StrongerBible

avad

עֲבַד

AramaicH5648make, do, ...

Appears 28 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Ezr 4:15Ezr 4:19Ezr 4:22Ezr 5:8Ezr 6:8Ezr 6:11Ezr 6:12Ezr 6:13Ezr 6:16Ezr 7:18 (2×)Ezr 7:21Ezr 7:23Ezr 7:26 (2×)Jer 10:11Dan 2:5Dan 3:1Dan 3:15Dan 3:29Dan 4:2(3:32)Dan 4:35(32) (2×)Dan 5:1Dan 6:10(11)Dan 6:22(23)Dan 6:27(28)Dan 7:21
Root family
Word studyuh-VAHDverb

What avad means

to do or make: to bring something about, whether by fashioning a thing or by carrying out an action

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

This is the everyday Aramaic word for getting something done. It reaches from producing a physical object (a golden statue, a royal feast) all the way to carrying out an action of any kind (working wonders, doing harm, keeping a festival, obeying a law). English has to reach for two different verbs, "do" and "make," to cover the same ground, but the Aramaic treats them as one act: bringing something into being.

Because the books it appears in (Ezra and Daniel) are full of kings and their orders, the word carries a strong flavor of official action. A ruler issues an order and it gets carried out; a court sentence is passed and it is executed on the guilty. This is why the word so often shows up in its passive form, as a formula for royal decrees: "let it be done," "let the sentence be carried out."

The three senses below are one verb seen from three angles: making a thing, doing a deed, and (in the passive) something being made or done. The core stays the same throughout, so a reader who grasps "bring about" will follow the word wherever it goes.

Nuances

1ato make or fashion: to produce a thing or bring about an occasion
Jer 10:11Dan 3:1Dan 3:15Dan 5:1
1bto do or perform: to carry out a deed, work an act, or act toward someone
Ezr 4:15Ezr 4:22Ezr 6:8Ezr 6:13Ezr 6:16Ezr 7:18 (2×)Dan 4:2(3:32)Dan 4:35(32) (2×)Dan 6:10(11)Dan 6:22(23)Dan 6:27(28)Dan 7:21
1cto be done, be made, or be carried out: the passive, especially of a royal order or a court sentence
Ezr 4:19Ezr 5:8Ezr 6:11Ezr 6:12Ezr 7:21Ezr 7:23Ezr 7:26 (2×)Dan 2:5Dan 3:29

What scholars say about avad

The Biblical Aramaic verb is the standard cognate of Hebrew עשׂה, spanning "do" and "make" as a single lexeme; the standard lexica (BDB Aramaic section; Koehler-Baumgartner-Stamm, HALOT Aramaic volume) treat it as one root with contextual senses rather than as homonyms. In the peal it is active ("do, make, perform"); the hitpeel supplies its passive ("be done, be made, be carried out"), which the Aramaic of Ezra uses formulaically in royal decrees ("let it be done with diligence"). Rosenthal's Grammar of Biblical Aramaic catalogues the same peal/hitpeel voice pairing. There is no live scholarly dispute over what the word denotes.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. עֲבַד (Aramaic)lexicon
  • Koehler, Baumgartner & Stamm, HALOT (Aramaic volume), s.v. עבדlexicon
  • Franz Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, 7th ed.grammar

All attested forms of עֲבַד

hitpael imperfect 3ms

יִתְעֲבֵד, יִתְעֲבִד

Ezr 6:11, Ezr 7:23, Dan 3:29, Ezr 6:12, Ezr 7:21

peal participle m s absolute

עָבֵד

Ezr 7:26, Dan 4:35, Dan 6:10, Dan 6:27

peal perfect 3mp

עֲבַדוּ

Ezr 6:13, Ezr 6:16, Jer 10:11

peal perfect 3ms

עֲבַד

Dan 3:1, Dan 4:2, Dan 5:1

hitpael participle m s absolute

מִתְעֲבֵד, מִתְעֲבֶד

Ezr 7:26, Ezr 4:19

peal imperfect 2mp

תַּעַבְדוּן

Ezr 6:8, Ezr 7:18

peal infinitive-construct construct

מֶעְבַּד

Ezr 4:22, Ezr 7:18

peal perfect 1cs

עַבְדֵת

Dan 3:15, Dan 6:22

hitpael imperfect 2mp

תִּתְעַבְדוּן

Dan 2:5

hitpael participle f s absolute

מִתְעַבְדָא

Ezr 5:8

peal participle f s absolute

עָבְדָה

Dan 7:21

peal participle m p absolute

עָבְדִין

Ezr 4:15

peal perfect 2ms

עֲבַדְתְּ

Dan 4:35