H0750 H0750
Long, slow (of anger); long-suffering, patient — adjective describing forbearance or physical extent
The adjective אָרֵךְ appears almost exclusively in the construct phrase אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם, literally 'long of nostrils,' the Hebrew idiom for patience or slowness to anger. This phrase is the backbone of one of Scripture's most foundational theological formulas: 'The LORD, the LORD, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness' (Exod 34:6). Repeated in Joel, Jonah, Nahum, and multiple Psalms, it becomes the defining portrait of God's character. Outside this idiomatic usage, אָרֵךְ appears twice in its straightforward physical sense — 'long of pinion' (Ezek 17:3) and 'patient of spirit' (Eccl 7:8).
Senses
1. slow (of anger), long-suffering — Slow to anger, long-suffering, patient — the overwhelmingly dominant use, occurring 13 times in the construct phrase אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם (literally 'long of nostrils,' since the nose was the seat of anger in Hebrew anthropology). This is the standard divine epithet in the great theophanic formula first revealed at Sinai (Exod 34:6) and echoed across the canon: Num 14:18, Neh 9:17, Ps 86:15, 103:8, 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Nah 1:3. Multilingual glosses converge on patience vocabulary — Spanish 'lento de,' English 'slow' — confirming a single unified sense. When applied to humans (Prov 14:29, 15:18, 16:32), it describes the wise person who restrains anger, contrasted with the short-tempered (קְצַר רוּחַ). 13×
AR["بَطِيءُ","بِ-طُولِ","طَويلُ","طَوِيلُ","طَوِيلُ-","وَ-طَويلُ"]·ben["এবং-দীর্ঘ-","দীর্ঘ","দীর্ঘ-","ধীর"]·DE["[ארך]","[וארך]","[לארך]","langsam-von","slow","slow-of"]·EN["but-one-slow","in-length-of","slow","slow-of","slow-to","slowness-of"]·FR["[ארך]","[לארך]","et-וארך","longueur","patient","slow-de","ארך"]·heb["אֶרֶךְ","ארך","ו-ארך","ל-ארוך"]·HI["और-दीर्घ","के-दीर्घता","दीर्घ","धीमा","धीरज"]·ID["Panjang","dalam-kesabaran","panjang","panjang-","sabar","tetapi-yang-panjang"]·IT["[ארך]","[לארך]","e-ma-one-slow","lunghezza","paziente","slow-di","slowness-di"]·jav["dangu","dangu-dhateng-","dawa","ing-kasabaranipun","lan-dangu","panjang","sabar"]·KO["그러나-더딘-","길음-은","노하기를-더디하는-것이","느리다","느리시고","느리시다","느리시며","느리신","느린","당신의-오래-참음-으로","더디신"]·PT["Longo-de","e-lento-de","lento","lento-de","lento-de-","longo","longo-de","longo-de-","por-longanimidade-de","tardio","tardio-de"]·RU["а-долгий","долгий","долготерпелив","долготерпеливый","по-долготерпению"]·ES["Lento-de","lento","lento-de","lento-de-","por-tardanza-de","y-lento-de"]·SW["katika-uvumilivu-wako","lakini-mwenye-uvumilivu","mwenye","mwenye-kusubiri","mwenye-subira","mwenye-uvumilivu","mwepesi-wa-hasira","si-mwepesi-wa"]·TR["sabırlı","uzun","uzunluğunda-","ve-uzun","yavaş","yavaş-"]·urd["اور-صبر","دیر","دیری-سے","صبر","طویل","غضب-میں-دیر"]
Exod 34:6, Num 14:18, Neh 9:17, Ps 86:15, Ps 103:8, Ps 145:8, Prov 14:29, Prov 15:18, Prov 16:32, Jer 15:15, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2 (+1 more)
2. long (of physical extent) — Long in the physical or spatial sense, describing extent or dimension. In Ezek 17:3, the great eagle is אֶרֶךְ הָאֵבֶר, 'long of pinion,' a vivid metaphor for Nebuchadnezzar's imperial reach. In Eccl 7:8, אֶרֶךְ רוּחַ ('long of spirit') bridges physical and temperamental length, meaning patient endurance. Spanish 'largo de' and English 'long of' confirm the spatial-dimensional reading, distinct from the anger-idiom of sense 1. 2×
AR["أَفْضَلُ","طَوِيلُ"]·ben["দীর্ঘ","দীর্ঘ-"]·DE["Laenge","[ארך]"]·EN["long-of","long-of-"]·FR["longueur","ארך"]·heb["אורך-","ארוך"]·HI["लंबे","लम्बी-"]·ID["panjang"]·IT["long-of","lunghezza"]·jav["dawa","sabar-"]·KO["길다","김-"]·PT["longa-de-","é-paciência-de"]·RU["длинный-","долгота-"]·ES["larga-de","largo-de"]·SW["ndefu","uvumilivu-wa"]·TR["uzun","uzunlugu"]·urd["صبر","لمبے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [אָרֵךְ] adj. long—only cstr. אֶ֫רֶךְ Ex 34:6 + 14 times—א׳ הָאֵבֶר long of pinion Ez 17:3 (‖ גְּדוֹל הַכְּנָפַיִם) of eagle, in metaph.; elsewhere always of feelings, as subst. Ec 7:8 א׳ רוּחַ the patient of spirit (opp. גְּבַהּ ר׳); א׳ אַפַּיִם one slow to anger Pr 14:29 (opp. קְצַר־רוּחַ), so 15:18 (opp. אִישׁ חֵמָה), 16:32 (‖ מֹשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ); more often of י׳, א׳ אַפַּיִם, Ex 34:6 רַחוּם…