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The Blue Letter Bible

Lexicon :: Strong's H157 - 'āhaḇ

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אָהַב
Transliteration
'āhaḇ
Pronunciation
aw-hav'
Listen
Part of Speech
verb
Root Word (Etymology)
A primitive root
Dictionary Aids

TWOT Reference: 29

Strong’s Definitions

אָהַב ʼâhab, aw-hab'; or אָהֵב ʼâhêb ; a primitive root; to have affection for (sexually or otherwise):—(be-) love(-d, -ly, -r), like, friend.


KJV Translation Count — Total: 208x

The KJV translates Strong's H157 in the following manner: love (169x), lover(s) (19x), friend(s) (12x), beloved (5x), liketh (1x), lovely (1x), loving (1x).

KJV Translation Count — Total: 208x
The KJV translates Strong's H157 in the following manner: love (169x), lover(s) (19x), friend(s) (12x), beloved (5x), liketh (1x), lovely (1x), loving (1x).
  1. to love

    1. (Qal)

      1. human love for another, includes family, and sexual

      2. human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sleep, wisdom

      3. human love for or to God

      4. act of being a friend

        1. lover (participle)

        2. friend (participle)

      5. God's love toward man

        1. to individual men

        2. to people Israel

        3. to righteousness

    2. (Niphal)

      1. lovely (participle)

      2. loveable (participle)

    3. (Piel)

      1. friends

      2. lovers (fig. of adulterers)

