---
title: רַב — chief · The Tanakh dictionary
description: רַב (lemma:רַב), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 29 times: chief. BDB 1906: n.m. chief. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# רַב

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«רַב» in the Tanakh dictionary: **chief** — 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:** 29 times · **Key:** lemma:רַב · **BDB:** רַב⁴

### Glosses

\[the\].chief (23); the.chief (2); the.chiefs (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

chief [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/lemma_3a_5e8_5b7_5d1/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. chief [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/lemma_3a_5e8_5b7_5d1/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. chief (Assyrian-Bab. influence, cf. rab DlHWB 609b; Biblical Aramaic רַב);—cstr. ר׳ Je 39:9 +; pl. cstr. רַבֵּי 39:13; 41:1 (but v. infr.);—especially רַב־ טַבָּחִים chief of guardsmen (v. טַבָּח), only as title of Bab. officer Je 39:9, 10 + 15 times Je, 7 times ‖ 2 K 25 (cf. שַׂר הַטּ׳ in Gn \[JE\]); also †רַב הַחֹבֵל Jon 1:6 chief of the sailors, i.e. captain; †in gen. כָּל־רַב בֵּיתוֹ Est 1:8, †רַב־סָרִיסָיו Dn 1:3 (v. סָרִיס), and so רַבֵּי מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל Je 39:13, רַבֵּי הַמֶּלֶךְ 41:1 (late gloss; om. 𝔊 and ‖ 2 K 25:25, so Hi Gf Gie). †The foll. titles of Assyrian-Bab. officers are prob. loan-words in Heb.: רַב־מָ֑ג Je 39:3, 13 usually chief soothsayer (v. מָ֑ג), but = rab-mugi \[? chief of princes\] Pinches Hast. DB. Rab-mag; רַב־סָרִיס (cf. Old Aramaic \[Nineveh\] רב סרס Lzb366), 2 K 18:17 (Assyrian; not in ‖ Is 36:2), Je 39:3, 13 (Bab.), usually chief eunuch, but = rabû-ša-rêši, chief of the heads (the principal men) Wkl Unters. z. altor. Gesch., 1889, Excurs. v, p. 138 (actually found as rubû-ša-ri-ešu PinchesAcad. June 25, 1892, 618), PinchesHast. DB. Rab-saris; רַב־שָׁקֵה (van d. H. רַבְשָׁקֵה) chief of the officers (?) (so prob. Assyrian rab- ŠAḲ; šaḳû = high one; COT 2 K 18:17 KBii. 23 DlHWB 685a TieleBab.-Assyrian Gesch. 497. 513 PinchesHast. DB. iv. 191), 2 K 18:17, 19, 26, 27, 28, 37; 19:4, 8 = Is 36:2, 4, 11, 12, 13, 22; 37:4, 8.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 7 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses (18 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (13 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «רַב» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/lemma_3a_5e8_5b7_5d1/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[2 Kings 25:10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/2KI.25.10/)

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וְאֶת־חוֹמֹ֥ת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם סָבִ֑יב נָֽתְצוּ֙ כָּל־חֵ֣יל כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר רַב־טַבָּחִֽים׃

*Word for word:* and (et) the.walls of.Jerusalem all.around they.pulled.down all the.army of.\[the\].Chaldeans which \[was.the\].chief of.\[the\].bodyguards

*JPS 1917:* And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

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[2 Kings 25:12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/2KI.25.12/)

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וּמִדַּלַּ֣ת הָאָ֔רֶץ הִשְׁאִ֖יר רַב־טַבָּחִ֑ים לְכֹֽרְמִ֖ים וּלְיֹגְבִֽים׃

*Word for word:* and some of.the.poor of the.land he.left.behind \[the\].chief of.\[the\].bodyguards to vinedressers and to husbandmen

*JPS 1917:* But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

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