H7231 H7231
To be or become many, numerous, to multiply (Qal); to be produced by ten-thousands (Pual participle).
The verb ravav expresses sheer numerical increase — things becoming many, people multiplying, troubles mounting. It is the verbal engine behind the adjective rav ('many, great') and shares its root with revavah ('ten thousand'). In the Psalms, it voices both lament and praise: 'LORD, how many are my foes!' (Ps 3:1) and 'many say, who will show us good?' (Ps 4:7). Genesis 6:1 uses it to narrate humanity's pre-flood multiplication. The Pual participle in Psalm 144:13 offers a rare and vivid agricultural image — flocks 'producing by ten-thousands' in the pastures, where the verb's connection to revavah surfaces explicitly. Spanish multiplicarse and French etre nombreux capture the core meaning, while German sich mehren preserves the intransitive stative quality.
Senses
1. be many, be numerous — To be or become many, numerous; to multiply or increase — the Qal stative/intransitive sense describing the growth in number of people, troubles, sins, or other countable entities. With 12 occurrences, this sense spans from the primeval narrative ('mankind began to multiply on the face of the earth,' Gen 6:1) through psalms of distress ('how many are those who rise against me,' Ps 3:1; 'my iniquities have multiplied,' Ps 38:19) to prophetic observation. Job 35:6 asks rhetorically what effect human sins have if they multiply. Spanish Son-mas and fueron-muchas, French etre-nombreux, and German sich-mehren all converge on vocabulary of numerical increase, while Korean and Hindi deploy dedicated 'multiply' verbs, confirming the cross-linguistic stability of this basic quantitative concept. 12×
AR["أَكثَرَ","أَكْثَرَ","كَثُروا-","كَثُرَتْ","كَثُرُوا","وَ-تَكثُرُ","وَكَثُروا","وَيَكْثُرُ","يَكْثُرُ"]·ben["-এবং-বহু-হবে","অনেক","অনেক-হয়েছে","আর-বহু-হয়","ও-অনেক","তারা-বৃদ্ধি-পেয়েছে","বহু-হয়েছে","বৃদ্ধি-পেতে","বৃদ্ধি-পেয়েছে","বেড়েছে"]·DE["[ורבו]","abound","sich-zu-mehren","sie-sind-viele","sie-sind-zahlreich","sind-mehr","und-haben-multiplied","und-sie-sind-zahlreich","viele"]·EN["abound","and-are-many","and-have-multiplied","and-many","are-more","many","they-are-many","they-are-more","to-multiply"]·FR["et-être-nombreux","et-ורבו","à-multiplier","être-nombreux"]·heb["ו-רבו","ל-רב","רבו"]·HI["और-बढ़-गए-हैं","और-बहुत-हैं","और-बहुत-होंगे","बढ़-गए","बढ़ी","बधने-","बहुत-हैं","बहुत-हैं-वे"]·ID["Banyak","banyak","berlimpah","bertambah-banyak","dan-banyak","lebih-banyak-mereka"]·IT["a-moltiplicare","e-e-sono-molti","e-essi-si-moltiplicarono","e-moltissimo","essi-si-moltiplicarono","moltissimo"]·jav["Kathah-sanget","Lan-kathah","kathah","kathah-sanget","lan-kathah","langkung-kathah"]·KO["그리고-많다","그리고-많도다","그리고-많을-것이다","많다","많다-그들이","많도다","많아졌나이까","많아졌도다","많아졌음이라","에-많아지기"]·PT["São-mais-numerosos","a-multiplicar-se","e-multiplicaram-se","e-serão-muitos","multiplicaram-se","múltiplas","se-multiplicaram"]·RU["-многочисленны","и-многи","и-умножаются","и-умножились","многочисленны","умножаться","умножились"]·ES["Son-más","a-multiplicarse","fueron-muchas","muchas","se-han-multiplicado","se-multiplicaron","son-más","y-se-han-multiplicado","y-se-multiplican","y-serán-multiplicados"]·SW["Wamezidi","adui","ilipoongezeka","kuongezeka","na-wameongezeka","na-watakuwa-wengi","na-zimeongezeka","wameongezeka","wamezidi","yalivyokuwa-mengi","zimekuwa-nyingi","zimeongezeka"]·TR["ve-çok-olacak","ve-çoğaldı","ve-çoğaldılar","çok","çoğaldı","çoğaldılar","çoğalmaya"]·urd["اور-بڑھ گئیں","اور-بہت-ہوں-گے","اور-بہت-ہیں","بڑھ-گئی","بڑھ-گئے","بڑھ-گئے-ہیں","بڑھنے","بہت-ہیں","وہ-بڑھ-گئے"]
2. produce by ten-thousands — To be produced or multiplied by the ten-thousands — the Pual (intensive passive) participle describing prolific agricultural yield in Psalm 144:13: flocks merubbavot ('producing by ten-thousands') in the fields. This single occurrence preserves a vivid connection between the verb ravav and the noun revavah ('myriad, ten thousand'), painting a picture of pastoral abundance so great it can only be counted in myriads. Spanish multiplicados-por-diez-miles and English 'bringing forth ten-thousands' both resort to periphrasis, underscoring how this rare participial form packs an entire image of overflowing fertility into one word. 1×
AR["أُلُوفًا"]·ben["দশ-হাজার-হাজার,"]·DE["bringing-forth-ten-thousands"]·EN["bringing-forth-ten-thousands"]·FR["de-être-nombreux"]·heb["מרובבות"]·HI["दस-हज़ार"]·ID["berlipat-ganda"]·IT["moltissimo"]·jav["puluhan-èwunan"]·KO["만을-낳는다"]·PT["aos-dez-milhares"]·RU["десятитысячно"]·ES["multiplicados-por-diez-miles"]·SW["elfu-kumi"]·TR["on-binlerle-artan"]·urd["لاکھوں-والی"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. [רָבַב] vb. be or become, many, much (NH רַב especially lord, master, רַבִּי my master, teacher; MI5 adj. pl. רבן; Ph. רב, f. רבת; Assyrian [rabâbu], rabbu; Arabic رَبَّ rear, increase (act.; رُبٌ thick juice, cf. NH רְבָב grease, is thought by Buhl al. to indicate original meaning be thick), رَبٌّ lord, owner, master; Sab. רב especially in n.pr., רבאל, רבבם, רבשמסם, etc., CISiv, nos. 285,…