---
title: כְּבָר — already · The Tanakh dictionary
description: כְּבָר (3528), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 9 times: already. BDB 1906: adv. already. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# כְּבָר

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«כְּבָר» in the Tanakh dictionary: **already** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 9 times · **Key:** 3528 · **BDB:** כְּבָר

### Glosses

already (8); \[has.been\].already (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

already [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3528/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

adv. already [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3528/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** adv. (late) already (freq. in Mish. and NH; 𝔗 כבר (rare) Syriac ܟܒܰܪ usually perhaps, occas. already (Mt 11:21 Heb 1:1); Mand. כבאר already, NöM. p. 202. Der. uncertain, connexion with √ כבר being dub.)—already, Ec 1:10 כְּבָר הָיָה it hath already been, 2:12, 16; 3:15(×2); 4:2; 6:10; 9:6, 7.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech not compared, 8 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (6 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech not compared, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (5 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «כְּבָר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3528/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Ecclesiastes 3:15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.15/)

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מַה־שֶּֽׁהָיָה֙ כְּבָ֣ר ה֔וּא וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר לִהְי֖וֹת כְּבָ֣ר הָיָ֑ה וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים יְבַקֵּ֥שׁ אֶת־נִרְדָּֽף׃

*Word for word:* whatever (that).it is \[has.been\].already it and.\[that\] which \[is\].to be already it.has.been and (the) God he.will.seek (et) \[that.which.was\].pursued

*JPS 1917:* That which is hath been long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God seeketh that which is pursued.

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[Ecclesiastes 4:2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.4.2/)

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וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ אֲנִ֛י אֶת־הַמֵּתִ֖ים שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר מֵ֑תוּ מִן־הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥מָּה חַיִּ֖ים עֲדֶֽנָה׃

*Word for word:* and I.commended I (et) the.dead \[people\] who already they.had.died more.than the living who they \[were\].alive pleasure still

*JPS 1917:* Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead more than the living that are yet alive;

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