---
title: כּוֹכָב — star · The Tanakh dictionary
description: כּוֹכָב (3556), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 37 times: star. BDB 1906: n.m. 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/3556.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/) / [כ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1499.md)‎ / כּוֹכָב‎

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

<!-- .meta -->
«כּוֹכָב» in the Tanakh dictionary: **star** — 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:** 37 times · **Key:** 3556 · **BDB:** כּוֹכָב

### Glosses

stars (19); the.stars (9); \[the\].stars (5)

### Meaning (OSHB)

star [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3556/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3556/#m2)

<!-- fold -->
**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Gn 15:5 star (NH id.; Aramaic כּוֹכְבָא, כּוֹכַבְתָּא, ܟܰܘܟܒܳܐ, ܟܰܘܟܰܒܬܳܐ, fem. form specifically of planet Venus, v. also WeSkizzen iii. 36, 38; Arabic كَوْكَبٌ gen. of single stars and prob. Aramaic loan-word, WeSkizzen iii. 173; Ethiopic ኮከብ; prob. for כבכב v. Mahri kubkob, kobkîb, etc., Maltzan ZMG 1873, 227 and Assyrian kakkabu Dl HWB 336; Pun. κακαβουμ (Dioscorides), name of a plant, prob. from shape of seed-cup, BlauZMG xxvii, 1873, 529; on formation cf. NöM § 109 BaNB§ 138. 1)—כ׳ abs. Nu 24:17; cstr. כּוֹכַב Am 5:26; pl. כּוֹכָבִים Gn 1:16 + 19 times; cstr. כּוֹכְבֵי (כֹּכְבֵי) Gn 22:17 + 13 times; כֹּכְבֵיהֶם Ez 32:7;—sg. only כ׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם Am 5:26 (where, however, כ׳ is prob. a gloss, so GFM Dec. 19, 1890, and now We; v. further כִּיּוּן), and כ׳ מִיַּעֲקֹב Nu 24:17 (JE; ‖ שֵׁבֶט בישׂראל, metaph. of future ruler); elsewhere pl. stars, ‖ sun and moon (cf. also infr.) Gn 1:16 (P) ψ 136:9 (to rule the night, cf. Gn 1:16), Je 31:35 Gn 37:9 (E), Joseph’s dream (אַחַד עָשָׂר כ׳ = 11 brethren); Dt 4:19 obj. of idol. worship (cf. infr.); observed in augury הַחֹזִים בַּכּ׳ Is 47:13 (of Babylon); Ec 12:2 (‖ (also) light; fig. of brightness of youth); ‖ sun Jb 9:7; ‖ moon ψ 8:4; sign of evening Ne 4:15 (מֵעֲלוֹת הַשַּׁחַר עַד צֵאת הַכּ׳) cf. כּוֹכְבֵּי נִשְׁכּוֹ Jb 3:9 (appar. sign of dawn); numbered by God ψ 147:4; sim. of abundant posterity, Gn 15:5; 22:17; 26:4 Ex 32:13 (all JE); of Isr. Dt 1:10; 10:22; 28:62 1 Ch 27:32 Ne 9:23; of number of merchants of Nineveh Na 3:16; as lofty, Jb 22:12; so in fig. of haughty nations Ob 4 is 14:13; cf. symbolic vision of Dn (‖ צָבָא, צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם) Dn 8:10; sim. of brightness of righteous Dn 12:3; not pure (זַכּוּ) before God Jb 25:5 (‖ moon); darkened in Yahweh’s judgment Jo 2:10; 4:15 Ez 32:7 (‖ sun and moon; so) Is 13:10 (‖ also כְּסִילֵיהֶם); personified: as fighting Ju 5:20; shouting Jb 38:7 (בְּרָן־יַחַד כּוֹכְבֵי בֹקֶר, ‖ בְּנֵי אֱלֹהִים); praising ψ 148:3 (כּוֹכְבֵי אוֹר, ‖ sun and moon).—On stars in Arabic mythol. v. WeSkizzen iii.173 f.

<!-- .note -->
Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 35 of its verses cited, 0 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 «כּוֹכָב» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3556/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Joel 4:15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/JOL.4.15/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
שֶׁ֥מֶשׁ וְיָרֵ֖חַ קָדָ֑רוּ וְכוֹכָבִ֖ים אָסְפ֥וּ נָגְהָֽם׃

*Word for word:* sun and moon they.have.become.dark and.\[the\] stars they.have.withdrawn brightness their

*JPS 1917:* The sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Job 38:7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.38.7/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
בְּרָן־יַ֭חַד כּ֣וֹכְבֵי בֹ֑קֶר וַ֝יָּרִ֗יעוּ כָּל־בְּנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים׃

*Word for word:* when sang together \[the\].stars of.morning and they.shouted all the.sons of.God

*JPS 1917:* When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [כְּוִיָּה](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/3555.md)
- next →: [כּוּל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/3557.md)
- ↑ back to [כ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1499.md)

