H3515 H3515
Heavy, weighty; severe, grievous; burdensome; by extension, abundant or numerous
An adjective built on the same root as 'kavod' (glory, heaviness), carrying a physical and metaphorical weight through the entire Old Testament. At its most literal it describes heavy hands (Exod 17:12), thick hair (2 Sam 14:26), or a corpulent body (1 Sam 4:18). More often it is figurative: a severe famine (Gen 12:10; 41:31; 43:1), a heavy yoke of oppression (1 Kgs 12:4), or grievous mourning (Gen 50:11). Isaiah uses it to describe a people laden with iniquity—heavy under the burden of their own sin (Isa 1:4). The Spanish 'grave' and German 'schwer' both capture the dual physical-moral gravity. In one striking use (Exod 12:38) it shades into abundance, describing the very great mixed multitude that left Egypt.
Senses
1. heavy, severe, grievous — The dominant sense spanning both literal and figurative weight: physically heavy (Moses' hands in Exod 17:12, Absalom's hair in 2 Sam 14:26) and figuratively severe or grievous (a heavy famine in Gen 12:10; 41:31; 43:1, a burdensome yoke in 1 Kgs 12:4, sore mourning in Gen 50:11). The Spanish 'pesada/grave' and German 'schwer' consistently translate both the physical and metaphorical dimensions. This sense accounts for the vast majority of occurrences and forms the semantic backbone of the word. 36×
AR["ثَقيلاً","ثَقِيلًا","ثَقِيلٌ","ثَقِيلٍ","شَدِيدٌ","شَدِيدَةً","شَدِيدَةٌ","غَزِيرٌ","كَثِيرًا","كَثِيرٍ","كَثِيفٌ"]·ben["গুরুতর","ভারী"]·DE["gewaltig","schwer","schwer-war","schwere"]·EN["heavy"]·FR["lourd"]·heb["כָּבֵד","כבד"]·HI["कावेद","घना","बहुत","भरि","भारी","भारी-था","भारी-है"]·ID["Keras","berat","besar","sangat-besar","tebal","terlalu-berat","yang-besar"]·IT["pesante"]·jav["ageng","awrat","kandel"]·KO["무거우니","무거운","무거웠다","무겁다","심하다","심하였다","심한"]·PT["pesada","pesado","severa"]·RU["большое","весьма-тяжёлый","многочисленным","тяжело","тяжкие","тяжкий","тяжёл","тяжёлое","тяжёлый","тяжёлым","упрямо"]·ES["espesa","grave","pesada","pesado"]·SW["kali","kama-ulivyomwua","kubwa","kuwa-kali","mbaya","mengi","mgumu","mzito","ni-mzito","nzito","wengi","zito"]·TR["agir","ağır","kalabalık","şiddetli"]·urd["بھاری","بھاری-ہے","بھارے","سخت","سخت-تھا","شدید","گھنا"]
2. weighty, important — Describing something weighty in the sense of important, significant, or consequential. In 1 Kings 3:9, Solomon asks for wisdom to judge God's weighty people—a nation too great and significant for any ordinary judge. Here the heaviness is social and moral rather than physical, pointing to gravity of responsibility and consequence. 1×
AR["الْعَظِيمَ"]·ben["-ভারী"]·DE["der-weighty"]·EN["the-weighty"]·FR["le-lourd"]·heb["ה-כבד"]·HI["भारी"]·ID["yang-besar"]·IT["il-pesante"]·jav["kang-kathah"]·KO["그-큰"]·PT["o-pesado"]·RU["тяжёлый"]·ES["el-pesado"]·SW["wakubwa"]·TR["ağır"]·urd["بھاری"]
3. laden, burdened with — Laden or burdened with something, carrying the weight of guilt or sin. Isaiah 1:4 denounces Israel as a people heavy with iniquity ('am keved avon')—the nation staggers under the accumulated load of its transgressions. The construction emphasizes the burden itself rather than mere severity, picturing sin as a crushing weight borne on the shoulders. 1×
AR["مُثقَلٌ"]·ben["ভারী"]·DE["schwer"]·EN["heavy-with"]·FR["lourd"]·heb["כבד"]·HI["भारी"]·ID["yang-sarat"]·IT["pesante"]·jav["awrat"]·KO["무거운"]·PT["pesado-de"]·RU["отягощённому"]·ES["cargado-de"]·SW["wazito-wa"]·TR["agır"]·urd["بھاری"]
4. abundant, numerous — An extension into quantity: abundant, numerous, very great. The mixed multitude that departed Egypt was exceedingly abundant (Exod 12:38), using the adjective almost adverbially to intensify the scale of the exodus. The Spanish 'muy' (very) and German 'sehr' reflect this quantitative rather than qualitative heaviness. 1×
AR["كَثِيرَةٌ"]·ben["ভারী"]·DE["sehr"]·EN["very"]·FR["très"]·heb["כבד"]·HI["भारी"]·ID["berat"]·IT["molto"]·jav["ageng"]·KO["심한"]·PT["pesado"]·RU["весьма-многочисленное"]·ES["muy"]·SW["mingi"]·TR["ağır"]·urd["بھاری"]
Related Senses
G2962 1. Lord (divine title) (661×)H0136 1. Lord (divine title) (440×)H0113 1. lord, human superior (249×)G1849 1. authority, power (91×)H6485a 2. Qal: punish, bring judgment (63×)H8198 1. maidservant, female slave (63×)G2962 2. master, lord (human authority) (61×)H0034 1. needy, poor, destitute (61×)H0519 1. female servant, maidservant (56×)H6041 1. poor, needy person (55×)H0113 2. master, owner of servants (49×)H4910 1. Qal: to have dominion, exercise power over (44×)H1800 1. poor, needy (socioeconomic) (38×)G4434 1. (34×)G5092 1. honor, esteem, respect (33×)H6485a 4. Qal: visit, attend to, care for (32×)H3513 1. honor / show respect (Piel) (30×)H4910 2. Qal: to rule, govern (administrative authority) (27×)H4513 1. withhold, restrain, hold back (25×)G1658 1. free (23×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† כָּבֵד adj. heavy;—כ׳ Gn 41:31 + 34 times; cstr. כְּבַד Ex 4:10(×2); כֶּ֫בֶד Is 1:4; pl. כְּבֵדִים Ex 17:12; cstr. כִּבְדֵי Ez 3:5, 6;— 1. a. heavy, a burden ψ 38:5; hands (weary of holding up) Ex 17:12 (E), hair of head 2 S 14:26, a corpulent old man 1 S 4:18; עַם כֶבֶד עָוֹן Is 1:4 a people heavy with (the burden of) iniquity; a cloud charged with rain Ex 19:16 (E); a rock of large size Is…