  2. to like

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
אָהַב ʼâhab, aw-hab'; or אָהֵב ʼâhêb ; a primitive root; to have affection for (sexually or otherwise):—(be-) love(-d, -ly, -r), like, friend.
STRONGS H157: Abbreviations
אָהֵב 216 verb love
Qal Perfect אָהֵ֑ב Genesis 27:9 + 7 times; אָשֵהבּ Genesis 27:14; אָהַב Genesis 37:3 + 3 times; אֲֵֽֽֽהבָךָ Deuteronomy 15:16; 3rd person feminine singular אָֽהֲבָה Songs 1:7 +, etc.; Imperfect (־הָ֑ב) יֶאֱהַב Proverbs 3:12 +; 1st person singular אֵהָ֑ב Proverbs 8:17 (compare Ew§ 192 d Ges§ 68. 1); וָֽאֹהַב Malachi 1:2; וָאֹהֲבֵהוּ Hosea 11:1; אֹהֲבֵם Hosea 14:5; וָאֹהֲבֵם Psalm 119:167; 2nd person masculine plural תְּאֵהֲבוּ Proverbs 1:22 (compare KöI p. 394 Ges§ 63 R 2); תֶּאֱהָ֑בוּ Zechariah 8:17; תָּאֱהָבוּן Psalm 4:3; Imperative אֱהַב־ Hosea 3:1; אֱהָבֶהָ Proverbs 4:6; אֶהֱבוּ Psalm 31:24; Amos 5:15; אֱהָ֑בוּ Zechariah 8:19; Infinitive construct אֱהֹב Ecclesiastes 3:8; אַהֲבָה Deuteronomy 10:12 +; אֲהֲבַת Micah 6:8 + etc.; compare also below n. אהבה below; Participle אֹהֵב (אוֺהֵב) Deuteronomy 10:18 + 26 times; feminine construct אֲהֻבַת Hosea 3:1 is probably active compare BaNB 174 ff; suffix אֹהֲבִי Isaiah 41:8 etc.; feminine אֹהֶ֫בֶת Genesis 25:28; אֹהַ֫בְתִּי Hosea 10:11 etc.; Passive participle אָהוּב Nehemiah 13:26; אֲהוּבָה Deuteronomy 21:15 (twice in verse); Deuteronomy 21:16. — love (mostly with accusative, followed by לְ + object Leviticus 19:18, 34; 2 Chronicles 19:2 (late), followed by בְּ Ecclesiastes 5:9; absolute Ecclesiastes 3:8 & see below), (affection both pure & impure, divine & human); —
1. human love to human object; absolute, opposed to hate שָׂנֵא Ecclesiastes 3:8; of love to son Genesis 22:2; Genesis 25:28; Genesis 37:3, 4; Genesis 44:20 (JE) Proverbs 13:24; so also 2 Samuel 13:21 Greek Version of the LXX Ew Th We, compare Dr, of David's loving Amnon; never to parent, but mother-in-law Ruth 4:15; of man's love to woman; wife Genesis 24:67; Genesis 29:20, 30 (compare Genesis 29:18):32 (JE), also Deuteronomy 21:15 (twice in verse); Deuteronomy 21:16; Judges 14:16; 1 Samuel 1:5; 2 Chronicles 11:21; Esther 2:17; Hosea 3:1; Ecclesiastes 9:9; but also Genesis 34:3 (J) Judges 16:4, 15; 2 Samuel 13:1, 4, 15 (where of carnal desire) 1 Kings 11:1 compare 1 Kings 11:2; Hosea 3:1; רֵעַ א׳ loving a paramour, see BaNB 176; woman's love to man 1 Samuel 18:20 (so 1 Samuel 18:28 MT, but read וְבִי כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֹהֵב אֹתוֺ Greek Version of the LXX We Dr) Songs 1:3, 4, 7; Songs 3:1, 2, 3, 4 (5 times subject נַפְשִׁי); compare also figurative of adulterous Judah Jeremiah 2:25; Isaiah 57:8; Ezekiel 16:37; of love of slave to master Exodus 21:5 (JE) Deuteronomy 15:16; inferior to superior 1 Samuel 18:22 compare 1 Samuel 18:16; love to neighbour Leviticus 19:18 (וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֺ֑ךָ), particularly to stranger Leviticus 19:34 (both P), Deuteronomy 10:18, 19; love of friend to friend 1 Samuel 16:21; 1 Samuel 18:1, 3; 1 Samuel 20:17 (twice in verse); Job 19:19; Proverbs 17:1 compare 2 Samuel 19:7 (twice in verse); 2 Chronicles 19:2; see also Proverbs 9:8; Proverbs 16:13; compare Proverbs 15:12; see especially Participle below.
2. less often of appetite, object food, Genesis 27:7, 9, 14 (JE); drink Hosea 3:1; Proverbs 21:17; husbandry 2 Chronicles 26:10; compare figurative of Ephraim Hosea 10:11 followed by infinitive; length of life Psalm 34:13; of cupidity Hosea 9:1; 1 Samuel 1:23; Ecclesiastes 5:9 (twice in verse); of love of sleep Proverbs 20:13 compare figurative of sluggish watchmen (followed by infinitive) Isaiah 56:10; also with object abstract wisdom (personified), knowledge, righteousness, etc. Proverbs 4:6; Proverbs 8:17, 21; Proverbs 12:1; Proverbs 22:11; Proverbs 29:3; Amos 5:15; Micah 6:8 (infinitive || infinitives) Zechariah 8:19, compare Proverbs 19:8 קֹנֶה לֵב אֹהֵב נַפְשׁוֺ; object folly, evil, etc., Micah 3:2; Micah 4:3; Psalm 11:5; Psalm 52:5; Psalm 52:6; Psalm 109:17; Proverbs 1:22; Proverbs 8:36; Proverbs 17:19 (twice in verse), compare Proverbs 18:21; Zechariah 8:17, compare כֵּן א׳ Amos 4:5; Jeremiah 5:3, followed by Infinitive Hosea 12:8; Jeremiah 14:10, especially of idolatry Hosea 4:13 (where strike out הֵבוּ compare Kö1. p. 395) Jeremiah 8:2.
3. love to God Exodus 20:6 (JE) elsewhere Hexateuch only Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 7:9 + 9 times Deuteronomy + Joshua 22:5; Joshua 23:11; also Judges 5:31; 1 Kings 3:3; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4; especially in (late) Psalm 31:24; Psalm 116:1; Psalm 145:20, but usually followed by name, law, etc. of י׳ Psalm 5:12; Psalm 26:8; Psalm 40:17; Psalm 69:37; Psalm 70:5; Psalm 97:10; Psalm 119:47 + 11 times Psalm 119; compare Isaiah 56:6; compare also of love to Jerusalem Isaiah 66:10; Psalm 122:6.
4. especially Participle אֹהֵב =
(a) lover, Lamentations 1:2 (figurative of Jerusalem);
(b) friend Hiram of David 1 Kings 5:15, compare Jeremiah 20:4, 6; Esther 5:10, 14; Esther 6:13; Psalm 38:12 (|| רֵעַ) so Psalm 88:19 [Psalm 88:18], Proverbs 14:20; also Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 27:6; Abraham of God Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7.
5. of divine love...
Niph. Participle plural הַנֶּאֱהָבִים 2 Samuel 1:23 lovely, loveable of Saul & Jonath. (|| הַנְּעִימִם).
Pi. Participle plural suffix (־בָ֑י) מְאַהֲבַי Hosea 2:7 + 3 times; (־בָ֑יִח) מְאַהֲבַיִח Jeremiah 22:20 + 6 times; מְאַהֲבֶיהָ Hosea 2:9 + 4 times
1. friends Zechariah 13:6;
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com

BLB Scripture Index of Brown-Driver-Briggs

Genesis

22:2; 24:67; 25:28; 25:28; 27:7; 27:9; 27:9; 27:14; 27:14; 29:18; 29:20; 29:30; 34:3; 37:3; 37:3; 37:4; 44:20

