---
title: אָחוֹת — sister · The Tanakh dictionary
description: אָחוֹת (269), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 114 times: sister. BDB 1906: n.f. sister. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/269.html)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-3.md)‎ / אָחוֹת‎

<!-- .hw dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
# אָחוֹת

<!-- .meta -->
«אָחוֹת» in the Tanakh dictionary: **sister** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Used:** 114 times · **Key:** 269 · **BDB:** אָחוֹת

### Glosses

sister (62); the.sister (18); sisters (9)

### Meaning (OSHB)

sister [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/269/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.f. sister [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/269/#m2)

<!-- fold -->
**The whole BDB entry:** n.f. sister (Ph. אחת, Aramaic אֲחָת, ܚܳܬܳܐ, Arabic أُخْتٌ, Assyrian aḫâtu, DlW Ethiopic እኅት Sab. in n.pr. אחֿתאמהו OsZMG 1865, 273)—abs. אָ׳ 2 S 13:1 + (never with art.); cstr. אֲחוֹת Gn 4:22 +; sf. אֲחֹתִי (אֲחוֹתִי) Gn 12:13 +, etc.; pl. sf. אַחְוֹתַי (Qr אַחְיוֹתַי) Jos 2:13; אֲחוֹתַיִךְ Ez 16:51 (Qr; Kt אחותך) + 2 times (Co all אחיו׳); אַחֲיוֹתֵךְ Ez 16:52 (Co ־תיך); אֲחוֹתֵךְ Ez 16:52 (must be pl., but del. Co); אַחְיֹתָיו Jb 42:11; אֲחוֹתֵיכֶם Ho 2:3; אַחְיֹתֵיהֶם 1 Ch 2:16 Jb 1:4— sister Gn 4:22; 12:13, 19; 20:2, 5, 12 (same father, diff. mother) so Lv 18:11 cf. Ez 22:11; Gn 24:30(×2) +, Ex 2:4, 7; Lv 18:9 (either parent same) so Dt 27:22 Nu 6:7 2 S 13:1, 2, 4 +, Ct 8:8(×2); called upon, in mourning for dead Je 22:18; = near relative Gn 24:59, 60 (or because Laban prominent? so Di); woman of same nationality Nu 25:18 cf. Ho 2:3. = beloved Ct 4:9, 10, 12; 5:1, 2 (4 times ‖ כַּלָּה bride; phr. orig. implying that marriage with half-sister—of same father—was allowed? cf. NöZMG 1886, 150, \& Gn 20:12). symbol. of Judah, Samaria, Sodom \& Jerusalem Je 3:7, 8, 10 Ez 16:45, 52,(×2) (del. Co) +, 23:4, 11 +. fig. of intimate connection אִמִּי וַאֲחֹתִי לָרִמָּה … קָרָאתי Jb 17:14; אֱמֹר לַחָכְמָה אֲחֹתִי אַתְּ Pr 7:4. another, אִשָּׁה אֶל־אֲחֹתָהּ, of curtains of tabern. Ex 26:3(×2), 6, loops v 5, tenons v 17; of wings of living creatures, Ezek.’s vision Ez 1:9, 23; 3:13; not of persons, but vid. רְעוּת.

<!-- .note -->
Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 49 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (1 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «אָחוֹת» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/269/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Genesis 36:3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.36.3/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
וְאֶת־בָּשְׂמַ֥ת בַּת־יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל אֲח֥וֹת נְבָיֽוֹת׃

*Word for word:* and (et) Basemath the.daughter of.Ishmael the.sister of.Nebaioth

*JPS 1917:* and Basemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Genesis 34:31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.34.31/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
וַיֹּאמְר֑וּ הַכְזוֹנָ֕ה יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֶת־אֲחוֹתֵֽנוּ׃פ

*Word for word:* and they.said like a prostitute? will.he.do with sister our

*JPS 1917:* And they said: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?'

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [אָחוֹר](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/268.md)
- next →: [אָחַז](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/270.md)
- ↑ back to [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-3.md)