H2975 H2975
The Nile River (Egyptian loanword); by extension, any major river, stream, or irrigation canal.
Ye'or is one of the Bible's most striking loanwords — borrowed directly from Egyptian iotr/io'r ('watercourse'), surviving also in Coptic eiero. In its dominant use, it is simply the Nile: Pharaoh's dreams unfold 'by the ye'or' (Gen 41:1-3), and the plagues turn it to blood (Exod 7:20). Spanish el Rio, French le Nil, and Korean nail-gang all point to this singular great river. Yet the word also functions as a common noun for any major waterway — Ezekiel's Pharaoh boasts 'my ye'or' (29:3), and 2 Kings 19:24 speaks of 'the rivers (ye'orei) of Egypt' in a generic sense. In its most technical use, ye'or denotes the canals and irrigation channels of the Nile delta (Exod 7:19; Isa 19:6), reflecting Egypt's engineered hydrology.
2. river, stream — A common noun meaning 'river' or 'stream,' used with possessive suffixes or in plural to denote major waterways beyond the specific Nile channel. Ezekiel 29:3 has Pharaoh declaring 'my river,' and Psalm 78:44 recalls how God 'turned their rivers to blood' — Spanish los rios, German Fluesse, and Swahili mito all render the generic plural. This includes Isaiah 7:18's 'the rivers of Egypt' as a geographic designation broader than the single Nile channel. 12×
AR["أَنهَارِ","أَنْهَارَهُمْ","أَنْهَارِ","أَنْهَارِكَ","أَنْهَارِهِ","الْأَنْهَارَ","نَهْرِي"]·ben["আমার-নদী","তাদের-নদীগুলিকে","তার-নদীর","তোমার-নদীর","নদীগুলি","নদীগুলো","নদীগুলোর"]·DE["Fluesse-von","Kanal","ihr-Ströme"]·EN["his-rivers","my-river","rivers","rivers-of","streams-of","the-streams","their-rivers","your-rivers"]·FR["Nil","canal","fleuves-de"]·heb["יאורי","יאוריהם","יאוריו","יאוריך","יאורים"]·HI["उनकी-नदियों-को","नदियों-अपनी-के","नदियों-की","नदियों-को","नदियों-तेरी","नदियों-तेरी-की","नदियों-तेरी-के","नदी-मेरी","नहरें","नहरों"]·ID["sungai-sungai","sungai-sungai-mereka","sungai-sungaimu","sungai-sungaimu,","sungai-sungaimu;","sungaiku,","sungaimu"]·IT["Nilo","[יאריהם]","canale","fiumi-di"]·jav["lepen-kawula","lepen-lepen","lepen-lepen-ipun","lepen-lepenipun","lepen-panjenengan","lèpèn-lèpèn"]·KO["강들","강들을","강들을-너의","강들의","강들의-그의","강들의-너의","강이-나의","그들-의-강들-을","시내들을"]·PT["meu-rio","os-rios","rios-de","seus-rios","teus-rios"]·RU["протоки","рек","рек-своих","рек-твоих","река-моя","реки","реки-их"]·ES["los-ríos","mi-río","ríos-de","ríos-de-ellos","sus-ríos","tus-ríos"]·SW["mito","mito-yake","mito-yako","mito-yao","mto-wangu","vijito"]·TR["irmaklarinin","kanallarini","nehirleri","nehirlerine","nehirlerini","nehirlerinin","nehrim","ırmaklarını-"]·urd["اُن-کی-نہروں-کو","دریاؤں","دریاؤں-اپنے","دریاؤں-تیرے","نہروں","نہروں-کو","نہروں-کی","نیل-میرا"]
2 Kgs 19:24, Ps 78:44, Isa 7:18, Isa 37:25, Ezek 29:3, Ezek 29:3, Ezek 29:4, Ezek 29:4, Ezek 29:4, Ezek 29:5, Ezek 29:10, Ezek 30:12
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. the Nile River — The Nile River as a proper noun — the great river of Egypt, center of the Exodus narrative and prophetic oracle. The 47 occurrences include Pharaoh's dream (Gen 41:1-3), the plague of blood (Exod 7:20-21), the infant Moses set among reeds (Exod 2:3), and prophetic judgment against Egypt (Isa 19:5-8). Spanish el Rio, French le Nil, German der Nil, and Arabic an-nil all treat it as a definite, singular river. The definite article (hayye'or) is standard, reflecting the loanword's quasi-proper-noun status. 47×
