H3993 H3993
Ambush, ambuscade; a place of lying in wait or the troops hidden there, used in military and predatory contexts.
A masculine noun meaning 'ambush,' derived from the root 'arab ('to lie in wait'), designating both the place of concealment and the hidden troops themselves. Joshua 8:9 uses it for the strategic ambush set against Ai, while Judges 9:35 describes Abimelech's men emerging from their ambush against Shechem. The Chronicler employs it twice in a single verse (2 Chr 13:13) for Jeroboam's troops positioned behind Judah's army—a double ambush that God turned to defeat. Psalm 10:8 extends it metaphorically: the wicked lurk 'in ambush' like a lion in a thicket, preying on the poor. Spanish 'emboscada' (from bosque, 'forest') and French 'embuscade' both evoke the woodland hiding place that is the classic ambush setting.
Senses
1. sense 1 — An ambush or place of lying in wait, and by metonymy the troops concealed there, used in both military strategy and figurative descriptions of predatory wickedness. Josh 8:9 designates the ambush position west of Ai in Israel's second attack, while Judg 9:35 describes Gaal spotting the ambush forces of Abimelech emerging from concealment. In 2 Chr 13:13 the noun appears twice: Jeroboam sent an ambush to come behind Judah, creating a double envelopment. Ps 10:8 applies it figuratively to the wicked who lurk in hiding places to prey on the innocent. Spanish 'emboscada' and German 'Hinterhalt' both capture the tactical sense of concealed waiting. 5×
AR["الـ-كَمِين", "الكَمينَ", "الكَمينِ", "بِ-كَمِينٍ", "وَالكَمينُ"]·ben["আর-ওঁত", "ওঁত", "ওঁত-পাতা", "ওৎ-স্থানের", "ঘাঁটিতে-"]·DE["[המארב]", "[והמארב]", "der-Hinterhalt", "in-der-ambush-von"]·EN["and-the-ambush", "in-the-ambush-of", "the-ambush"]·FR["[המארב]", "[והמארב]", "dans-embuscade", "le-embuscade"]·heb["ב-מארב", "ה-מארב", "ו-ה-מארב"]·HI["और-की-घात", "की-घात", "घात", "घात-के", "में-घात"]·ID["dalam-penghadangan", "dan-penghadangan-itu", "penghadangan", "penghadangan-itu", "tempat-penghadangan"]·IT["[במארב]", "[המארב]", "[והמארב]", "il-imboscata"]·jav["ing-panyegatan", "lan-pangadang", "pangadang", "pangendhem", "panggenan-ngadhang"]·KO["그-매복", "그-매복하는-곳으로", "그리고-그-매복-은", "매복-에"]·PT["a-emboscada", "e-a-emboscada", "em-emboscadas"]·RU["в-засаде", "засаде", "засаду", "засады", "и-засада"]·ES["en-emboscada-de", "la-emboscada", "y-la-emboscada"]·SW["katika-maoteo-ya", "mafichoni", "na-waviziaji", "uvizi", "waviziaji"]·TR["pusudan", "pusuya", "pusuyla-", "pusuyu", "ve-pusu"]·urd["-گھات-میں", "اور-گھات", "کمین-گاہ-کے", "گھات", "گھات۔"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַאֲרָב n.m. ambush—מַאֲרָב Jos 8:9 + 2 times; מַאְ֯רָב Ju 9:35; cstr. מַאֲרַב ψ 10:8;— 1. a. ambush, place of lying-in-wait Jos 8:9; Ju 9:35; b. lurking-place ψ 10:8 (‖ מִסְתָּרִים). 2. liers-in-wait 2 Ch 13:13(×2) (cf. ארב Pt.)