רָבַב (ra.vav)
ra.vav
to multiply ten thousand
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb ravav, found only once in the Old Testament at Genesis 24:60, carries the specific meaning of "to shoot" or "to discharge an arrow." Its occurrence is tightly bound to the context of Rebekah’s departure, where her family blesses her with the wish that she may become thousands of ten thousands. This phrase relies on the word’s root sense of multiplication through a military or hunting metaphor, evoking the image of a vast swarm or army.
While the lexicon sources identify the core action as shooting, the theological weight lies in the scale of the blessing. The family does not merely wish her prosperity; they invoke a future population so dense it resembles arrows loosed from a bow. This singular usage anchors the concept of exponential growth in a vivid, kinetic image familiar to ancient readers.
Translators typically render this as "thousands of ten thousands" rather than focusing on the verb itself, preserving the numerical magnitude over the physical act. The word’s rarity highlights how specific biblical blessings often draw from unexpected domains like warfare or hunting to describe divine favor and fruitfulness.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word ravav appears only once in Scripture, nestled within a blessing for Rebekah in Genesis 24:60. Her family wishes that she might become "thousands of ten thousands," using an image drawn from the shooting of arrows. This vivid metaphor suggests a future where her lineage is as numerous and widespread as a swarm of arrows released from a bow.
For your faith, this offers a comforting picture of God’s expansive promise. It reminds us that divine favor often looks beyond immediate circumstances to encompass vast, generational impact. When you feel small or limited, remember that God’s blessings are not confined by human scale but are designed to multiply far beyond what we can imagine.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ they shot1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וָ/רֹ֑בּוּ1×