H2100 H2100
To flow or gush; used of water, a land flowing with milk and honey, bodily discharges in purity law, and figuratively of wasting away.
Zûv captures liquid in motion — water gushing from a smitten rock (Ps 78:20; 105:41), milk and honey flowing from a promised land, or the bodily discharges that define ritual impurity in Leviticus 15. The famous phrase ʾereṣ zāvat ḥālāv ûdĕvash ('a land flowing with milk and honey') accounts for many occurrences and paints abundance as overflow. In purity legislation, the substantivized participle zāv ('one who has a discharge') becomes almost a technical noun — the person defined by their flow. Arabic dhāba ('to melt, dissolve, flow') and Aramaic dûv illuminate the figurative extension in Lam 4:9, where the wounded 'waste away' as life itself flows out.
Senses
1. to flow, gush out — To flow or gush out, especially of liquids in abundance. This covers both the poetic image of water gushing from a rock (Ps 78:20; Isa 48:21) and the celebrated formula 'a land flowing with milk and honey' (Exod 3:8, 17; Deut 6:3; and throughout). Spanish que-fluye/que-mana, French coulant, and German flowing all render this liquid abundance. The participle zāvat in the 'milk and honey' formula is feminine, agreeing with ʾereṣ ('land'), depicting the land itself as a source that overflows with blessing. 26×
AR["الْفَائِضَةِ","تَفيضُ","تَفِيضُ","فائِضَةً","فَائِضَةً"]·ben["প্রবাহিত","প্রবাহিত-হয়-যে","বইছে"]·DE["[זבת]","flowing","flowing-mit"]·EN["flowing","flowing-of","flowing-with"]·FR["[זבת]","coulant","coulant-avec","couler","flowing-avec"]·heb["זבת"]·HI["बहता","बहता-हुआ","बहती","बहती-वाली","बहती-हुई","बहती-है","बहने-वाला"]·ID["mengalir","yang-berlimpah","yang-mengalir"]·IT["[זבת]","flowing-con","fluente","fluente-con","scorrere"]·jav["ingkang-ilib","ingkang-mili","ingkang-mili-mawi","ingkang-milir","mili"]·KO["흐르는","흘르는"]·PT["fluindo","fluindo-de","fluindo-de-","manando","que-flui","que-mana"]·RU["молоком","текущая","текущей","текущую"]·ES["fluye","que-fluye","que-mana"]·SW["inayotiririka","itiririkayo"]·TR["akan"]·urd["بہتی","بہتی-ہوئی","بہتی-ہے","بہنے-والی"]
2. one having a bodily discharge — A substantivized participle (zāv) denoting a person suffering from an abnormal bodily emission — 'one who has a discharge.' This is nearly a technical legal term in Leviticus 15, where it defines a category of ritual impurity. French a-un-écoulement, Spanish con-flujo, and German mit-Ausfluss all render the clinical specificity. The zāv is subject to detailed purification regulations (Lev 15:2-15), making this participle function more like a noun than a verb form. 14×
