as Isa 34:6. Compare Deut 32:42, 'I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh.' A Ugaritic text (the Baal Cycle, KTU 1.3 II) describes the warrior goddess Anat wading in blood, a sign that bloody divine-warrior imagery was old and widespread in Canaan. The Septuagint renders the word ἐμεθύσθη, 'was made drunk', and the Vulgate inebriatus est.

Where it appears

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 36:8 יִ֭רְוְיֻן they take their fill !

    They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.

    Here: They are soaked through, filled to the point of saturation, the way dry ground is soaked by rain. The extra final -n is an older, fuller verb ending that adds weight in poetry. The form describes what happens regularly ("they drink their fill"), not only a future event.

  2. Psalm 65:10 רַ֭וֵּה [surely] watering

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

Proverbs · 3

  1. Proverbs 5:19 יְרַוֻּ֣ךָ may they satisfy you

    A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

    Here: This verb means to soak something or to drink until thirst is fully quenched. It is used for rain soaking the ground and for drinking your fill. It finishes the water picture of verses 15–18 (cistern, well, springs, fountain), so the wife is the water that quenches his thirst. The form is a wish: 'may they drench you'.

  2. Proverbs 7:18 נִרְוֶ֣ה let us take our fill of

    Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses!

  3. Proverbs 11:25 וּ֝מַרְוֶ֗ה and [one who] gives water

    A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

    Here: An active form describing someone by what they habitually do: 'the one who drenches'. Ravah means drinking or soaking until fully satisfied, as earth is soaked by rain (Isa 55:10). This person does not hand out sips. They water others until they have had enough.

Isaiah · 5

  1. Isaiah 16:9 אֲרַיָּ֙וֶךְ֙ I water abundantly you

    So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.

  2. Isaiah 34:5 רִוְּתָ֥ה it has drunk its fill

    When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.

    Here: It means drenched or soaked through, drinking until it can hold no more. The sword is pictured as a thirsty creature that has drunk deep. The verb is in the completed form, so the action is presented as already done and certain.

  3. Isaiah 34:7 וְרִוְּתָ֤ה and it will drink its fill

    And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.

  4. Isaiah 43:24 הִרְוִיתָ֑נִי you have satisfied me

    You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.

    Here: 'You have (not) drenched me.' The verb is used of soaking ground with water and of drinking until full. The picture is bold: God was never 'soaked' or 'filled' with the rich fat of their offerings. It is stronger than 'satisfied' or 'pleased.'

  5. Isaiah 55:10 הִרְוָ֣ה it has given water to

    For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,

    Here: 'It has soaked' the earth. The verb means drinking until fully satisfied, even until drunk, so the ground is pictured as a thirsty drinker given all it can hold.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 31:14 וְרִוֵּיתִ֛י and I will satisfy

    I will fill the souls of the priests abundantly, and will fill My people with My goodness,” declares the LORD.

    Here: God speaks: 'and I will drench / give drink to the point of saturation.' The intensive verb form pictures soaking, like rain soaking dry ground. It picks up 'like a watered garden' (gan raveh) in v. 12 and returns in v. 25.

  2. Jeremiah 31:25 הִרְוֵ֖יתִי I give water to

    for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”

    Here: "I have made [it] drink its fill / I have soaked it." This is a strong word: the picture is ground soaked by rain or a person who drinks until they want no more, not a light refreshment. The past-tense form speaks of something future as if it were already done, which marks it as certain.

  3. Jeremiah 46:10 וְרָוְתָ֖ה and it will take its fill

    For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.

    Here: 'Be soaked, drink deeply,' the word used for well-watered ground. Food (sated) and drink (soaked) together describe a complete feast. KJV gives 'made drunk.'

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 3:15 הִרְוַ֥נִי he has made drink me

    He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

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