StrongerBible

qarav

קָרַב

HebrewH7126come near, approach, ...

Appears 280 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 12:11Gen 37:18Gen 47:29Exo 12:48Exo 14:10Exo 29:4Exo 29:8Exo 40:14Lev 1:2 (2×)Lev 1:3 (2×)Lev 1:10Lev 1:13Lev 1:14Lev 1:15Lev 2:4Lev 2:8Lev 2:11Lev 2:12Lev 2:13Lev 2:14 (2×)Lev 3:1 (2×)Lev 3:3Lev 3:6Lev 3:7 (2×)Lev 3:9Lev 3:12Lev 3:14Lev 4:3Lev 5:8Lev 6:20(13)Lev 6:21(14)Lev 7:3Lev 7:8 (2×)Lev 7:9Lev 7:11Lev 7:12 (2×)Lev 7:13Lev 7:14Lev 7:16Lev 7:18Lev 7:25Lev 7:29Lev 7:33Lev 7:35Lev 7:38Lev 8:6Lev 8:13Lev 8:18Lev 8:22Lev 8:24
Root family
Word studykah-RAHVverb

What qarav means

to come near, or to bring near: to close the distance to someone or something, and in worship to present an offering before God

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

At its root this word is about distance closing. Someone or something that was at a remove moves up close, or is moved up close by another. That one picture covers everything the word does. When a person does the moving, they draw near, whether walking up to another person, advancing on a city to fight, or stepping toward the altar to worship. When someone causes the moving, they bring a person, a case, or a gift near, and set it before the one who receives it.

The worship uses grow directly out of this. To worship the God of Israel was to come near to him at the sanctuary, and only certain people were permitted to do so. The same word that means walk up close therefore becomes the ordinary word for a priest taking up his service. Its causative form, bring near, becomes the standard word for presenting a sacrifice: the worshiper brings the animal or grain up to the altar and sets it before God. This is why the word saturates Leviticus and Numbers, where the rules for offerings are laid out.

The shades below are all this single act of approach seen in different settings, not different words that happen to look alike. Whether the nearness is friendly, hostile, or sacred is supplied by the situation, not by the verb itself.

Nuances

1ato come near, to approach a person, place, or moment
Gen 12:11Gen 37:18Gen 47:29Exo 14:10Exo 16:9Exo 36:2Lev 10:5Jos 10:242Sa 15:51Ki 2:1Est 5:2Psa 91:10
1bto come near to fight: to advance against an enemy or a city for battle
Deu 2:19Deu 20:2Deu 20:10Jos 8:5Jdg 20:241Sa 17:482Sa 20:162Sa 20:171Ki 20:29Psa 27:2
1cto come near to God: to approach the sanctuary or altar to worship, or to take up priestly service before God
Exo 12:48Lev 9:7Lev 9:8Lev 21:17 (2×)Lev 21:18Lev 22:3Num 18:3Num 18:4Num 18:22Psa 65:4Ezk 44:15Ezk 44:16
1dto approach for sexual relations, used in the laws forbidding certain unions
Gen 20:4Lev 18:6Lev 18:14Lev 18:19Lev 20:16Deu 22:14Isa 8:3Ezk 18:6
1eto bring near, to present a person or a case before someone in authority
Exo 28:1Lev 8:6Lev 8:13Num 5:16Num 8:9Num 8:10Num 16:5Num 27:5Deu 1:17Jos 7:16Jos 7:17Jos 7:18
1fto present an offering: to bring a sacrifice or gift up to the altar and set it before God
Lev 1:2 (2×)Lev 1:3 (2×)Lev 1:13Lev 1:14Lev 1:15Lev 2:8Lev 3:1 (2×)Lev 7:11Lev 23:8Num 7:11Num 28:2Mal 1:8

Uncategorized

Awaiting AI sense categorization.

12 verses
Exo 22:8Lev 6:20(13)Lev 6:21(14)Num 16:38Num 16:39Num 16:40(17:5)Jdg 5:25Psa 69:18Psa 72:10Ecc 5:1Isa 5:8Isa 46:13

What scholars say about qarav

The standard lexica treat this as a single verb whose basic sense is spatial nearness, with the causative form meaning to bring near and, by extension, to present an offering. HALOT and BDB organize it under the simple stem (to come near, approach) and the causative stem (to bring near, present), noting the heavy concentration of the offering sense in the priestly material of Leviticus and Numbers. TDOT and TWOT trace how the ordinary verb of approach became a technical term of the sanctuary, both for the priest who comes near to serve and for the worshiper who brings the sacrifice near. The cultic narrowing is regarded as a development of the one root meaning, not evidence of separate words.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. קרבlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. קרבlexicon
  • TWOT, s.v. קרב (qarab)theological-dictionary
  • TDOT, s.v. קרבtheological-dictionary

All attested forms of קָרַב

hiphil consecutive-perfect 3ms

וְהִקְרִיב, וְהִקְרִיבָ

Lev 1:13, Lev 1:14, Lev 1:15, Lev 3:3, Lev 3:7, Lev 3:9, Lev 3:12, Lev 3:14

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיַּקְרֵב

Lev 8:6, Lev 8:13, Lev 8:18, Lev 8:22, Lev 8:24, Lev 9:15, Lev 9:16, Lev 9:17

hiphil infinitive-construct construct

הַקְרִיב, הַקְרִיבְ, הַקְרִב, הַקְרִבָ, הַקְרִיבָ

Lev 7:16, Lev 7:38, Lev 17:4, Lev 21:17, Lev 21:21, Lev 21:21, Lev 23:37, Num 15:13

