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erev

עֶרֶב

HebrewH6153evening, twilight, ...

Appears 134 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 1:5Gen 1:8Gen 1:13Gen 1:19Gen 1:23Gen 1:31Gen 8:11Gen 19:1Gen 24:11Gen 24:63Gen 29:23Gen 30:16Gen 49:27Exo 12:6Exo 12:18Exo 16:12Exo 18:13Exo 18:14Exo 29:39Exo 29:41Exo 30:8Lev 6:20(13)Lev 11:24Lev 11:25Lev 11:27Lev 11:28Lev 11:31Lev 11:39Lev 11:40Lev 23:5Num 9:3Num 9:5Num 9:11Num 28:4Num 28:8Pro 7:9
Root family
Word studyEH-revnoun

What erev means

evening: the close of the day, from sunset into the early dark.

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This is the ordinary Hebrew word for evening, the stretch of time as the sun goes down and the day ends. It marks one boundary of the daylight period, so it constantly pairs with morning to frame a whole day, and in the creation account each day is measured from evening to morning. Because the Israelite day turned over at sunset, evening was also where a new day began, which is why so many laws about cleanness reach their release point at evening.

The word covers the ordinary rhythms of life: when work stops, when people draw water, when travelers seek shelter, when an army or a sick man longs for the day to be over. It can also slide toward dusk and gathering darkness, the dim light at the edge of night.

One fixed use stands out from the rest. In the worship laws a special doubled form, often translated "between the two evenings," sets the exact time for the Passover lamb, the regular evening sacrifice, and the lighting of the lamps. Jewish tradition has long disagreed about precisely when that window falls, but it always names a definite point late in the day, not evening in general.

Nuances

1athe close of the day around sunset, as a time when things happen or as the boundary that ends one day and begins the next
Gen 8:11Gen 19:1Gen 24:11Gen 24:63Exo 16:13Lev 11:24Lev 11:25Lev 15:5Lev 17:15Lev 22:6Lev 23:32Deu 23:11
1bevening paired with morning, the two together naming a whole day or its daily round
Gen 1:5Gen 1:8Gen 1:13Gen 1:19Gen 1:23Gen 1:31Exo 18:13Exo 18:14Exo 27:21Lev 24:31Ch 16:401Ch 23:30
1cthe fixed worship time "between the two evenings," the appointed late-day moment for the Passover lamb, the regular evening offering, and the lamp service
TranslatabilityPartial
Exo 12:6Exo 16:12Exo 29:39Exo 29:41Exo 30:8Lev 23:5Num 9:3Num 9:5Num 9:11Num 28:4Num 28:8

What scholars say about erev

The standard lexicons treat H6153 as a single noun meaning evening, the period at and after sunset that closes the day and, in Israel's reckoning, begins the next. It is distinct from the homonyms spelled the same way: the mixed crowd or mixture, the woof of woven cloth, and (usually under a different number) the raven. The doubled form ben ha-arbayim, "between the two evenings," is recognized as a fixed cultic time marker for the Passover, the regular evening sacrifice, and the lamp service, though its precise window (from the sun's decline to actual sunset, or from sunset to full dark) was disputed between the Pharisees/rabbis and groups such as the Samaritans and Karaites.

Sources

  • HALOT (Koehler-Baumgartner), s.v. עֶרֶבlexicon
  • BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), s.v. עֶרֶבlexicon
  • DCH (Dictionary of Classical Hebrew), s.v. עֶרֶבlexicon
  • G. J. Botterweck, H. Ringgren, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT), s.v. עֶרֶבdictionary
  • Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, Anchor Bible (1991)commentary

All attested forms of עֶרֶב

m s absolute

עֶרֶב, עָרֶב

Gen 1:5, Gen 1:8, Gen 1:13, Gen 1:19, Gen 1:23, Gen 1:31, Gen 8:11, Gen 19:1

m d absolute

עַרְבָּיִם, עַרְבַּיִם, עֲרְבַּיִם

Exo 12:6, Exo 29:39, Exo 29:41, Lev 23:5, Num 28:4, Num 28:8, Exo 16:12, Num 9:5

m s construct

עֶרֶב

Pro 7:9