H3556 H3556
star — a luminous celestial body, used literally of the night sky and figuratively for multitude or royalty
Kokhav designates a star or luminous celestial body and carries remarkable symbolic freight across its 37 occurrences. God deploys the stars as a measure of the innumerable when he promises Abraham descendants 'as the stars of the heavens' (Gen 15:5; 22:17; 26:4) — a formula echoed in Exodus 32:13, Deuteronomy 1:10; 10:22; 28:62, and Nehemiah 9:23. The creation account assigns stars a subordinate role alongside sun and moon (Gen 1:16), yet they participate in cosmic praise (Ps 148:3) and even warfare, as when 'the stars in their courses fought against Sisera' (Judg 5:20). Balaam's oracle introduces the messianic dimension: 'a star shall come out of Jacob' (Num 24:17). The prophets employ falling or darkened stars as harbingers of divine judgment (Isa 13:10; Joel 2:10; 4:15). The Semitic cognates — Aramaic kokhva, Arabic kawkab, Akkadian kakkabu — attest the word's deep antiquity.
Senses
1. star, celestial body — A luminous celestial body visible in the night sky, serving both literal and figurative functions. Literally, stars are created objects of the fourth day (Gen 1:16), named and numbered by God (Ps 147:4; Isa 40:26). Figuratively, they represent: (a) innumerability in the Abrahamic promise (Gen 15:5; 22:17; Deut 1:10; 28:62), (b) royal or messianic destiny in Balaam's oracle (Num 24:17), (c) cosmic upheaval in prophetic judgment (Isa 13:10; Joel 2:10; 4:15), and (d) angelic or heavenly beings (Job 38:7). The multilingual glosses — Spanish 'estrellas,' French and German borrowing the Hebrew form in brackets — highlight the word's transparency across traditions. 37×
AR["النُّجُومِ","الْكَواكِبُ","الْكَوَاكِبَ","كَ-كَوَاكِبِ","كَ-نُجومِ","كَ-نُجُومِ","كَـ-نُجُومِ","كَكَوَاكِبِ","كَنُجُومِ","كَواكِبُ","وَ-الكَواكِبُ","وَ-النُّجُومَ","وَالكَوَاكِبَ","وِ-هَ-كُوكَبِيم"]·ben["-তারাগুলি","আকাশের-তারার-মতো","এবং-তারকাদের","এবং-তারা","এবং-তারাগুলি","এবং-নক্ষত্রগুলি","তারা","তারাগুলি","তারাগুলি-","তারাদের","তারাদের-মতো","তারার-মত","তারার-মত-","তারার-মতো","যেমন-তারাগুলি"]·DE["[והכוכבים]","[כוכבי]","[ככוכבי]","[כככבי]","der-Sterne","die-Sterne","und-Sterne","und-der-Sterne","wie-Sterne-von","wie-die-Sterne"]·EN["and-stars","and-the-stars","as-stars-of","as-the-stars-of","like-stars-of","like-the-stars-of","stars-of","the-stars"]·FR["[הכוכבים]","[ככוכבי]","[כככבי]","comme-le-étoiles-de","comme-étoiles-de","et-étoile","le-étoiles","les-étoiles","étoile"]·heb["ה-כוכב","ה-כוכבים","ו-ה-כוכבים","ו-כוֹכָבים","ו-כוֹכבים","ו-כוכבים","כ-כוכב","כ-כוכבי","כוכבי"]·HI["-तारे","-दिन-के","और-तारे","और-तारों-को","जैसे-तारे","जैसे-तारों","तरे","तारे","तारों-की-तरह","तारों-के","तारों-जैसा","तारों-जैसे"]·ID["bintang-bintang","bintang-bintang-itu","dan-bintang-bintang","seperti-bintang-bintang"]·IT["[הכוכבים]","[ככוכבי]","[כככבי]","come-il-stelle-di","come-stelle-di","e-il-stella","e-stella","e-stelle","il-stelle","stella"]·jav["ing-lintang-lintang","kados-lintang","kados-lintang-lintang","kados-lintang-lintanging","lan-lintang","lan-lintang-lintang","lintang-lintang","lintang-lintangipun","saha-lintang-lintang"]·KO["(전)-별들-처럼","~처럼-별들","그-별들","그-별들을","그-별들의","그리고-별들-그","그리고-별들-을","그리고-별들-이","그리고-별들이","별들-같이","별들-이","별들을","별들이","별들처럼","처럼-별들-"]·PT["as-estrelas","como-estrelas-de","como-estrelas-de-","e-as-estrelas","e-estrelas","estrelas-de"]·RU["-звёзды","звёзд","звёзды","и-звёзды","и-звёзды,","как-звёзды"]·ES["como-estrellas-de","como-las-estrellas-de","estrellas-de","las-estrellas","y-estrellas","y-las-estrellas"]·SW["kama-nyota","kama-nyota-za","kama-nyota-za-","na-nyota","nyota","nyota-","nyota-za"]·TR["-yıldızları","de-yıldızlar","gibi-yıldızları","ve-yildizlar","ve-yıldızlar","ve-yıldızları","yıldızlar","yıldızları","yıldızları-gibi","yıldızları-gibi-","yıldızların"]·urd["-تارے","-ستاروں-کی-طرح","اور-تاروں-کو","اور-ستاروں-کو","اور-ستارے","تاروں-کی-طرح","تارے","جیسے-تارے","جیسے-ستارے","ستاروں","ستاروں-کی-طرح","ستاروں-کے"]
Gen 1:16, Gen 15:5, Gen 22:17, Gen 26:4, Gen 37:9, Exod 32:13, Num 24:17, Deut 1:10, Deut 4:19, Deut 10:22, Deut 28:62, Judg 5:20 (+25 more)
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)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×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† כּוֹכָב n.m. Gn 15:5 star (NH id.; Aramaic כּוֹכְבָא, כּוֹכַבְתָּא, ܟܰܘܟܒܳܐ, ܟܰܘܟܰܒܬܳܐ, fem. form specifically of planet Venus, v. also WeSkizzen iii. 36, 38; Arabic كَوْكَبٌ gen. of single stars and prob. Aramaic loan-word, WeSkizzen iii. 173; Ethiopic ኮከብ; prob. for כבכב v. Mahri kubkob, kobkîb, etc., Maltzan ZMG 1873, 227 and Assyrian kakkabu Dl HWB 336; Pun. κακαβουμ (Dioscorides), name of…