Hebrew word · H9

אֲבֵדָה

'avedah

something lost

A lost thing, something gone missing from its owner. It comes from 'avad, 'be lost, perish, stray.'

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 14, 2026

What it means

a lost thing, something lost

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: A lost thing, something gone missing from its owner. It comes from 'avad, 'be lost, perish, stray.'
Against the English: English versions agree: 'lost thing/item/property.'
Used elsewhere in the period: Leviticus 5:22–23 (English 6:3–4): lying about a found 'avedah requires the item back plus a fifth and a guilt offering. Deuteronomy 22:3: you must return your brother's 'avedah. Laws of Hammurabi §§9–13 deal with 'lost property' (Akkadian ḫulqum) found in another man's hand.

Range of meaning: Something lost or strayed. From 'avad, 'to perish, be lost, wander off'.
Against the English: All the versions say 'lost thing / lost property'. Accurate.
Used elsewhere in the period: Deut 22:1–3 requires anyone who finds a neighbour's stray animal, garment 'or any lost thing (avedah)' to keep it and return it. Exod 22:9 lists avedah among property disputes settled by oath. Septuagint apōleia.

Range of meaning: A lost thing, from the verb ʾābad, "to wander off, be lost, perish." It is property that has slipped out of the owner's control but still belongs to them.
Against the English: "Lost property" (BSB) and "that which was lost" (KJV) are accurate. The ordinary picture would have been a stray ox, sheep or donkey, or a garment (Deut 22:1–3).
Used elsewhere in the period: Exod 22:9 (Heb. 22:8) names "any lost thing" (kol-ʾăbēdâ) among the property disputes settled before God. Deut 22:3 requires the finder to keep a neighbor's lost animal, garment or "any lost thing" until the owner comes for it, and adds "you may not hide yourself." Ancient Near Eastern law also dealt with lost goods found in someone else's possession (Laws of Hammurabi §§9–13).

Exodus · 1

Exodus 22:9 אֲבֵדָ֗ה thing lost

In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.

Here: Something that went missing from its owner and has turned up in someone else's hands. The same word is used in the lost-property laws of Leviticus 6:3–4 and Deuteronomy 22:3.

Leviticus · 2

Leviticus 6:3 אֲבֵדָ֛ה a thing lost

or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit—

Here: A thing that has gone missing from its owner, typically a stray animal, a garment or a tool. The owner still has a claim on it.
Leviticus 6:4 הָאֲבֵדָ֖ה the thing lost

once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,

Here: Property that strayed or went missing (an animal, a garment, any article; compare Deut 22:1–3). Finding it was not the wrong. Keeping it and swearing he had not found it was.

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 22:3 אֲבֵדַ֥ת <the> thing lost of

And you shall do the same for his donkey, his cloak, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

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