Biblical Lexicon

דֶּ֫בֶר49 H1698

Prep-l | 49× in 1 sense

pestilence, plague — deadly epidemic disease, typically sent or threatened as divine judgment

Dever is the Hebrew Bible's word for catastrophic epidemic, appearing 49 times as one of God's most feared instruments of covenant enforcement. It forms a terrifying triad with sword and famine — a formula repeated over sixteen times in Jeremiah alone (Jer 14:12; 21:7, 9) and echoed throughout Ezekiel (5:12; 6:11). The word first appears in Moses' warning to Pharaoh (Exod 5:3; 9:15), then punctuates the wilderness narratives (Num 14:12) and the Deuteronomic curses (Deut 28:21). David's choice of three days of pestilence over famine or military defeat (2 Sam 24:13-15) resulted in seventy thousand deaths — making dever the deadliest single event of his reign. The Arabic cognate dabr ('departure, death') illuminates the etymological connection between plague and perishing. All witness languages render it with cognate severity: Spanish 'pestilencia,' French 'peste,' German 'Pest.'

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Senses

1. pestilence, plague — Deadly epidemic disease understood as a divine instrument of judgment or covenantal punishment, frequently paired with sword (cherev) and famine (ra'av) in the prophetic formula of triple catastrophe (Jer 14:12; 21:7; Ezek 5:12). First threatened against Egypt (Exod 5:3; 9:3, 15), it recurs in wilderness warnings (Num 14:12), Deuteronomic curses (Deut 28:21), David's census judgment (2 Sam 24:13-15), Solomon's temple prayer (1 Kgs 8:37), and the personified plague marching before God in Habakkuk's theophany (Hab 3:5). Hosea 13:14 turns it into a rhetorical challenge: 'Where, O Death, are your plagues?' All 49 occurrences share this single pestilential sense. 49×

BODY_HEALTH › Physiological Processes and States › Plagues and Wounds

AR["الوَبَاءُ", "وَ-بِ-الْوَبَاءِ", "وَباءً", "وَبَأً", "وَبَاءً", "وَبَاءٌ", "وَبِالْوَبَاءِ"]·ben["-মহামারী", "আর-মহামারীতে", "এবং-মহামারিতে", "এবং-মহামারীতে", "ও-মহামারীতে", "মহামারী"]·DE["Pest", "pestilence", "plague", "redete", "und-in-Wort"]·EN["and-by-pestilence", "and-by-the-pestilence", "and-with-the-pestilence", "pestilence", "plague", "the-pestilence"]·FR["et-dans-peste", "il-a-parlé", "parole", "pestilence", "plague"]·heb["דֶּבֶר", "דבר", "ו-ב-דבר", "ו-ב-ה-דבר"]·HI["और-महामारी-से", "और-में-महामारी", "और-से-महामारी", "महामारी"]·ID["dan-dengan-penyakit-sampar", "dan-oleh-penyakit-sampar", "penyakit-sampar", "sampar", "wabah", "wabah,"]·IT["e-in-parola", "parola", "pestilence", "pestilenza", "piaga"]·jav["lan-déning-pageblug", "lan-kaliyan-pageblug", "lan-kanthi-pageblug", "pageblug", "pagebluk"]·KO["그리고-에-역병", "그리고-에-역병에", "그리고-역병-으로", "그리고-역병으로", "그리고-전염병에", "그리고-전염병으로", "역병", "역병과", "역병을", "역병이", "염병을", "염병이", "전염병-을", "전염병을"]·PT["e-com-pestilência", "e-pela-peste", "e-pela-pestilência", "peste"]·RU["и-мором", "и-от-мора", "и-от-моровой-язвы", "мор", "мору", "язву"]·ES["la-pestilencia", "peste", "pestilencia", "y-a-pestilencia", "y-con-la-peste", "y-por-la-peste", "y-por-la-pestilencia"]·SW["ikiwa", "na-kwa-tauni", "tauni"]·TR["kırgın", "salgn", "salgın", "ve-de-veba", "ve-salgınla", "ve-vebayla", "ve-vebayla-o", "veba"]·urd["اور-سے-وبا", "اور-وبا-سے", "وبا"]

Exod 5:3, Exod 9:3, Exod 9:15, Lev 26:25, Num 14:12, Deut 28:21, 2 Sam 24:13, 2 Sam 24:15, 1 Kgs 8:37, 1 Chr 21:12, 1 Chr 21:14, 2 Chr 6:28 (+37 more)

BDB / Lexicon Reference

דֶּ֫בֶר49 n.m. pestilence (cf. Arabic دَبْرٌ, إِدْبَارٌ, departure, death)—Ex 9:3 +; דָּ֑בֶר Hb 3:5; sf. דְּבָרֶיךָ Ho 13:14;— 1. plague, pestilence, in general Ex 5:3; 9:15 Nu 14:12 (J) Lv 26:25 (H) Dt 28:21, 2 S 24:13, 15 (+ v 15 a 𝔊 We Dr) = 1 Ch 21:12, 14, 1 K 8:37 = 2 Ch 6:28, 2 Ch 7:13; 20:9 ψ 91:3, 6 Je 14:12 + 16 times Je, Ez 5:12 + 11 times Ez, Ho 13:14 Am 4:10 Hb 3:5. Read וּבַדָּ֑בֶר,…