What does אָרַב (ʾārab) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb describes lying in wait or setting an ambush. It can identify concealed action in a military narrative or predatory intent condemned in wisdom and prayer.
Hebrew · H693
אָרַב
To lurk
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אָרַבH693
Pronunciationʾārab
What does אָרַב (ʾārab) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb describes lying in wait or setting an ambush. It can identify concealed action in a military narrative or predatory intent condemned in wisdom and prayer.
Reader summary
Full entry for אָרַב (H693) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H693?
The BSB source-word alignment has 41 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include an ambush (5), and lay in wait (4), lie in wait (4), the men in ambush (4), the ambush (2).
Where does אָרַב (ʾārab) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Deuteronomy 19:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Judges (14), Joshua (7), Proverbs (6), 1 Samuel (3).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew verb describes lying in wait or setting an ambush. It can identify concealed action in a military narrative or predatory intent condemned in wisdom and prayer. Joshua 8:2 places an ambush within the particular command concerning Ai. Proverbs 1:11 places lying in wait inside the speech of people enticing someone toward bloodshed, and the surrounding instruction tells the hearer not to join them. The shared verb does not remove those different speakers, settings or moral directions.
Psalm 10:9 portrays the wicked person's predation against the oppressed. Deuteronomy 19:11 identifies hatred and deliberate waiting in its distinction between intentional killing and the refuge described earlier in the chapter. Proverbs 24:15 warns the wicked against lying in wait near the righteous person's home. These texts make hidden hostility visible without teaching suspicion as a way of life. Concern about a possible threat should be assessed through actual conduct and appropriate help, not through guessing that every quiet person or disagreement conceals an ambush.
source_lexiconPassage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
A particular battle command, violent enticement, lament over predation, a deliberate-killing case and a wisdom prohibition place concealed hostility within distinct narrative and moral settings.
- Josh.8.2
And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city.”
The ambush belongs to the Lord's particular command to Joshua concerning Ai. The narrative does not present its military action as a general method for churches to use against present opponents.
- Prov.1.11
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
The quoted invitation comes from people seeking innocent blood and plunder. The parental instruction surrounding their words warns the learner not to consent or walk in their path.
- Ps.10.9
He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
The predator is compared with a hidden lion and a captor using a net. The images expose the danger faced by the oppressed and lead into the psalm's appeal for God's attention and accountability.
- Deut.19.11
If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
Hatred, lying in wait and killing identify deliberate violence in contrast with the chapter's refuge provisions for an unintentional killing. The distinction belongs to this stated legal setting, not an instant verdict on a modern allegation.
- Prov.24.15
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.
The warning addresses the wicked person planning harm near the righteous person's dwelling. Its immediate force restrains the aggressor rather than promising that a faithful household will never face danger.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itan ambush5×Joshua 8:2, Joshua 8:12, Joshua 8:14, Judges 9:25
and lay in wait4×Judges 9:34, Judges 9:43, Judges 16:2, 1 Samuel 15:5
lie in wait4×Proverbs 1:18, Proverbs 12:6, Proverbs 24:15, Micah 7:2
the men in ambush4×Joshua 8:19, Joshua 8:21, Judges 20:37, Judges 20:38
the ambush2×Judges 20:36, Jeremiah 51:12
to lie in wait2×1 Samuel 22:8, 1 Samuel 22:13
ambushes1×2 Chronicles 20:22
and ambushed1×Lamentations 4:19
and bandits1×Ezra 8:31
and lie in wait1×Judges 9:32
and lies in wait1×Deuteronomy 19:11
are to lie in ambush1×Joshua 8:4
But while the men1×Judges 16:12
from the ambush1×Joshua 8:7
He lies in wait1×Psalms 10:9
he lurks1×Psalms 10:9
hide1×Judges 21:20
how they lie in wait1×Psalms 59:3
in ambush1×Judges 20:33
let us lie in wait1×Proverbs 1:11
lies in wait1×Proverbs 23:28
lying in wait1×Lamentations 3:10
or I have lurked1×Job 31:9
she lurks1×Proverbs 7:12
they1×Judges 20:37
While the men1×Judges 16:9
Show sample aligned rows
Deuteronomy 19:11וְאָ֤רַבtoand lies in waitConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singularJoshua 8:2אֹרֵ֛בtoan ambushVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularJoshua 8:4אֹרְבִ֤יםtoare to lie in ambushVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine pluralJoshua 8:7מֵהָ֣אוֹרֵ֔בtofrom the ambushPreposition-m, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularJoshua 8:12אֹרֵ֗בtoan ambushVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularJoshua 8:14אֹרֵ֥בtoan ambushVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularJoshua 8:19וְהָאוֹרֵ֡בtothe men in ambushConjunctive waw, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularJoshua 8:21הָֽאֹרֵב֙tothe men in ambushArticle | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularJudges 9:25מְאָרְבִ֗יםtoan ambushVerb - Piel - Participle - masculine pluralJudges 9:32וֶאֱרֹ֖בtoand lie in waitConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowDeuteronomy 19:11
