רֶ֫פֶת (re.phet)
re.phet
stall
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun rephet refers to a stall or stable, specifically the enclosure where livestock are kept. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, within the poetic description of hardship in Habakkuk 3:17.
In this context, the word underscores the severity of the famine depicted by the prophet. The text lists the failure of agricultural produce alongside the absence of animals from their stalls, painting a picture of total economic and physical deprivation. By mentioning the empty rephet, the passage highlights that even the basic sustenance provided for working animals has vanished.
This rare usage serves as a concrete image of scarcity. It reminds readers that in the ancient world, livestock were vital assets, and their confinement in stalls represented security and provision. When those stalls are empty, it signals a profound loss of stability and future hope, reinforcing the gravity of the crisis described in the verse.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word rephet describes a stall or stable, an enclosure where livestock were kept safe and fed. In the ancient world, these animals represented security, labor power, and future hope. When the stalls are empty, it signals that even the basic sustenance for working animals has vanished, highlighting profound scarcity.
Habakkuk uses this image to describe a time of total deprivation. The prophet lists failing crops and missing flocks to show how severe the crisis is. Yet, this stark picture serves as a backdrop for trust. Even when resources disappear and stability feels lost, faith remains grounded in God’s character rather than material security.
This rare word reminds us that our hope does not rest in full barns or healthy herds. It invites us to look beyond temporary losses toward the One who sustains us through every season of lack.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [is] in the/ stalls1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- בָּ/רְפָתִֽים\׃1×
Key Verses
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Habakkuk 3:17
For even though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food, the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls,
The word rephet appears here to emphasize that even the livestock, which provided essential labor and food, are missing from their enclosures, illustrating total economic collapse.