H2052 H2052
Waheb, an unknown place name in Numbers 21:14, part of a fragmentary quotation from the 'Book of YHWH's Wars'
This appears in one of Scripture's most tantalizing fragments: a quotation from the otherwise lost 'Book of the Wars of YHWH.' The text is broken—apparently a verb has dropped out—and Waheb's location is unknown. Ancient versions transliterate without explanation. Modern attempts to identify it with Sahidic topography or to emend the text to 'gold' (זָהָב) remain speculative. We possess a name severed from its context, a fossil from ancient Israelite poetry.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All four languages simply transliterate: Spanish 'Vaheb,' English 'Waheb,' French 'Waheb,' German 'Waheb.' The unanimous choice to preserve the Hebrew form reflects scholarly humility: we don't know what or where Waheb was. Numbers 21:14 preserves ancient battle poetry celebrating YHWH's victories in the wilderness, but the fragmentary preservation means the geographical reference remains opaque to modern readers. 1×
AR["وَاهَبَ"]·ben["বাহেব"]·DE["Waheb"]·EN["Waheb"]·FR["Waheb"]·heb["והב"]·HI["वाहेब"]·ID["Waheb"]·IT["Waheb"]·jav["Waheb"]·KO["와헵-을"]·PT["Vahev"]·RU["Вахев"]·ES["Vaheb"]·SW["Wahebu"]·TR["Vahev'i"]·urd["واہیب"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† וָהֵב appar. n.pr.loc., אֶת־וָהֵב בְּסוּפָה Nu 21:14, obj. of a vb. now lost out of the text (cf. RV & especially Di VB) situation unknown; 𝔊 Ζωοβ, Ζοοβ; so LagBN 54 Say Ac. Oct. 22, 1892 (זָהָב).