StrongerBible

arag

אָרַג

HebrewH0707weave, weaver

Appears 14 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 28:32Exo 35:35Exo 39:22Exo 39:27Jdg 16:13Jdg 16:141Sa 17:72Sa 21:192Ki 23:71Ch 11:231Ch 20:5Isa 19:9Isa 38:12Isa 59:5
Root family
Names & words formed with this
Word studyah-RAHGverb

What arag means

to weave: to interlace threads on a loom into cloth

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

This is the ordinary word for making cloth by crossing threads on a loom. Its most common form is the participle, "weaver," the name of the tradesman who does the work. In the instructions for the sacred tent and the priestly garments, the weaver's plain woven cloth stands beside the fancier work of two other craftsmen: the embroiderer who adds colored designs (רָקַם) and the skilled designer who works figures into the fabric (חָשַׁב). The thread the weaver uses is first made by the spinner (טָוָה).

One fixed comparison built on this word is easy to misread: a warrior's spear shaft "like a weaver's beam." The weaver's beam was the thick wooden bar of the loom, so the phrase simply means the shaft was massive. It describes Goliath's spear and the spears of other giants, and says nothing new about weaving itself.

The word also lends itself to vivid word pictures. Hezekiah, near death, says his life has been cut off as a weaver snips finished cloth from the loom. Isaiah pictures the wicked "weaving" a spider's web that can clothe no one. And Delilah weaves Samson's hair into her loom to try to trap him. In every case the underlying action is the same plain craft of interlacing threads.

Exo 28:32Exo 35:35Exo 39:22Exo 39:27Jdg 16:13Jdg 16:141Sa 17:72Sa 21:192Ki 23:71Ch 11:231Ch 20:5Isa 19:9

What scholars say about arag

The standard lexica (BDB, HALOT, DCH) treat ארג as a single verb meaning "to weave," with the active participle אֹרֵג functioning as the agent noun "weaver." The bulk of occurrences are this participle, especially in the tabernacle pericopes of Exodus, where the weaver's work (מַעֲשֵׂה אֹרֵג) is distinguished from that of the embroiderer (רֹקֵם, H7551) and the designer (חֹשֵׁב, H2803). The recurring simile מְנוֹר אֹרְגִים, "a weaver's beam," describes the massive shaft of a giant's spear (1 Sam 17:7; 2 Sam 21:19; 1 Chr 11:23; 20:5). Figurative extensions include Hezekiah's image of life severed from the loom (Isa 38:12) and the wicked weaving a spider's web (Isa 59:5). No homonymy or semantic dispute is recorded.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. אָרַגlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. ארגlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. ארגlexicon

All attested forms of אָרַג

qal participle m p absolute

אֹרְגִים

1Sa 17:7, 2Sa 21:19, 1Ch 11:23, 1Ch 20:5, Isa 19:9

qal participle m s absolute

אֹרֵג

Exo 28:32, Exo 35:35, Exo 39:22, Exo 39:27, Isa 38:12

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3fs

וַתַּאֲרִיג

Jdg 16:14

qal imperfect 2fs

תַּאַרְגִי

Jdg 16:13

qal imperfect 3mp

יֶאֱרֹגוּ

Isa 59:5

qal participle f p absolute

אֹרְגוֹת

2Ki 23:7