אֹ֫רֶךְ94 H0753
Length; spatial measurement or dimension; duration of time ('length of days'); forbearance, patience ('length of anger').
The Hebrew noun אֹרֶךְ appears almost exclusively in contexts of precise measurement — the length of the ark, the tabernacle curtains, the temple courts, Ezekiel's visionary city. Over 90 percent of its occurrences are architectural, forming part of the formulaic 'the length of X and the breadth of X' that structures Priestly and Ezekielian blueprints. Yet two metaphorical extensions deserve attention: אֹרֶךְ יָמִים ('length of days,' Ps 21:5; Prov 3:2, 16) promises longevity as divine blessing, while the rare אֹרֶךְ אַפַּיִם ('length of nostrils,' Prov 25:15) — rendered in Spanish as largura de ánimo and in German as Langmut — denotes patient forbearance, the slow expansion of breath before anger ignites.
Senses
1. spatial length, measurement — Physical length or spatial dimension of an object, overwhelmingly used for architectural and construction measurements (87 occurrences). This is the sense that pervades Exodus 25-27 (the tabernacle), 1 Kings 6-7 (Solomon's temple), and Ezekiel 40-48 (the visionary temple). The formulaic pairing with רֹחַב ('breadth') appears scores of times. Spanish longitud/largo, French longueur, and German Länge all translate this uniformly, confirming a stable, cross-linguistically basic dimensional term. 87×
AR["الطُّولُ", "طولاً", "طُولًا", "طُولُ", "طُولُهَا", "طُولُهُ", "طُولِ"]·ben["দৈর্ঘ্য"]·DE["Laenge"]·EN["length", "length-of"]·FR["[ארך]", "longueur"]·heb["אורך", "ארך"]·HI["लंबाई", "लम्बाई"]·ID["panjang", "panjangnya"]·IT["lunghezza"]·jav["dawa", "dawa-ning", "dawanipun", "dawanipun,"]·KO["길이", "길이-", "길이로", "길이와"]·PT["Comprimento-de", "comprimento", "comprimento-de"]·RU["длина", "длиной", "длины"]·ES["Longitud-de", "de-largo", "largo", "longitud", "longitud-de"]·SW["Urefu-wa", "urefu", "urefu-wa"]·TR["uzunluk", "uzunluğu", "uzunluğunun"]·urd["لمبائی"]
Exod 25:10, Exod 25:17, Exod 25:23, Exod 27:1, Exod 27:9, Exod 27:11, Exod 28:16, Exod 30:2, Exod 37:1, Exod 37:6, Exod 37:10, Exod 37:25 (+38 more)
2. duration, longevity — Temporal duration or longevity, appearing in the fixed phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים ('length of days'). In Psalm 21:5 the king receives 'length of days forever and ever,' and Proverbs 3:2, 16 promises that Wisdom's right hand holds 'length of days.' The metaphor maps spatial extent onto the time axis — a long life is a life stretched out. Korean 장수 (longevity) and Hindi दीर्घायु (long life) confirm that translators consistently reach for specialized temporal vocabulary here rather than spatial terms. 4×
AR["طُولَ", "طُولُ"]·ben["দীর্ঘ", "দীর্ঘতার-জন্য"]·DE["Laenge", "Länge-von"]·EN["for-length", "length-of"]·FR["[לארך]", "long"]·heb["אורך", "ל-אורך"]·HI["दीर्घायु", "लम्बाई", "लम्बाई-के-लिए"]·ID["Panjang", "panjang", "untuk-lamanya"]·IT["[לארך]", "length-di", "lungo"]·jav["dawaning", "kangge-dangunipun", "panjang"]·KO["길이-는", "길이-를", "길이-의"]·PT["Longura-de", "duração-de", "longura-de", "por-duração-de"]·RU["Долгота", "долготу", "на-долготу"]·ES["Largura-de", "largura-de", "por-largos"]·SW["Urefu-wa", "kwa-muda-mrefu", "urefu-wa"]·TR["uzunluğu", "uzunluğuna", "uzunluğunu"]·urd["طوالت", "لمبائی", "لمبے"]
3. forbearance, patient endurance — Figurative forbearance, patience, or self-restraint, found in the expression אֹרֶךְ אַפַּיִם ('length of nostrils/anger,' Prov 25:15) and in contexts like Psalm 91:16 and 93:5 where enduring divine presence is in view. The body metaphor is vivid: patience is the slow, extended breath before the nose flares in anger. French long (patience) and German Langmut capture this compound sense. Only a handful of occurrences, but lexicographically distinctive as an idiom frozen from the spatial root. 4×
AR["بِ-طُولِ", "طُولَ", "لِطُولِ"]·ben["-দীর্ঘ-", "দীর্ঘ", "দীর্ঘকাল", "দীর্ঘকালের-জন্য"]·DE["Laenge", "für-Länge-von", "mit-Länge-von"]·EN["by-length-of", "for-length-of", "with-length-of"]·FR["dans-long", "long", "à-long"]·heb["אורך", "ב-אורך", "ל-אורך"]·HI["के-लिए-दीर्घता", "दीर्घता", "लंबाई-से", "ले-लम्बाई"]·ID["Dengan-kesabaran", "Panjang", "untuk-panjang"]·IT["in-da-length-di", "lungo"]·jav["Dawah", "ing-dawah", "kalayan-sabar", "kanggé-panjang"]·KO["-의-기이", "긴", "오래-"]·PT["Com-longanimidade-de", "Com-longura-de", "para-longura-de", "por-longos"]·RU["долготерпением", "долготой", "на-долготу"]·ES["Con-largura-de", "Largura-de", "por-largura-de"]·SW["Urefu-wa", "kwa-urefu-wa", "kwa-uvumilivu"]·TR["sabırla", "uzun", "uzunluğu-boyunca", "uzunluğuna-"]·urd["-لمبائی-تک", "صبر-سے", "لمبائی-تک", "لمبی"]
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×)H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אֹ֫רֶךְ94 n.[m.] length—only sg., א׳ abs. Ex 27:1 +; cstr. Gn 6:15; אָרְכּוֹ Ex 25:10 +; אָרְכָּם 2 Ch 3:11; אָרְכָּן Ez 42:11, etc.— a. length of ark Gn 6:15 (P), of land of Canaan 13:17 (J); most often of ark & other measurements in tabernacle & temple Ex 25:10, 17; 26:2, 8; 27:1, 9 + (22 times Ex, P), 1 K 6:2, 3, 20 + (13 times K & Ch), Ez 40:7, 11, 18 + (41 times Ez), etc. b. of time א׳…