Aligned rows41
Books represented12
Deuteronomy1Joshua7Judges141 Samuel32 Chronicles1Ezra1Job1Psalms3Proverbs6Jeremiah1Lamentations2Micah1
Source forms
אֹרֵ֥ב2x’ō·rêḇJoshua 8:14, Lamentations 3:10
לְאֹרֵ֖ב2xlə·’ō·rêḇ1 Samuel 22:8, 1 Samuel 22:13
אֹרֵ֛ב1x’ō·rêḇJoshua 8:2
אֹרֵ֗ב1x’ō·rêḇJoshua 8:12
אֱרָב־1x’ĕ·rāḇ-Proverbs 12:6
אָֽרְב֡וּ1x’ā·rə·ḇūPsalms 59:3
אָ֥רְבוּ1x’ā·rə·ḇūLamentations 4:19
אֹרְבִ֤ים1x’ō·rə·ḇîmJoshua 8:4
Parsing patterns
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular4xJoshua 8:21, Judges 20:36, Judges 20:37, Judges 20:38
Conjunctive waw, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular4xJoshua 8:19, Judges 16:9, Judges 16:12, Judges 20:37
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular4xJoshua 8:2, Joshua 8:12, Joshua 8:14, Lamentations 3:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural2xJudges 9:34, Judges 16:2
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2x1 Samuel 22:8, 1 Samuel 22:13
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural2xJudges 9:25, 2 Chronicles 20:22
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular2xProverbs 7:12, Proverbs 23:28
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural2xProverbs 1:18, Micah 7:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Take concrete threats seriously and support appropriate protection without escalating uncertain suspicions into accusations.
- Refuse invitations whose rewards depend on harming someone, even when the invitation promises belonging.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that this verb grants religious authority to ambush or intimidate contemporary opponents.
- Do not claim that faith requires exposure to a known threat or that unease proves another person's guilt.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. To lie in concealment with hostile intent, often describing predatory ambush or deceptive entrapment
Strong'sH693
Lexical occurrences41 versesWord forms2 forms20 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkProverbs 12:6Source Gloss
to lurk
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
To lie in concealment with hostile intent, often describing predatory ambush or deceptive entrapment
to lurk BDB: lie in wait Usage: (lie in) ambush(-ment), lay (lie in) wait.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups2Aligned forms20
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense18×
Participle activeJosh 8:2 · Josh 8:4 · Josh 8:12 · Josh 8:14 · Judg 20:29 · Lam 3:106×
ImperfectMic 7:2 · Prov 1:18 · Prov 7:12 · Prov 23:28 · Ps 10:96×
PerfectLam 4:19 · Ps 59:4 · Job 31:93×
CohortativeProv 1:111×
Infinitive constructProv 12:61×
JussiveProv 24:151×
Pielintensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action2×
Participle active2Chr 20:22 · Judg 9:252×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
The words of the wicked lurk to harm, contrasted with righteous speech
Wicked person lying in ambush against the righteous dwelling, depicted as futile
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 41 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אָרַב is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Proverbs 1 does not leave its hearer to admire the ingenuity of an ambush. The proposed companionship includes the shedding of innocent blood and the pursuit of plunder. By quoting the invitation and warning against joining it, the passage teaches the learner to notice what a group's promise actually requires. Belonging and gain cannot justify participating in another person's harm.
Psalm 10 adds the perspective of those targeted, describing predation and asking God to remember the helpless. That prayer allows danger to be named rather than hidden behind a call to trust. Deuteronomy's deliberate-killing case further shows that intention and conduct matter in the passage's own justice setting. Responsible teaching should attend to evidence, protect threatened people and refuse retaliation, without presenting every uneasy feeling as proof of a plot or claiming that Scripture supplies an immediate modern legal ruling.
Anchor passage
Prov.1.11
Doctrinal connections
- Proverbs 1:10-15 quotes a violent invitation within an explicit command not to join the sinners' path.
- Psalm 10:8-14 connects predatory secrecy with the victim's appeal to the God who sees trouble and grief.
- Deuteronomy 19:11-13 distinguishes deliberate killing from the chapter's stated refuge case.
- Proverbs 24:15-17 forbids predatory harm and also cautions against rejoicing over an enemy's fall.
- Joshua 8:1-2 locates the ambush in a particular divine command and historical campaign.
- Luke 22:50-53 recounts Jesus stopping a companion's violent response while naming the darkness surrounding His arrest.
Lying in wait describes an action or posture whose purpose must be established by its object and setting. The verb does not itself identify every concealed action as the same moral case, nor does it support inferring another person's hidden intent without evidence.
From Old to New Testament
Luke 22:50-53 describes Jesus restraining a violent response and confronting those who come to arrest Him. Matthew 26:52-54 likewise keeps the disciple's sword distinct from Jesus' fulfillment of Scripture. These are thematic comparisons concerning hostility and response, not claims that the Hebrew verb settles every question about force or present legal procedure.
Book contextPastoral applicationCanonical parallel