Exodus

20:6; 21:5

Leviticus

19:18; 19:18; 19:34; 19:34

Deuteronomy

4:37; 5:10; 6:5; 7:8; 7:9; 7:13; 10:12; 10:18; 10:18; 10:19; 15:16; 15:16; 21:15; 21:15; 21:16; 21:16; 23:6

Joshua

22:5; 23:11

Judges

5:31; 14:16; 16:4; 16:15

Ruth

4:15

1 Samuel

1:5; 1:23; 16:21; 18:1; 18:3; 18:16; 18:20; 18:22; 18:28; 20:17

2 Samuel

1:23; 12:24; 13:1; 13:4; 13:15; 13:21; 19:7

1 Kings

3:3; 5:15; 10:9; 11:1; 11:2

2 Chronicles

2:10; 9:8; 11:21; 19:2; 19:2; 20:7; 26:10

Nehemiah

1:5; 13:26; 13:26

Esther

2:17; 5:10; 5:14; 6:13

Job

19:19

Psalms

4:3; 5:12; 11:5; 11:7; 26:8; 31:24; 31:24; 33:5; 34:13; 37:28; 38:12; 40:17; 45:8; 47:5; 52:5; 52:6; 70:5; 78:68; 87:2; 88:18; 97:10; 99:4; 109:17; 116:1; 119; 119:47; 119:167; 122:6; 145:20; 146:8

Proverbs

1:22; 1:22; 3:12; 3:12; 4:6; 4:6; 8:17; 8:17; 8:21; 8:36; 9:8; 12:1; 13:24; 14:20; 15:9; 15:12; 16:13; 17:1; 17:19; 18:21; 18:24; 19:8; 20:13; 21:17; 22:11; 27:6; 29:3

Ecclesiastes

3:8; 3:8; 3:8; 5:9; 5:9; 9:9

Song of Songs

1:3; 1:4; 1:7; 1:7; 3:1; 3:2; 3:3; 3:4

Isaiah

41:8; 41:8; 43:4; 48:14; 56:6; 56:10; 57:8; 61:8; 66:10

Jeremiah

2:25; 5:3; 8:2; 14:10; 20:4; 20:6; 22:20; 22:20; 22:22; 30:14; 31:3

Lamentations

1:2; 1:19

Ezekiel

16:33; 16:36; 16:37; 16:37; 23:5; 23:9; 23:22

Daniel

9:4

Hosea

2:7; 2:7; 2:9; 2:9; 2:12; 2:14; 2:15; 3:1; 3:1; 3:1; 3:1; 3:1; 3:1; 4:13; 9:1; 9:15; 10:11; 10:11; 11:1; 11:1; 12:8; 14:5; 14:5

Amos

4:5; 5:15; 5:15

Micah

3:2; 4:3; 6:8; 6:8

Zechariah

8:17; 8:17; 8:19; 8:19; 13:6

Malachi

1:2; 1:2; 2:11

Word / Phrase / Strong's Search

Strong's Number H157 matches the Hebrew אָהַב ('āhaḇ),
which occurs 211 times in 195 verses in the WLC Hebrew.

Page 4 / 4 (Isa 56:6–Mal 2:11)

Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 56:6 -

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,

To attend to His service and to love H157 the name of the LORD,

To be His servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it,

And holds firmly to My covenant;

Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 56:10 -

His watchmen are blind,

All of them know nothing.

All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,

Dreamers lying down, who love H157 to slumber;

Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 57:8 -

“Behind the door and the doorpost

You have set up your sign;

Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,

And have gone up and made your bed wide.

And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,

You have loved H157 their bed,

You have looked at their [fn]manhood.

Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 61:8 -

For I, the LORD, love H157 justice,

I hate robbery [fn]in the burnt offering;

And I will faithfully give them their reward,

And make an everlasting covenant with them.

Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 66:10 -

“Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love H157 her;

Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 2:25 -

“Keep your feet from being bare,

And your throat from thirst;

But you said, ‘It is [fn]hopeless!

No! For I have loved H157 strangers,

And I will walk after them.’

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 5:31 -

The prophets prophesy falsely,

And the priests rule [fn]on their own authority;

And My people love H157 it this way!

But what will you do [fn]when the end comes?

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 8:2 - “They will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the heavenly [fn]lights, which they have loved H157, which they have served, which they have followed, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered nor buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 14:10 -

This is what the LORD says to this people: “So much they have loved H157 to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account.”

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 20:4 - “For this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am going to make you a horror to yourself and to all your friends H157; and while your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will take them away as exiles to Babylon and will kill them with the sword.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 20:6 - ‘And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your friends H157 to whom you have falsely prophesied.’”
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 22:20 -

“Go up to Lebanon and cry out,

And raise your voice in Bashan;

Cry out also from Abarim,

For all your lovers H157 have been crushed.

