Biblical Lexicon

H5689 H5689

Conj-w | V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs | 8× in 2 senses

To lust after, have inordinate desire; (participle) lovers, paramours

The verb עָגַב describes intense, illicit sexual desire — a word reserved almost exclusively for Ezekiel's shocking allegory of Jerusalem and Samaria as unfaithful women lusting after foreign nations (Ezek 23). The Arabic cognate ajiba ('to wonder, admire') hints at the root's original sense of fascinated attraction, but in biblical usage the word has narrowed to raw, transgressive desire. Jeremiah 4:30 uses the participle substantively — 'your lovers' — shifting from the act of lusting to the persons lusted after. Spanish 'se apasiono' ('she became passionately attached') captures the verb's consuming intensity.

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Senses

1. and lusted — To lust after, have inordinate desire or passion for — the verbal sense in the Qal perfect and imperfect. All seven occurrences cluster in Ezekiel 23, the extended allegory of Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem) as women who 'lusted after' Assyrian and Babylonian warriors (23:5, 7, 9, 12, 16, 20). The construction takes the preposition al ('upon, after'), marking the object of desire. Spanish 'se apasiono/y se apasiono' and French 'se precipiter' capture the headlong, consuming quality of this lust. The word is deliberately vulgar in context, serving Ezekiel's rhetorical strategy of shock. 7×

EMOTION_ATTITUDE › Attitudes and Emotions › Desire and Coveting

AR["[قرأ]","عَشِقَتْ","فَعَشِقَتْ","وَعَشِقَتْ"]·ben["[ketiv]","এবং-কামনা-করেছিল","কামনা-করেছিল"]·DE["[ותעגב]","[ותעגבה]","[עגבה]"]·EN["[and-she-lusted]","and-she-lusted","she-lusted"]·FR["et-se-précipiter","se-précipiter"]·heb["ו-תעגב","עגבה"]·HI["(और-ललचाई-वह)","[और-ललचाई-वह]","और-ललचाई-वह","ललचाई-वह"]·ID["[dan-dia-berahi]","dan-dia-berahi","dia-berahi"]·IT["[ותעגב]","[ותעגבה]","[עגבה]"]·jav["Lan-piyambakipun-kasmaran","[lan-piyambakipun-kasmaran]","lan-piyambakipun-kasmaran","piyambakipun-kasmaran"]·KO["그리고-열망했다","열망한","열망했다"]·PT["E-apaixonou-se","apaixonou-se","desejou","e-apaixonou-se"]·RU["Ассирии","и-возжелала","их","которых","наместников"]·ES["Y-se-apasionó","se-apasionó","y-se-apasionó"]·SW["alitamani","na-akatamani","na-akawatamani"]·TR["[k]","tutuldu","ve-tutuldu"]·urd["(اور-عاشق-ہوئی)","[عاشق-ہوئی]","اور-عاشق-ہوئی","عاشق-ہوئی"]

Ezek 23:5, Ezek 23:7, Ezek 23:9, Ezek 23:12, Ezek 23:16, Ezek 23:16, Ezek 23:20

2. lovers — Lovers, paramours — the participle used as a substantive noun in Jer 4:30, where the prophet addresses personified Jerusalem: 'your lovers despise you; they seek your life.' Here the word shifts from the verbal act to the persons themselves. Spanish 'los amantes' ('the lovers') confirms the nominal reading. This participial use provides the semantic bridge from the verb's action to its agents — those who lust become the lustful ones, the paramours. 1×

EMOTION_ATTITUDE › Attitudes and Emotions › Love (Abstract Noun)

AR["عُشَّاقٌ"]·ben["প্রেমিকেরা"]·DE["[עגבים]"]·EN["lovers"]·FR["[עגבים]"]·heb["עוגבים"]·HI["प्रेमियों-ने"]·ID["kekasih-kekasihmu"]·IT["[עגבים]"]·jav["tèman-tèman"]·KO["연인들이"]·PT["amantes"]·RU["любовники"]·ES["los-amantes"]·SW["wapenzi-wako"]·TR["aşıklar"]·urd["عاشقوں-نے"]

Jer 4:30

BDB / Lexicon Reference

† [עָגַב] vb. have inordinate affection, lust (cf. Arabic عَجِبَ wonder, admire, عَجِيبٌ beloved; and (on sens. obsc. in NH) LevyNHWB iii. 616);— Qal Pf. 3 fs. עָֽגְבָה Ez 23:7, 9, 12; Impf. 3 fs. וַתַּעְגַּב v 5, + v 16 Kt (Qr וַתַּעְגְּבָה), וַתַּעְגְּבַה v 20 (Ew§ 191 c Ol§ 228 b); Pt. pl. עֹגְבִים Je 4:30;—lust after (עַל־), only in fig. of relations of Samaria and Jerus. (personif.) with foreigners Ez 23:5, 9, 12, 16, 20, so c. acc. v 7; pt. as subst. paramours Je 4:30.