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…