AR["ال-سَائِلُ","ال-سَائِلِ","ذِي-سَيَلَانٍ","سَائِلٌ","وَ-ال-سَائِلُ"]·ben["এবং-সেই-স্রাবী","সেই-স্রাবী","সেই-স্রাবীর","স্রাবী"]·DE["der-eins-having-Ausfluss","eins-mit-Ausfluss","eins-mit-discharge","hat-ein-Ausfluss","having-Ausfluss","und-der-eins-having-Ausfluss"]·EN["and-the-one-having-discharge","has-a-discharge","having-discharge","one-with-discharge","the-one-having-discharge"]·FR["a-un-écoulement","et-le-un-having-écoulement","having-écoulement","le-un-having-écoulement","un-avec-discharge","un-avec-écoulement"]·heb["ה-זב","ו-ה-והזב","זב"]·HI["उसकी","पर-वह","बहने वाला","बहने वाले","बहनेवाला","में-वह","से-उसके शरीर","स्राव-वाला","स्रावी"]·ID["dan-yang-berleleran","leleran","yang-berleleran","yang-berpenyakit-kelamin","yang-lelehan"]·IT["e-il-uno-having-flusso","ha-un-flusso","having-flusso","il-uno-having-flusso","uno-con-discharge","uno-con-flusso"]·jav["ingkang-mili","kang-mili","lan-tiyang-ingkang-nguculaken","mili,","nguculaken","tiyang-ingkang-nguculaken"]·KO["그-흐르는-자-가","그-흐르는-자-의","그리고-흐르는-자-와","유출-있는","유출-있는-자","유출병-있는-자","흐르는-자"]·PT["com-fluxo","e-o-zav","fluindo","o-zav","que-tem-fluxo","zav"]·RU["и-истекающего","истекающего","истекающий"]·ES["con-flujo","el-que-fluye","flujo","que-fluye","y-el-que-fluye"]·SW["Zb","mwenye-kutoka","mwenye-maji-yanayotoka","na-maji-yanayotoka","na-mwenye-maji-yanayotoka"]·TR["akan","akıntılı","akıntılının","ve-akıntılı"]·urd["اور-جو-بہے","بہاؤ-والا","بہاؤ-والے-کا","بہاؤ-والے-کے","بہتا-ہوا","بہنے-والا","جریان"]
3. discharge, flow (nominal) — Nominal use referring to the discharge itself rather than the person experiencing it, attested in Lev 15:19 with a feminine possessive suffix (zôvāh, 'her discharge'). Spanish su-flujo, French sa-écoulement, and German ihr-Ausfluss all render this as a possessed noun. This sense narrows from the flowing person to the flowing substance, particularly menstrual or genital emission. 1×
AR["سَيَلَانُهَا"]·ben["তার-স্রাব"]·DE["ihr-Ausfluss"]·EN["her-discharge"]·FR["sa-écoulement"]·heb["זבה"]·HI["उसका स्राव"]·ID["lelerannya"]·IT["lei-flusso"]·jav["kucuranipun"]·KO["그녀-의-흐름-이"]·PT["fluxo-seu"]·RU["истечение-её"]·ES["su-flujo"]·SW["mtiririko-wake"]·TR["akıntısı"]·urd["اُس-کا-بہاؤ"]
4. to waste away, pine — Figurative extension meaning to waste away or pine, as of those whose life ebbs out like a flowing liquid. Attested in Lam 4:9, where those pierced by the sword fare better than those who 'waste away' from hunger — life draining slowly rather than gushing. The Arabic cognate dhāba ('to melt, dissolve') supports this metaphorical extension from physical flow to existential dissolution. 1×
AR["يَسِيلُونَ"]·ben["ক্ষয়-হয়ে-গেছে-তারা"]·DE["[יזובו]"]·EN["waste-away"]·FR["[יזובו]"]·heb["יזובו"]·HI["बहते-हैं"]·ID["merekapun-merana"]·IT["scorrere"]·jav["piyambakipun-sami-medal"]·KO["찔린"]·PT["eles"]·RU["истекали"]·ES["ellos-se-desvanecen"]·SW["wanadhoofika"]·TR["akarlar"]·urd["گھلتے-ہیں"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H???? 1. (4670×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [זוּב] vb. flow, gush (NH id., Aramaic דּוּב, דִּיב, ܕܳܒ, all used often in sense 4 infr.; Arabic ذَابَ (med. و) melt, dissolve, flow)—only Qal Impf. יָזוּב Lv 15:25 etc.; Pt. זָב Je 49:9 f. זָבָ֫ה Lv 15:19 etc.;— 1. flow, gush (poet.), of water from the smitten rock ψ 78:20 (‖ שָׁטַף), 105:41 (‖ הָלַךְ), Is 48:21 (‖ נָזַל). 2. Pt. freq. in זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבַשׁ (אֶרֶץ), mostly of promised land,…