hiphil imperfect 3ms

יַקְרִיב, יַקְרִיבֶ, יַקְרִב

Lev 1:2, Lev 1:3, Lev 7:3, Lev 7:11, Lev 7:13, Lev 7:25, Lev 22:18, Lev 22:21

hiphil consecutive-perfect 2mp

וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם

Lev 23:8, Lev 23:16, Lev 23:18, Lev 23:25, Lev 23:27, Lev 23:36, Num 16:17, Num 28:19

hiphil imperfect 2ms

תַּקְרִיב, תַקְרִב

Exo 29:4, Exo 29:8, Exo 40:14, Lev 2:13, Lev 2:14, Lev 2:14, Lev 6:21, Num 15:7

hiphil imperfect 2mp

תַּקְרִיבוּ, תַּקְרִבוּ

Lev 1:2, Lev 2:11, Lev 2:12, Lev 22:20, Lev 22:22, Lev 22:24, Lev 22:25, Lev 23:36

qal imperfect 3ms

יִקְרַב, יִקְרָב

Gen 37:18, Exo 12:48, Lev 21:17, Lev 22:3, Num 16:40, Num 18:4, Jos 7:14, Jos 7:14

hiphil imperfect 3mp

יַקְרִיבוּ

Lev 6:20, Lev 22:18, Lev 27:9, Lev 27:11, Num 5:9, Num 7:11, Num 18:15, Psa 72:10

hiphil participle m s absolute

מַּקְרִיב, מַקְרִיב

Lev 7:8, Lev 7:9, Lev 7:18, Lev 7:29, Lev 7:33, Num 7:12, Num 15:4, Lev 3:1

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיַּקְרִיבוּ, וַיַּקְרִבוּ

Num 7:2, Num 7:3, Num 7:10, Num 7:10, Num 15:33, 1Ch 16:1, Lev 9:9, Lev 10:1

qal consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיִּקְרְבוּ

Gen 47:29, Lev 9:5, Lev 10:5, Num 9:6, Num 31:48, Num 36:1, Jos 10:24, Jdg 20:24

hiphil perfect 3ms

הִקְרִיב, הִקְרִב

Gen 12:11, Exo 14:10, Lev 7:8, Lev 7:35, Num 7:18, Num 9:13, Num 7:19

qal infinitive-construct construct

קְרֹב, קָרְבָתָ, קְרָב, קָרָבְ, קָרְבָה

Psa 27:2, Psa 32:9, Exo 40:32, Lev 16:1, 2Sa 15:5, Deu 20:2, Exo 36:2

hiphil consecutive-perfect 2ms

וְהִקְרַבְתָּ

Exo 29:3, Exo 29:10, Exo 40:12, Num 8:9, Num 8:10, Ezk 43:24

qal imperative 2mp

קִרְבוּ

Exo 16:9, Lev 10:4, Jos 10:24, Isa 34:1, Isa 48:16, Isa 57:3

hiphil imperative 2ms

הַקְרֵב, הַקְרִיבֵ

Exo 28:1, Lev 9:2, Num 3:6, Num 18:2, Mal 1:8

qal consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיִּקְרַב

Lev 9:8, 1Sa 17:48, 2Sa 20:17, 2Ki 16:12, Jon 1:6

qal imperative 2ms

קְרַב, קָרְבָ

Lev 9:7, Deu 5:27, 2Sa 20:16, Isa 65:5, Psa 69:18

qal imperfect 3mp

יִקְרְבוּ, יִקְרָבוּ

Gen 27:41, Num 18:22, Ezk 44:15, Ezk 44:16, Num 18:3

qal perfect 3cp

קָרְבוּ

Deu 31:14, 1Ki 2:7, Psa 119:150, Isa 41:5, Ezk 12:23

hiphil perfect 3cp

הִקְרִיבוּ, הִקְרִיבֻ

Lev 10:19, Num 16:39, Ezr 8:35, Num 16:38

qal consecutive-imperfect 2mp

וַתִּקְרְבוּ

Deu 1:22, Deu 4:11, Deu 5:23, Ezk 37:7

qal imperfect 3fs

תִּקְרַב

Lev 20:16, Jos 7:14, Psa 119:169, Isa 54:14

qal perfect 3ms

קָרַב

Gen 20:4, Exo 14:20, Exo 32:19, Lam 4:18

qal cohortative 1cp

נִקְרְבָה, נִקְרָבָה

Jdg 19:13, 1Sa 14:36, Isa 41:1

qal consecutive-imperfect 3fs

וַתִּקְרַב

1Ki 20:29, Est 5:2, Job 33:22

qal imperfect 2ms

תִקְרַב, תִקְרָב

Lev 18:19, Deu 20:10, Lev 18:14

hiphil consecutive-perfect 3cp

וְהִקְרִיבוּ

Lev 1:5, Lev 4:14

hiphil imperfect 3fs

תַּקְרִיב

Lev 2:1, Isa 26:17

piel imperative 2mp

קָרְבוּ

Isa 41:21, Ezk 9:1

piel perfect 3cp

קֵרְבוּ

Ezk 36:8, Hos 7:6

qal consecutive-imperfect 1cs

וָאֶקְרַב

Deu 22:14, Isa 8:3

qal consecutive-imperfect 3fp

וַתִּקְרַבְנָה

Num 27:1, Jos 17:4

qal jussive 2ms

תִּקְרַב

Exo 3:5, Pro 5:8

qal perfect 2ms

קָרַבְתָּ, קָרָבְתָּ

Lam 3:57, Deu 2:37

qal perfect 3fs

קָרְבָה, קָרֵבָה

Deu 15:9, Zep 3:2

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 1cp

וַנַּקְרֵב

Num 31:50

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 2fs

וַתַּקְרִיבִי

Ezk 22:4

hiphil consecutive-perfect 1cs

וְהִקְרַבְתִּי

Jer 30:21

20 further parsings are listed under Syntax.