---
title: כָּזָב — lie · The Tanakh dictionary
description: כָּזָב (3577), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 31 times: lie. BDB 1906: n.m. lie, falsehood, deceptive thing. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# כָּזָב

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«כָּזָב» in the Tanakh dictionary: **lie** — 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:** 31 times · **Key:** 3577 · **BDB:** כָּזָב

### Glosses

falsehood (10); lies (9); of.falsehood (6)

### Meaning (OSHB)

lie [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3577/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. lie, falsehood, deceptive thing [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3577/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Am 2:4 lie, falsehood, deceptive thing;—abs. כ׳ Ho 12:2 + 19 times; pl. abs. כְּזָבִים Ju 16:10 + 9 times; sf. כִּזְבֵיהֶם Am 2:4;—lie, falsehood, c. דִּבֶּר Ju 16:10, 13 Ho 7:13 Zp 3:13 Dn 11:27 ψ 5:7; 58:4, so Ez 13:8 Co (by transp. כ׳ with שָׁוְא, cf. v 6, 7, 9); c. יָפִיחַ (in Pr) Pr 6:19; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9; of false prophecies (divinations) c. אָמַר, מִקְסַם כ׳ Ez 13:7; c. קָסָם v 9; 21:34; 22:28 + 13:6 𝔊 Co (קָסוֹם כ׳, for MT קֶסֶם כ׳); c. שָׁמַע 13:19, בִּקֵּשׁ ψ 4:3; c. רָצָה delight in 62:5; so in the phr. דְּבַר־כ׳ Pr 30:8, אִישׁ כ׳ 19:22 = liar, עֵד כְּזָבִים 21:28 = false witness; of idols as a lie (res ementita) Am 2:4, so prob. שָׂטֵי כ׳ those turning aside to a lie ψ 40:5 (cf. אָוֶן, אֱלִיל, הֶבֶל, שֶׁקֶר); then of empty human pretensions כ׳ וָשֹׁד יַרְבֶּה Ho 12:2, Is 28:15 (‖ שֶׁקֶר), v 17 (מַחְסֵה כ׳), ψ 62:10 (‖ הֶבֶל; cf. כֹּזֵב 116:11); לֶחֶם כְּזָבִים Pr 23:3 = deceptive (disappointing) bread.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 31 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (4 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (4 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «כָּזָב» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3577/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Proverbs 14:25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.14.25/)

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מַצִּ֣יל נְ֭פָשׁוֹת עֵ֣ד אֱמֶ֑ת וְיָפִ֖חַ כְּזָבִ֣ים מִרְמָֽה׃

*Word for word:* \[is\].delivering lives a.witness of.reliability and he.breathes.out lies deceit

*JPS 1917:* A true witness delivereth souls; but he that breatheth forth lies is all deceit.

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[Proverbs 19:9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.19.9/)

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עֵ֣ד שְׁ֭קָרִים לֹ֣א יִנָּקֶ֑ה וְיָפִ֖יחַ כְּזָבִ֣ים יֹאבֵֽד׃פ

*Word for word:* a.witness of.lies not he.will.go.unpunished and he.breathes.out lies he.will.perish

*JPS 1917:* A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that breatheth forth lies shall perish.

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