H2077 H2077
A sacrifice, animal offering slaughtered in worship; the most common and ancient Israelite cultic offering.
The foundational sacrifice word in the Hebrew Bible, denoting an animal slaughtered as a communal offering whose flesh was eaten at a sacred meal. Distinguished from the whole burnt offering (עֹלָה) and the grain offering (מִנְחָה), the זֶבַח was the original shared feast between worshipers and God—God receiving the blood and fat, the people eating the meat. From Jacob's sacrifice at Mizpah (Gen 31:54) to the peace offerings of Leviticus, this word runs through Israel's entire worship life. German Schlachtopfer ('slaughter-offering') uniquely preserves the etymological connection to slaughtering that English 'sacrifice' obscures.
1. sacrifice (animal offering) — The primary sense: an animal sacrifice offered in worship, whether to the Lord or to other gods. This encompasses the full range of grammatical forms—singular, plural, construct chains ('sacrifice of peace offerings'), prepositional phrases ('with a sacrifice'), and possessive constructions ('his sacrifice'). It covers fellowship offerings (Lev 3:1), votive offerings (Lev 7:16), and even sacrifices to idols (Deut 32:38). Spanish sacrificio, French sacrifice, and German Opfer/Schlachtopfer all render this consistently across all contexts. 160×
AR["بِذَبِيحَةٍ","ذَبيحَة","ذَبيحَةً","ذَبِيحَةً","ذَبِيحَةً-","ذَبِيحَةٌ","ذَبِيحَةٍ","لِأَنَّ"]·ben["একটি-বলিদান","বলি","বলি।","বলিদান","বলির","যজ্ঞ","যজ্ঞের"]·DE["Opfer","ein-Opfer","ein-Schlachtopfer"]·EN["a-sacrifice","sacrifice"]·FR["Zébah","sacrifice","un-sacrifice"]·heb["זבח"]·HI["जेवख","बलि","बलि-का","बलि-के","बलिदान"]·ID["korban","korban-","korban-sembelihan","persembahan"]·IT["sacrificare","sacrificio","un-sacrificio"]·jav["Gusti Allah","ginjel","kanthi-korban","kurban","kurban-","kurban-sembelehan","kurban-sembelihan","kurban-sembelèhan","sembelihan","sesaosan","sèmbèlèhan"]·KO["제물","제물-을","제물을","제사","제사-를","제사-의","제사가","제사를","제사와","큰-제사","희생"]·PT["sacrifício","sacrifício-"]·RU["жертва","жертве","жертвой","жертву","жертву-","жертву;","жертвы","заклание"]·ES["con-sacrificio","sacrificio"]·SW["dhabihu","mbele-ya","ya-dhabihu"]·TR["kurban","kurban-","kurban-ile","kurbanın"]·urd["ذبیحہ","قربانی","قربانی-کا","قربانی-کے"]
Gen 31:54, Exod 34:25, Lev 3:1, Lev 4:10, Lev 4:26, Lev 4:31, Lev 7:11, Lev 7:12, Lev 7:13, Lev 7:15, Lev 7:16, Lev 7:18 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. sense 2 — In Proverbs 17:1 ('Better a dry morsel with peace than a house full of sacrifices-of strife'), the construct form 'sacrifices of' carries a contrastive, almost ironic nuance—abundant sacrificial feasting that is ruined by conflict. The sense remains 'sacrifice' but the proverbial context gives it a negative valence, highlighting how ritual abundance without relational harmony is worthless. 1×
AR["ذَبائِحَ-"]·ben["বলিদানের"]·DE["Opfer"]·EN["sacrifices-of"]·FR["sacrifice"]·heb["זבחי־"]·HI["बलियों"]·ID["korban-korban"]·IT["sacrificio"]·jav["kurban-saking"]·KO["제물-들과-"]·PT["sacrifícios-de-"]·RU["жертв-"]·ES["sacrificios-de"]·SW["karamu"]·TR["kurbanlarla-"]·urd["قربانیوں-کی-"]
3. sense 3 — In Hosea 4:19 the form appears in a context of shameful idol worship ('the wind wraps them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed of their altars/sacrifices'). English 'of their altars' and Spanish 'de sus altares' suggest a metonymic extension where the sacrifices and the altar sites blend together, the word evoking not just the act of sacrifice but the entire illicit cultic apparatus associated with it. 1×
AR["مِن-مَذابِحِهِم"]·ben["তাদের-বেদীগুলি-থেকে"]·DE["Opfer"]·EN["of-their-altars"]·FR["sacrifice"]·heb["מ-זבחותם"]·HI["वेदियों-उनकी-से"]·ID["karena-mezbah-mezbah-mereka"]·IT["sacrificio"]·jav["saking-mesbeh"]·PT["de-sacrifícios-deles"]·RU["жертвенников-своих"]·ES["de-sus-altares"]·SW["kwa-madhabahu-zao"]·TR["kurbanlarından"]·urd["قربانیوں-اپنی-سے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. זֶ֫בַח162 n.m. Ju 16:23 sacrifice, ז׳ abs. Gn 31:54 +; cstr. Ex 34:25 +; זָ֑בַח Lv 17:8 + 16 times; sf. זִבְחוֹ Lv 7:16 Ez 34:15, זִבְחֲכֶם Lv 19:6; pl. זְבָחִים Gn 46:1 +; cstr. זִבְחֵי Lv 17:5 +; sf. 3 mpl. זִבְחֵיהֶם Lv 17:5, זְבָחֵימוֹ Dt 32:38, זִבְחוֹתָם †Ho 4:19 etc.;—the common and most ancient sacrifice, whose essential rite was eating the flesh of the victim at a feast in which the…