עֶ֫רֶב131 H6153
Evening, the period from late afternoon through sunset; in dual form, the ritual 'two evenings' or twilight interval.
Erev marks the daily boundary between light and darkness that structures biblical time. Because the Israelite day began at sunset, erev carried theological weight far beyond a simple clock reading — it was the threshold of a new day (Gen 1:5), the moment of purification from uncleanness (Lev 11:24-25), and the hour of the evening sacrifice. The dual form ha-arbayim, 'the two evenings,' appears almost exclusively in Priestly legislation to fix the precise twilight window for slaughtering the Passover lamb (Exod 12:6) and offering the daily tamid (Exod 29:39). Rabbinic debate over whether this means 'sunset to dark' or 'declining sun to sunset' reflects the term's ancient precision.
1. evening, time of day — Evening as a general time of day — from late afternoon through sunset and into early darkness. Used in narrative (Gen 8:11, the dove returning at evening), legal texts (Lev 11:24, unclean 'until evening'), and prophetic imagery (Zech 14:7). Rendered universally as la tarde, le soir, der Abend. The 123 occurrences span every genre, often paired with boqer (morning) to express totality of time. 123×
AR["ال-مَسَاءِ","الْمَسَاءِ"]·ben["-সন্ধ্যা","সন্ধ্যা।","সেই-সন্ধ্যা"]·DE["der-Abend"]·EN["the-evening"]·FR["le-soir"]·heb["ה-ערב"]·HI["और-सब","तक","शाम"]·ID["petang","petang."]·IT["il-sera"]·jav["sonten","surup"]·KO["그-저녁","저녁까지"]·PT["a-tarde","a-tarde."]·RU["вечера"]·ES["la-tarde"]·SW["jioni"]·TR["akşam","akşama"]·urd["شام"]
Exod 18:13, Lev 11:24, Lev 11:25, Lev 11:27, Lev 11:28, Lev 11:31, Lev 11:32, Lev 11:39, Lev 11:40, Lev 11:40, Lev 14:46, Lev 15:5 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. the two evenings (dual twilight) — The dual form ha-arbayim ('the two evenings'), a technical ritual term designating the twilight interval during which Passover lambs were slaughtered and the evening tamid offered. Concentrated in Priestly texts (Exod 12:6; 29:39, 41; 30:8; Num 9:3, 11; 28:4, 8), these 11 occurrences preserve a precise liturgical time-marker. Spanish las tardes and the consistent dual rendering across translations confirm this as a formally distinct usage from the general sense. 11×
AR["العَشِيَّتَينِ","الْ-عَشِيَّتَيْنِ","الْعَشَاءَيْنِ","الْعَشِيَّتَيْنِ","الْـ-عَشِيَّتَيْنِ"]·ben["-সন্ধ্যাদ্বয়ের","সন্ধ্যা-গুলির","সন্ধ্যাগুলির","সন্ধ্যাগুলোর","সন্ধ্যাদের","সন্ধ্যাদ্বয়ের","সেই-সন্ধ্যাগুলির"]·DE["der-evenings"]·EN["the-evenings"]·FR["le-evenings"]·heb["ה-ערב","ה-ערביים"]·HI["दोनों-शामों","शामों-के","संध्याओं-के","संध्याओं-में"]·ID["dua-petang","kedua-petang","senja","senja-senja"]·IT["il-evenings"]·jav["sonten-sonten","soré-kalih","sènjaning-dinten"]·KO["그-저녁","그-저녁들","그-저녁들의"]·PT["as-tardes","os-entardeceres"]·RU["вечерами"]·ES["las-tardes"]·SW["jioni","jioni-mbili"]·TR["-akşamların","akşamların"]·urd["-شاموں-کے","دو-شاموں-کے","شاموں-کے"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)G5610 1. hour / time / moment (106×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
עֶ֫רֶב131 n.[m. 1 S 20:5 del. הַשְּׁלִישִׁית v. We Dr al.] (sun)set, evening;—abs. ע׳ 2 K 2:16 +, עָ֑רֶב Ex 12:18 +; cstr. עֶרֶב Pr 7:9; du. עַרְבַּיִם Ex 30:8 + 4 times, -בָּ֑יִם 12:6 + 5 times (all P);— 1. a. evening, orig. sunset, and hence perhaps לְעֵת ע׳ at the time of sunset †Gn 8:11 (J), 24:11 (J; ‖ לְעֵת צֵאת הַשֹּׁאֲבֹת), 2 S 11:2 Is 17:14 and (of the day of י׳) Zc 14:7, עֵת הָע׳ Jos…