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 22:22 -

“The wind will sweep away all your shepherds,

And your lovers H157 will go into captivity;

Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated

Because of all your wickedness.

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 30:14 -

‘All your lovers H157 have forgotten you,

They do not seek you;

For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,

With the punishment of a cruel one,

Because your wrongdoing is great,

And your sins are numerous.

Unchecked Copy BoxJer 31:3 -

The LORD appeared to [fn]him [fn]long ago, saying,

“I have loved H157 you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness.

Unchecked Copy BoxLam 1:2 -

She weeps bitterly in the night,

And her tears are on her cheeks;

She has no one to comfort her

Among all her lovers H157.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

They have become her enemies.

Unchecked Copy BoxLam 1:19 -

“I called to my lovers H157, but they deserted me;

My priests and my elders perished in the city

While they sought food to restore their [fn]strength themselves.

Unchecked Copy BoxEze 16:33 - Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you give your gifts to all your lovers H157 and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 16:36 - This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers H157 and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to [fn]idols,
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 16:37 - therefore, behold, I am going to gather all your lovers H157 whom you pleased, all those whom you loved H157 as well as all those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 23:5 -

“Oholah prostituted herself [fn]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers H157, after the Assyrians, her neighbors,

Unchecked Copy BoxEze 23:9 - “Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers H157, to the [fn]Assyrians, after whom she lusted.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 23:22 -

“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord [fn]GOD says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers H157 against you, from whom [fn]you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:

Unchecked Copy BoxDan 9:4 - I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love H157 Him and keep His commandments,
Unchecked Copy BoxHos 2:5 -

“For their mother has committed prostitution;

She who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers H157,

Who give me my bread and my water,

My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 2:7 -

“And she will pursue her lovers H157, but she will not reach them;

And she will seek them, but will not find them.

Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,

Because it was better for me then than now!’

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 2:10 -

“So now I will uncover her [fn]lewdness

Before the eyes of her lovers H157,

And no one will rescue her from My hand.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 2:12 -

“And I will destroy her vines and fig trees,

Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitution

Which my lovers H157 have given me.’

And I will turn them into a forest,

And the animals of the field will devour them.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 2:13 -

“I will punish her for the days of the Baals

When she used to [fn]offer sacrifices to them

And adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,

And follow her lovers H157, so that she forgot Me,” declares the LORD.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 3:1 -

Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love H157 [fn]a woman who is loved H157 by her [fn]husband, yet is committing adultery, as the LORD loves H157 the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love H157 [fn]raisin cakes.”

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 4:18 -

Their liquor is gone,

They prostitute themselves continually;

[fn]Their [fn]rulers dearly H157 love H157 shame.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 9:1 -

Do not rejoice, Israel, [fn]with jubilation like the [fn]nations!

For you have been unfaithful, [fn]abandoning your God.

You have loved H157 the earnings of unfaithfulness on [fn]every threshing floor.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 9:10 -

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;

I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.

But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to [fn]shame,

And they became as detestable as that which they loved H157.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 10:11 -

Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves H157 to thresh,

[fn]And I passed over her lovely neck;

I will harness Ephraim,

Judah will plow, Jacob will [fn]harrow for himself.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 11:1 -

When Israel was a youth I loved H157 him,

And out of Egypt I called My son.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 12:7 -

A [fn]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent balances,

Loves H157 to exploit.

Unchecked Copy BoxHos 14:4 -

I will heal their apostasy,

I will love H157 them freely,

Because My anger has turned away from them.

Unchecked Copy BoxAmo 4:5 -

[fn]Offer a thanksgiving offering also from that which is leavened,

And proclaim [fn]voluntary offerings, make them known.

For so you love H157 to do, you sons of Israel,”

Declares the Lord GOD.

Unchecked Copy BoxAmo 5:15 -

Hate evil, love H157 good,

And establish justice in the [fn]gate!

Perhaps the LORD God of armies

Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Unchecked Copy BoxMic 3:2 -

“You who hate good and love H157 evil,

Who tear off their skin from them

And their flesh from their bones,

Unchecked Copy BoxZec 8:17 - ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love H157 [fn]perjury; for all these things are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.”
Unchecked Copy BoxZec 8:19 - “The LORD of armies says this: ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, jubilation, and [fn]cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so love H157 truth and peace.’
Unchecked Copy BoxZec 13:6 - “And someone will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your [fn]arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of [fn]my friends H157.’
Unchecked Copy BoxMal 1:2 -

“I have loved H157 you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved H157 us?” “Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved H157 Jacob;

Unchecked Copy BoxMal 2:11 - Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD [fn]which He loves H157, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

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Genesis Chapter 1 — Additional Translations: