What does רוּעַ mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb describes raising a loud cry or sounding an alarm. The noise can express joyful worship, announce danger, or accompany a public event.
Hebrew · H7321
רוּעַ
To mar (especially by breaking); figuratively, to split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy)
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רוּעַH7321
What does רוּעַ mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb describes raising a loud cry or sounding an alarm. The noise can express joyful worship, announce danger, or accompany a public event.
Reader summary
Full entry for רוּעַ (H7321) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7321?
The BSB source-word alignment has 44 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include shout (6), Make a joyful noise (4), shouted (3), I shout in triumph (2), shout aloud (2).
Where does רוּעַ appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Numbers 10:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (12), Joshua (7), 1 Samuel (4), Isaiah (4).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew verb describes raising a loud cry or sounding an alarm. The noise can express joyful worship, announce danger, or accompany a public event. Its volume does not settle its meaning. Psalm 95 calls people to shout to the Rock of their salvation; Numbers 10 describes a trumpet signal in battle. The subject, occasion, and surrounding instructions show why the sound is being made.
Two narratives keep loudness from becoming a measure of spiritual success. Israel's great shout when the ark enters the camp in 1 Samuel 4 is followed by defeat and the ark's capture. At the temple foundation in Ezra 3, joyful shouts mingle with older people's weeping until the sounds cannot be distinguished. A crowd's intensity therefore cannot prove either God's approval or a single shared emotional response. Worship can rightly be joyful, but the call to shout in Psalm 95 belongs with that psalm's call to hear God's voice without hardening the heart.
source_lexiconPassage contextBook contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
The verb appears in appointed trumpet signals, excited but misplaced confidence, temple thanksgiving mingled with weeping, and a psalm's summons to praise. Loud expression must be interpreted through its occasion and response to God.
- Num.10.9
When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who attacks you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and saved from your enemies.
The battle alarm belongs to an instruction for Israel's trumpets and dependence on the Lord's remembrance. It does not make loudness itself the cause of victory in any later conflict.
- 1Sam.4.5
When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that the ground shook.
The people shout as the ark enters their camp, but verses 10-11 narrate defeat and capture. Their confidence and noise are not the narrator's certification that God will endorse their expectation.
- Ezra.3.13
The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people were making so much noise. And the sound was heard from afar.
Joyful shouting and weeping are audibly interwoven at the temple foundation. The narrative reports the mixed sound without requiring every participant to have the same response.
- Ps.95.1
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
The summons to shout names the Lord as the Rock of salvation. Later in the psalm, hearing His voice without hardening the heart belongs with the opening call to praise.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itshout6×Joshua 6:5, Joshua 6:16, Joshua 6:20, 1 Samuel 4:5
Make a joyful noise4×Psalms 66:1, Psalms 81:1, Psalms 98:4, Psalms 100:1
shouted3×Joshua 6:20, 1 Samuel 10:24, Job 30:5
I shout in triumph2×Psalms 60:8, Psalms 108:9
shout aloud2×Isaiah 44:23, Zephaniah 3:14
and shouting1×1 Samuel 17:20
came out shouting1×Judges 15:14
cry1×Micah 4:9
cry out1×Isaiah 15:4
crying out1×Judges 7:21
give a battle cry1×Joshua 6:10
He shouts1×Isaiah 42:13
let us make a joyful noise1×Psalms 95:2
let us shout1×Psalms 95:1
or shouts1×Isaiah 16:10
Raise a war cry1×Jeremiah 50:15
raise the battle cry1×Hosea 5:8
raised the battle cry1×2 Chronicles 13:15
raised the cry1×2 Chronicles 13:15
short ones1×Numbers 10:7
shout for joy1×Psalms 98:6
Shout in triumph1×Zechariah 9:9
shouted for joy1×Job 38:7
sound1×2 Chronicles 13:12
sound short blasts1×Numbers 10:9
sound the alarm1×Joel 2:1
Then you are to shout1×Joshua 6:10
They shout in triumph1×Psalms 65:13
to shout1×Joshua 6:10
triumph1×Psalms 41:11
were making so much noise1×Ezra 3:13
with a shout1×1 Samuel 17:52
Show sample aligned rows
Numbers 10:7תָרִֽיעוּ׃toshort onesVerb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine pluralNumbers 10:9וַהֲרֵעֹתֶ֖םtosound short blastsConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine pluralJoshua 6:5יָרִ֥יעוּtoshoutVerb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine pluralJoshua 6:10תָרִ֙יעוּ֙togive a battle cryVerb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine pluralJoshua 6:10הָרִ֖יעוּtoto shoutVerb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine pluralJoshua 6:10וַהֲרִיעֹתֶֽם׃toThen you are to shoutConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine pluralJoshua 6:16הָרִ֔יעוּtoShoutVerb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine pluralJoshua 6:20וַיָּ֣רַעtoshoutedConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularJoshua 6:20וַיָּרִ֤יעוּtoshoutConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralJudges 7:21וַיָּרִ֖יעוּtocrying outConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowNumbers 10:7
Aligned rows44
Books represented15
Numbers2Joshua7Judges21 Samuel42 Chronicles3Ezra2Job2Psalms12Isaiah4Jeremiah1Hosea1Joel1Micah1Zephaniah1Zechariah1
Source forms
הָרִ֥יעוּ3xhā·rî·‘ūPsalms 47:1, Psalms 66:1, Psalms 100:1
הָרִ֖יעוּ2xhā·rî·‘ūJoshua 6:10, Zephaniah 3:14
הָ֝רִ֗יעוּ2xhā·rî·‘ūPsalms 81:1, Psalms 98:6
הָרִ֙יעוּ֙2xhā·rî·‘ūIsaiah 44:23, Hosea 5:8
וַיָּרִ֖יעוּ2xway·yā·rî·‘ūJudges 7:21, 2 Chronicles 13:15
יָרִ֥יעוּ2xyā·rî·‘ūJoshua 6:5, Job 30:5
אֶתְרוֹעָֽע׃1x’eṯ·rō·w·‘ā‘Psalms 108:9
בְּהָרִ֙יעַ֙1xbə·hā·rî·a‘2 Chronicles 13:15
Parsing patterns
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural12xJoshua 6:10, Joshua 6:16, Psalms 47:1, Psalms 66:1
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural7xJoshua 6:20, Judges 7:21, 1 Samuel 4:5, 1 Samuel 10:24
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural3xJoshua 6:5, Job 30:5, Isaiah 15:4
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural2xNumbers 10:9, Joshua 6:10
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine plural2xNumbers 10:7, Joshua 6:10
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular2xPsalms 41:11, Isaiah 42:13
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural2xJudges 15:14, Ezra 3:11
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural1x1 Samuel 17:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Make room for grief, disability, and different capacities for expression without ranking worshipers by the strength of their voices.
- Encourage attentive obedience alongside public praise; a forceful group response cannot replace the work of hearing God's word.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that a sufficiently loud shout secures victory or divine approval; the great shout in First Samuel 4 precedes defeat.
- Do not claim that everyone at a faithful celebration must sound equally happy; Ezra records joyful shouting and weeping together.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. to mar (especially by breaking); figuratively, to split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy)
Source Gloss
to mar (especially by breaking); figuratively, to split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
to mar (especially by breaking); figuratively, to split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy) BDB: raise a shout Usage: blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy, make a joyful noise, smart, shout (for joy), sound an alarm, triumph.
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 groups3Aligned forms30
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action26×
Sequential imperfectHos 5:8 · Isa 44:23 · Jer 50:15 · Josh 6:10 · Josh 6:16 · Ps 47:2 · Ps 66:1 · Ps 81:2 · Ps 98:4 · Ps 98:6 · Ps 100:1 · Zeph 3:14 · Zech 9:913×
ImperfectIsa 15:4 · Job 30:5 · Josh 6:5 · Isa 42:13 · Ps 41:12 · Josh 6:10 · Num 10:7 · Mic 4:98×
PerfectEzra 3:11 · Judg 15:142×
CohortativePs 95:1 · Ps 95:22×
Participle activeEzra 3:131×
Polal1×
ImperfectIsa 16:101×
Hithpolel3×
ImperfectPs 65:14 · Ps 108:102×
Sequential imperfectPs 60:101×
Word Origins
רוּעַ 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
Psalm 95 begins with a summons to joyful sound, but it does not leave the worshiping community at the level of sound. The psalm names the Lord as Creator and shepherd, then warns the hearers against hardening their hearts when they hear His voice. The movement makes praise a response to the God who also addresses His people.
This provides a better pastoral question than asking whether a service was loud enough to count as alive. Did its gladness honor the Lord, and are the people willing to listen to Him? First Samuel 4 supplies a sober contrast: an impressive shout does not prevent devastating defeat. The application should therefore welcome wholehearted praise while refusing to manufacture assurance from the crowd's volume or to pressure every worshiper into an identical outward response.
Anchor passage
Ps.95.1
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 95:1-3 names the Lord and His kingship as the reason for joyful shouting, giving the sound its object.
- Psalm 95:7-10 requires responsive hearing and warns against a hardened heart, extending worship beyond audible enthusiasm.
- First Samuel 4:5 and 4:10-11 contrast Israel's great shout with defeat, exposing confidence that the event itself does not validate.
- Ezra 3:11-13 preserves thanksgiving and weeping within the same gathering, inviting care in interpreting a crowd's sound.
- Numbers 10:7-10 distinguishes appointed trumpet occasions and signals, so the verb should not be reduced to joyful singing alone.
- Hebrews 3:7-9 takes up Psalm 95's warning about hearing and hardness, directly sustaining the call to responsive attention.
Raising a shout and sounding an alarm belong to the attested range, with context identifying the sound's occasion. The selected passages do not require a speculative account of broken ears or a claim that every use denotes joyful worship.
From Old to New Testament
Hebrews 3:7-9 expressly introduces and quotes Psalm 95's warning about hearing God's voice. That direct canonical reuse supports teaching the psalm's call to listen alongside its praise; it does not turn the volume of an assembly into a test of salvation.
Book contextCanonical parallelPastoral application