Hebrew word · H8636

תַּרְבִּית

vetarbit

increment

"Increase, increment": what is added on top of the principal. It is a noun from rabah, "to be or become many." A close variant, marbit, appears in Lev 25:37. Outside this verse tarbit occurs only with neshek (Lev 25:36; Ezek 18:8, 13, 17; 22:12). Once it means a "brood" of people (Num 32:14).

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

What it means

increment, usury, interest, bonus

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 28:8

Range of meaning

"Increase, increment": what is added on top of the principal. It is a noun from rabah, "to be or become many." A close variant, marbit, appears in Lev 25:37. Outside this verse tarbit occurs only with neshek (Lev 25:36; Ezek 18:8, 13, 17; 22:12). Once it means a "brood" of people (Num 32:14).

Against the English

KJV "unjust gain" adds a moral judgment that is not in the word itself, which only means "increase" (the injustice comes from what the increase is taken from). ESV "profit" is broad. BSB and NASB "usury" make the pair sound like a contrast between ordinary and excessive interest, which the Hebrew does not draw. WEB folds both words into one phrase, "excessive interest."

How it drifted

Translators have had to find two English words for a Hebrew pair whose exact difference is uncertain, and they have often filled the gap with modern ideas of "excess" or "unjust" gain.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 25:36–37: "Take no neshek or tarbit from him… you shall not give him your money at neshek, nor give your food for marbit." Ezekiel always uses the pair together. Later rabbinic discussion (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 60b) concluded that in biblical law the two names describe a single forbidden thing.

From the study of Ezekiel 18:17

Range of meaning

Increase, increment: what is added on. From rābâ, 'to be many'. Leviticus 25:37 uses the closely related marbît for 'increase' on food loans.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'increase' is literal. BSB moves 'usury' here, and ESV uses 'profit'. Both are fair, but the old ideas of 'bite' and 'growth' are lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 25:36; Prov 28:8; Ezek 18:8, 13, 17; 22:12. It always appears paired with nešek. Later rabbinic law (Mishnah Bava Metzia 5:1) tried to define the difference between the two terms.

From the study of Ezekiel 18:13

Range of meaning

'Increase, growth'. From rabah, 'to become many'. It means the extra amount collected on a loan. It is a close partner of neshekh, and the variant form marbit appears in Lev 25:37.

Against the English

KJV 'increase' and ESV 'profit' are fair. BSB's 'excess interest' adds a meaning the word lacks. Tarbit is any increase, not increase beyond a fair rate.

How it drifted

Translators trying to tell the two interest words apart sometimes make the second one 'excessive' to avoid repetition. The Hebrew has no idea of a fair rate versus an excessive one.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 25:36–37: 'Take no neshekh or tarbit from him… you shall not give him your money at neshekh, nor give your food at marbit.' Ezek 18:8, 17; 22:12; Prov 28:8. In later rabbinic law (Mishnah Bava Metzia 5:1) the pair was explained as two kinds of interest, but the rabbis themselves disagreed on the distinction.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 25:36 וְתַרְבִּ֔ית and profit

    Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 28:8 וְתַרְבִּ֑ית and usury

    He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.

    Here: "And by increase": the extra the lender collects on top of what he lent. Paired with neshek, as in Leviticus 25:36 and Ezekiel 18, the two words together cover every kind of profit taken on a loan.

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 18:8 וְתַרְבִּית֙ and interest

    He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.

    Here: "And increase": from the root 'to be many / grow'. It means whatever the lender gets back above what he lent. It does not mean an excessive amount. Any growth counts.

  2. Ezekiel 18:13 וְתַרְבִּ֥ית and interest

    He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

    Here: "And increase." From the root 'to become many, grow'. It means any amount paid back above what was lent. It does not mean only an excessive amount.

  3. Ezekiel 18:17 וְתַרְבִּית֙ and interest

    He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

    Here: From the root 'to be many, increase'. It is the extra a lender gets back, perhaps interest added at repayment or interest on loans of food. Paired with nešek, the two words together cover every form of profit made from a poor man's loan.

  4. Ezekiel 22:12 וְתַרְבִּ֣ית and interest

    In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

    Here: "And increase": what the lender gets back on top of the loan. The pair "interest and increase" is quoted straight from Lev 25:36 and repeated in Ezek 18:8, 13, 17.

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