זוּב (zuv)
zuv
to flow: flowing
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 39 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb zuv describes a steady, continuous flow, most commonly applied to water gushing from rock or land overflowing with abundance. In passages like Exodus 3:8 and Numbers 13:27, it paints the promise of Canaan as a place where milk and honey run freely, suggesting a landscape so fertile that resources spill over their natural boundaries. This imagery of rich, unceasing movement contrasts sharply with scarcity, marking the land as a gift of divine provision.
However, the word carries a darker, medical usage in Leviticus 15. There, zuv refers to a pathological discharge or bodily flux, requiring ritual separation and cleansing. This specific application highlights how the same physical action—fluid moving from the body—can signify either life-giving abundance or ceremonial impurity depending on its source and context.
Less frequently, the term takes on a figurative sense of wasting away or dying, as seen in Lamentations 4:9. Here, the flow is not outward but inward, describing a person fading until they perish. This usage underscores the fragility of life, where the very force that sustains can also lead to exhaustion and end.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word zuv paints a picture of abundance that spills over its boundaries. When used for the Promised Land, it describes a place where resources flow freely, suggesting a landscape so fertile that milk and honey run without restraint. This imagery reminds us that God’s provision is not scarce or measured out in tiny drops, but abundant and generous. It offers comfort to those facing lack, pointing to a Creator who delights in giving good gifts.
Yet the same word appears in Leviticus to describe bodily discharges requiring ritual cleansing. Here, the flow is not of blessing but of impurity, showing how physical realities can carry different spiritual weights depending on their source. The text does not shame the condition but provides a path back to community through washing and waiting. This duality teaches that life contains both gifts and burdens, and God cares for both.
Understanding this range helps us see Scripture’s honesty about human experience. We live in a world where abundance and affliction often coexist. The promise of a land flowing with milk and honey remains a hope for all who trust in God, while the laws of cleansing show His concern for wholeness and order in daily life.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 39 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- flowing of16×
- the/ [one] discharging9×
- and/ they flowed out3×
- discharging2×
- [is] flowing of2×
- they flow away1×
- she will discharge1×
- it will discharge1×
- and/ the/ [one] discharging1×
- [one who] suffers a discharge1×
- [one who] has a discharge1×
- [is] flowing1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- זָבַ֥ת13×
- הַ/זָּ֖ב4×
- זָבַ֤ת3×
- הַ/זָּ֑ב3×
- זָבַ֨ת2×
- זָ֣ב2×
- וַ/יָּז֣וּבוּ2×
- תָז֖וּב1×
- יָזוּב֩1×
- יָז֙וּבוּ֙1×
- זָבָ֔ה1×
- זָ֠ב1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 3:8
I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
This verse establishes zuv as a symbol of divine promise, describing Canaan as a place where resources flow freely rather than remaining scarce.
-
Leviticus 15:2
“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean.
Here the word shifts to medical ritual law, using the same term for bodily discharge to define states of ceremonial impurity requiring cleansing.
-
Numbers 13:27
They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
The spies report that the land flows with fruit, confirming the tangible abundance promised earlier and grounding the metaphor in physical reality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does zuv mean in the Bible?
Why is the same word used for blessing and impurity?
Where does zuv appear most often?
Every Occurrence (39 verses across 10 books)
Exodus 4 verses
I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and…
Exodus 3:17I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite,…
Exodus 13:5It shall be, when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite,…
Exodus 33:3Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I…