AR["النَّهْرَ","النَّهْرُ","النَّهْرِ","فِي-النَّهْرِ"]·ben["নদী","নদী-","নদীকে","নদীতে","নদীর"]·DE["der-Nil","in-der-Nil"]·EN["in-the-Nile","the-Nile"]·FR["dans-le-Nil","le-Nil"]·heb["ב-יאור","ה-יאור"]·HI["नदी","नदी-का","नदी-के","नील-नदी","नील-नदी-के","नील-नदी-ने","नील-नदी-में-था","नील-नदी-में-थी","नील-नदी-में-है"]·ID["Sungai-Nil","di-Sungai-Nil"]·IT["il-Nilo","in-il-Nilo"]·jav["lepen","lèpèn","wonten-ing-lèpèn"]·KO["강에-있는","그-강","그-강에서","그-강을","그-강의","그-강이","그리고-보았다","그리고-시녀들이-그녀의","입술에"]·PT["no-Rio","o-Rio","o-rio","o-rio,"]·RU["Нил","Нила","в-Ниле","реке","реки"]·ES["el-Río","el-río","en-el-río"]·SW["Mto-Naili","katika-mto","mto","wa-mto","ya-mto"]·TR["Nil","Nil'de","Nil'den","Nil'i","Nil'in"]·urd["دریا","دریا-سے","دریا-میں","دریا-کے"]
3. canal, channel, watercourse — Canals, irrigation channels, or engineered watercourses, reflecting the branching delta and man-made infrastructure of Egyptian hydrology. Exodus 7:19 and 8:5 list ye'orim alongside other water features (rivers, ponds, pools), and Isaiah 19:6 predicts the 'canals' will stink. Job 28:10 uses the word for channels cut through rock. Spanish canales, French canal, and Swahili mifereji ('ditches') capture this artificial, constructed sense distinct from the natural river. 6×
AR["أَنهاراً","الْجَدَاوِلِ","بَيْنَ-الْأَنْهَارِ","تُرَعُ","جَدَاوِلِهِمْ","وَ-قَنَوَاتٍ"]·ben["খাল","খালগুলি","খালগুলো-","তাদের-খালগুলির","নদীগুলির-মধ্যে","নালাগুলোর"]·DE["Kanal","[ביארים]","[יארים]","der-canals","ihr-canals"]·EN["broad","by-the-Nile","canals-of","channels","the-canals","their-canals"]·FR["Nil","canal","le-canals","leur-canals","יארים"]·heb["ב-יאורים","ה-יאורים","יאורי","יאוריהם","יאורים"]·HI["उनकी-नहरों","नहरें","नहरों","नहरों-का","नहरों-के-बीच","नाले"]·ID["anak-anak-sungai","di-sungai-sungai-Nil,","kanal-kanal","kanal-kanal-mereka","parit-parit","saluran-saluran"]·IT["Nilo","canale","channels","il-canals","loro-canals"]·jav["ing-lèpèn-lèpèn","kali-kali","lan-kali","lèpèn-lèpèn","lèpèn-lèpènipun"]·KO["그-시내들","그들의-시내들을","수로들이","수로를","시내들의","에서-강들"]·PT["canais","canais-deles","entre-os-canais","os-canais","os-canais-de"]·RU["каналы","каналы-их","потоки","потоков","среди-рек"]·ES["arroyos","canales","canales-de","entre-los-ríos","los-canales","sus-canales"]·SW["kando-ya-mito","na-mifereji","vijito","vijito-vyao"]·TR["kanallar","kanallari","kanallarin","kanalların","kanallarının","nehirlerde-o"]·urd["نالے","نہروں","نہروں-ان-کے","نہروں-کی","نہروں-کے-کنارے","نہریں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יְאֹר, יְאוֹר n.m. Ex 7:21 stream of the Nile, stream, canal (Egyptian loan-word = Egyptian ’iotr, ’ioʾr, watercourse, Copt. eioor, ior; also ’iotrʿo, ’io’rʿo, Copt. eiero, iaro, Nile, SteindorffBAs i. 612; in Assyrian i̯a’uru, stream, ’Iaruʾû, river Nile, Id.ib., Hptib. 171 Jägerib 466)—abs. הַיְאֹר Gn 41:1 + 37 times; הַיְאוֹר Is 19:8; הַיְ֫אֹרָה Ex 1:22; יְאוֹר Is 19:7(×3) + 2 times; כָּאֹר…