H7456 H7456
To be hungry, to hunger (Qal intransitive); to cause to hunger, to let go hungry (Hiphil causative).
Ra'ev is the Hebrew Bible's primary verb for the visceral experience of hunger. In its Qal stem it describes the state of being hungry — from Joseph's Egypt where 'all the land was famished' (Gen 41:55) to the promise that those who trust the LORD 'shall not lack any good thing' while 'young lions suffer want and hunger' (Ps 34:10). Isaiah deploys it in sharp contrasts: 'my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry' (Isa 65:13). Proverbs observes that 'a sluggard's appetite goes hungry' (Prov 19:15) and that even a thief is pitied 'if he steals to satisfy his hunger' (Prov 6:30). The rarer Hiphil stem flips the subject: God 'let you hunger' in the wilderness before feeding Israel with manna (Deut 8:3) — a formative deprivation. Spanish hambre, French faim, and German Hunger all derive from the same basic human experience, but the Hiphil's theological edge — God deliberately causing hunger as pedagogy — gives the causative sense a depth beyond mere physiology.
Senses
1. to be hungry — To be hungry, to experience hunger — the Qal intransitive sense describing the state or condition of hunger in all persons and tenses. The 11 occurrences range across genres: narrative ('the whole land of Egypt was famished,' Gen 41:55), psalm ('the young lions suffer want and are hungry,' Ps 34:10; 'if I were hungry I would not tell you,' Ps 50:12), prophetic promise and threat ('they shall not hunger nor thirst,' Isa 49:10; 'you shall be hungry,' Isa 65:13), wisdom ('he who steals because he is hungry,' Prov 6:30), and petition ('we shall not see famine,' Jer 42:14). Spanish tener-hambre, French avoir-faim, and German Hunger-haben all construct the state with a noun rather than a pure verb, while Hebrew expresses it as a stative verbal form — a subtle grammatical difference that reveals how differently languages encode bodily states. 11×
AR["تَجوعُ", "تَجُوعُونَ", "جُعْتُ", "نَجُوعَ", "وَ-جَائِعٌ", "وَ-جَاعَتْ", "وَجاعَتْ", "يَجُوعُ", "يَجُوعُونَ"]·ben["আমরা-ক্ষুধার্ত-হব", "আর-ক্ষুধার্ত-হল", "এবং-ক্ষুধার্ত", "ও-ক্ষুধার্ত", "ক্ষুধার্ত", "ক্ষুধার্ত-হবে", "ক্ষুধিত-হই-আমি", "তারা-ক্ষুধার্ত-হবে", "সে-ক্ষুধার্ত-হয়"]·DE["Hunger", "[ירעב]", "[ירעבו]", "[נרעב]", "[תרעב]", "[תרעבו]", "ich-waren-hungry", "und-Hunger", "und-hungerte"]·EN["I-were-hungry", "and-hunger", "and-hungry", "and-was-hungry", "goes-hungry", "he-is-hungry", "shall-be-hungry", "they-will-hunger", "we-will-be-hungry"]·FR["affamé", "avoir-faim", "et-avoir-faim", "et-famine", "et-était-hungry", "famine", "ירעב", "תרעב"]·heb["ארעב", "ו-רעב", "ו-רעבו", "ו-תרעב", "ירעב", "ירעבו", "נרעב", "רעב", "תרעב", "תרעבו"]·HI["और-भूखा", "और-भूखा-था", "और-भूखे-रहते-हैं", "भूखा-हो", "भूखा-होता", "भूखा-होता-है", "भूखी-रहेगी", "भूखे-रहेंगे", "भूखे-रहोगे", "वह-भूखा-होगा", "वे-भूखे-रहेंगे"]·ID["akan-lapar", "dan-lapar", "dia-lapar", "ia-lapar", "kami-lapar", "mereka-akan-lapar"]·IT["affamo'", "avere-fame", "e-affamo'", "e-fame", "e-fu-hungry", "egli-è-hungry", "fame", "goes-hungry"]·jav["Aku-luwe", "Lan-keluwen", "badhe-keluwen", "badhé-luwe", "kita-badhé-keluwen", "lan-keluwen", "lan-piyambakipun-nedha", "luwe", "ngraosaken-luwe", "piyambakipun-luwe"]·KO["굶주리다", "굶주리리라", "굶주릴-것이다", "그리고-굶주렸다", "그리고-주리며", "배고파도", "배고프겠다-우리가", "배고프면", "배고프면서도", "주리나"]·PT["e-faminto", "e-passam-fome", "e-teve-fome", "passará-fome", "tem-fome", "tereis-fome", "teremos-fome", "terão-fome", "tiver-fome", "tivesse-fome"]·RU["будем-голодать", "будет-голодать", "будете-голодать", "будут-голодать", "взголодает", "голодает", "голодает.", "и-голодала", "и-голодают", "и-голоден", "проголодаюсь"]·ES["Y-tuvo-hambre", "tendremos-hambre", "tendrá-hambre", "tendrán-hambre", "tendréis-hambre", "tenga-hambre", "tiene-hambre", "tuviera-hambre", "y-tendrá-hambre", "y-tienen-hambre"]·SW["ana-njaa", "anaona-njaa", "atakapokuwa-na-njaa", "itaona-njaa", "lakini-bado-na-njaa", "mtaona-njaa", "na-huona-njaa", "na-ikapata-njaa", "ningekuwa-na-njaa", "njaa", "ona-njaa"]·TR["Ve-acıktı", "ac-kalacaksiniz", "acikacak", "acikacaklar", "aciktir", "acıkırsam", "aç-kalmayacağız", "aç-kalır", "açtır", "ve-ac", "ve-aç-kaldılar"]·urd["اور-بھوکا", "اور-بھوکی-لگی", "اور-بھوکے-ہوتے-ہیں", "بھوکا-ہو", "بھوکا-ہوتا-ہے", "بھوکا-ہوگا", "بھوکی-رہے-گی", "بھوکے-رہیں-گے-ہم", "بھوکے-ہو-گے", "میں-بھوکا-ہوتا", "وہ-بھوکے-ہوں-گے"]
2. to cause hunger — To cause to hunger, to make or let someone go hungry — the Hiphil (causative) stem, where the subject inflicts hunger upon another. Only 2 occurrences, but both are theologically charged. Deuteronomy 8:3 is the key text: God 'let you hunger and fed you with manna,' a deliberate divine pedagogy where hunger precedes provision to teach dependence — the very verse Jesus quotes when tempted in the wilderness (Matt 4:4). Proverbs 10:3 offers the counterpart: 'the LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.' Spanish hacer-hambrear and French laisser-avoir-faim both require causative periphrasis, confirming the distinct grammatical and semantic weight of this stem. The Hiphil transforms hunger from something suffered into something administered — a tool of divine formation. 2×
AR["وَأَجَاعَكَ", "يُجِيعُ"]·ben["এবং-তিনি-তোমাকে-ক্ষুধার্ত-করলেন", "ক্ষুধার্ত-করেন"]·DE["[ירעיב]", "und-lass-du-Hunger"]·EN["and-let-you-hunger", "will-let-hunger"]·FR["et-laisse-tu-hunger", "ירעיב"]·heb["ו-ירעיבך", "ירעיב"]·HI["और-भूखा-रखा-तुझे", "भूखा-रखेगा"]·ID["TUHAN-membiarkan-kelaparan", "dan-membuat-lapar-mu"]·IT["e-lascia-tu-fame", "will-let-hunger"]·jav["lan-ndadosaken-luwe-panjenengan", "nggawe-luwe"]·KO["굶주리게하신다", "그리고-주리게-하셨다-너를"]·PT["e-fez-te-ter-fome", "fará-passar-fome"]·RU["даст-голодать", "и-томил-тебя-голодом"]·ES["hará-hambrear", "y-te-hizo-pasar-hambre"]·SW["hatamwacha-njaa", "na-akakufanya-njaa"]·TR["aç-bırakır", "ve-açlık-çektirdi-sana"]·urd["اور-تمہیں-بھوکا-رکھا", "بھوکا-رکھے-گا"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† רָעֵב vb. be hungry (NH id. Hiph. and deriv.; Assyrian rûbatu, hunger; Arabic رَغُبَ be roomy, voracious, رَغِبَ desire vehemently; Ethiopic ርኅበ be hungry);— Qal Pf. 3 ms. ר׳ Is 9:19; 44:12; 3 pl. רָעֵ֑בוּ ψ 34:11; Impf. 3 ms. יִרְעַב Is 8:21, 1 pl. נִרְעֵב Je 42:14, etc.;—be hungry Is 8:21 Gn 41:55 (E; of land, = have famine), Je 42:14 (לַלֶּחֶם), Is 49:10 (‖ צמא), 65:13 (‖ id.; opp. אכל), ψ…