Hebrew word · H7468

רְעוּת

re'utah

neighbor

Feminine of rea' ('neighbor, fellow, companion'): a female companion or fellow. In idioms, 'each woman ... her fellow' means 'one another' (Exod 11:2; Isa 34:15–16; Jer 9:19). Here 'her fellow' means 'another woman, someone of her kind'.

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

What it means

female companion, mate, neighbour woman

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 Esther 1:19

Range of meaning

Feminine of rea' ('neighbor, fellow, companion'): a female companion or fellow. In idioms, 'each woman ... her fellow' means 'one another' (Exod 11:2; Isa 34:15–16; Jer 9:19). Here 'her fellow' means 'another woman, someone of her kind'.

Against the English

Most English versions say 'another' or 'someone else', which is accurate but hides the wording. YLT 'her companion' is literal but suggests a friend. The Hebrew implies no friendship. It means 'another woman in her place'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its closest parallel is 1 Samuel 15:28: 'The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor (re'akha) who is better than you (hattov mimmekka).' Esther 1:19 has the same structure: 'give her royalty to her fellow (re'utah), the better one than she (hattovah mimmennah)'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 11:2 רְעוּתָ֔הּ neighbor [fem] her

    Now announce to the people that men and women alike should ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

    Here: "Her (female) neighbor." This is the feminine counterpart of re'a. Women ask women, which reflects how households and social life were divided between the sexes.

Esther · 1

  1. Esther 1:19 לִרְעוּתָ֖הּ to fellow woman her

    So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.

    Here: 'To her fellow-woman', an idiom for 'another woman' or 'someone else like her'. It deliberately echoes Samuel's words to Saul: the kingdom will be given 'to your neighbor, who is better than you' (1 Sam 15:28).

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 34:15 רְעוּתָֽהּ׃ companion its

    There the owl will make her nest; she will lay and hatch her eggs and gather her brood under her shadow. Even there the birds of prey will gather, each with its mate.

  2. Isaiah 34:16 רְעוּתָ֖הּ companion its

    Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of these will go missing, not one will lack her mate, because He has ordered it by His mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.

    Here: "Her companion" or "her fellow." With 'ishshah it forms a reciprocal phrase, "one another." After verse 15 (the kites gathered "each with her mate") it naturally means mate, but the stress is that none is absent from the group.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 9:20 רְעוּתָ֖הּ neighbor her

    Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 11:9 רְעוּתָֽהּ׃ [female] neighbor its

    Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

    Here: 'Her fellow, her companion' (feminine), finishing the 'each... another' idiom. In sound, though not in root, it echoes the word for shepherding (ra'ah) that opens the verse: once the shepherd quits, the flock's companions become its predators.

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