Lexical Summary
eber: Region beyond, side, other side, across
Original Word:עֵבֶר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:`eber
Pronunciation:AY-ver
Phonetic Spelling:(ay'-ber)
KJV: X against, beyond, by, X from, over, passage, quarter, (other, this) side, straight
NASB:beyond, across, side, other side, sides, west, beside
Word Origin:[fromH5674 (עָבַר - To pass over)]
1. (properly) a region across
2. but used only adverbially (with or without a preposition) on the opposite side (especially of the Jordan
3. ususally meaning the east)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
against, beyond, by, from, over, passage, quarter, other,
Fromabar; properly, a region across; but used only adverbially (with or without a preposition) on the opposite side (especially of the Jordan; ususally meaning the east) -- X against, beyond, by, X from, over, passage, quarter, (other, this) side, straight.
see HEBREWabar
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
abarDefinitionregion across or beyond, side
NASB Translationacross (10), across* (3), beside (1), beyond (33), beyond* (12), next* (1), other side (8), regions beyond (1), side (9), sides (2), space (1), straight* (3), way (1), west (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I.
911Samuel 14:40 (on formation compare Ba
NB 144; compare especially Assyrian
êbru, êbirtu, id.,
êbirtan, adverb
beyond); — absolute
1 Samuel 14:4 +; construct
Joshua 24:4 +; suffix
Isaiah 47:15; plural construct
Isaiah 7:20;
Jeremiah 48:28 (si vera lectio, see below); suffix
1 Kings 5:4;
Jeremiah 49:32 (read probably , so Vrss),
Exodus 32:15; —
region across orbeyond anything (usually wady, river, or sea), mostly with preposition:Numbers 21:13 (JE)Judges 11:18, compareJeremiah 25:22;Deuteronomy 30:13 b,Deuteronomy 30:13 abeyond the sea;Isaiah 18:1, compare1 Kings 4:12 (on the side of, on, see
; ); but also (rarely)from the other side ofZephaniah 3:10;Job 1:19; 2Chronicles 20:2; absolute1 Samuel 26:13to the other side (that is, of a ravine; after );1 Samuel 31:7, read perhaps , so Klo Bu HPS;Jeremiah 48:28beyond the mouth of a chasm is dubious; Gie proposesin the rock-holes of the precipices; especially (chiefly Hexateuch, 37 t.) (30 t.), or (less often,Joshua 13:32 13t.), , (only with ), of either east Jordan (36 t.) or west Jordan land (9 t.) according to standpoint of speaker or writer:
(from standpoint of writer)Genesis 50:10,11 (J)Joshua 17:5 (JE)Deuteronomy 1:1,5;Deuteronomy 4:41,46,47,49;Joshua 1:14;Joshua 12:1;Joshua 13:8 (D),Numbers 22:1;Numbers 32:19;Numbers 34:15;Joshua 13:27,32;Joshua 14:3;Joshua 20:8 (P),Judges 7:25;Judges 10:8;1 Samuel 31:7;Isaiah 8:23;1 Chronicles 6:63;1 Chronicles 12:37; from standpoint of speaker,Joshua 7:7 (JE),Joshua 24:8 (E),Joshua 1:15;Joshua 2:10;Joshua 9:10;Joshua 18:7;Joshua 22:4 (D),Judges 5:17; inNumbers 35:14 (Moses speaks) it island opposed to to Can., compareNumbers 32:32; inDeuteronomy 3:8 (Moses speaks) writer (D) ascribes his own standpoint to Moses; (often further topographical note is added, e.g.Deuteronomy 4:49 +,Joshua 1:15 +, etc.);Joshua 22:11toward the region opposite the sons of Israel apparently also refers to east side (see Steuern on text).
(9 t.), from standpoint of speakerDeuteronomy 3:20,25 (Moses), alsoDeuteronomy 11:30 (but here + , and in all following some special designation ofWest), +Joshua 5:1 (D; from standpoint of those just crossed),Joshua 12:7 (opposite EastJoshua 12:1-6),Joshua 22:7 (id.; Kt , Qr ), compareJoshua 9:1 (asJoshua 5:1); +Numbers 32:19 a (opposite East vb); in1 Chronicles 26:30 seems =side (see below). Alsobeyond the river (Euphrates)Joshua 24:2,14,15 (E; Kt Qr ),2 Samuel 10:16 =1 Chronicles 19:16beyond, and1 Kings 14:5to the other side of (see );from beyond the river onlyJoshua 24:3 (E), in all these = beyond the Euphraseeastward, from standpoint of those west of Euphrase; so pluralIsaiah 7:20; possibly also alone (si vera lectio) in the difficult passageNumbers 24:24; =region beyond the river (Euphrase) westward (from standpoint of those in Babylonia or Persia)Nehemiah 2:7,9;Nehemiah 3:7;Ezra 8:36; also1 Kings 5:4 (twice in verse) (written in Babylonian; compare Biblical Aramaic , and DrIntr (6) 504). Compare late Assyrianebir nari SchrKB iv. 304, l. 7 from below; KAT 3. 188, 437.
(Opposite)side, side:1 Samuel 14:1on yonder side seems transition to this meaning; twice,1 Samuel 14:4 =on one side, on the other side, so twice1 Samuel 14:40; evenExodus 32:15 (E)on their two sides (i.e. of tablets);Exodus 28:26 (P)toward the inner side of theephod; in1 Kings 7:20,30 apparently =at the side of oropposite, but the architectural details are obscure;1 Kings 5:4on all sides of him, round about,Jeremiah 49:32 (read Vrss Gie)from all sides of them (all directions, =Jeremiah 49:5);to the side of their faces (i.e. in front, straight forward)they (always)wentEzekiel 1:9,12;Ezekiel 10:22, compareExodus 25:37 to give lightupon the space in front of it;Isaiah 47:15they wander away each in his own direction (regardless of thee). — On1 Chronicles 26:30 see above
Topical Lexicon
Overviewעֵבֶר (ʿēḇer) most often points to the “other side” or “beyond,” marking a line that must be crossed. Ninety occurrences span narrative, legal, poetic, and prophetic texts, uniting them by the idea of boundary and passage. Scripture repeatedly uses the word to locate people or events in relation to major waterways—pre-eminently the Jordan and the Euphrates—but the term also functions figuratively to speak of covenantal boundaries, spiritual decisions, and eschatological hope.
Geographical Usage: Rivers, Seas, and Deserts
1. River Jordan. Roughly half the references belong to the formula מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן (“beyond the Jordan”), beginning withGenesis 50:10-11 and then saturating Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua (for example,Deuteronomy 1:1;Joshua 1:14-15; 22:4-7). The phrase can describe either the eastern or western bank, depending on the narrator’s vantage point. Moses writes east of the river and calls Canaan “beyond the Jordan”; Joshua, writing west of the river, can reverse the geography. This literary device reminds the reader that the true center of Israel’s identity is not a particular longitude but the presence and promise of God.
2. River Euphrates. In larger geopolitical settings עֵבֶר points “beyond the Euphrates” (Joshua 24:2;2 Samuel 10:16;1 Kings 5:4 [5:18 ET];Ezra 4:10-11;Isaiah 7:20). The prophets invoke it to describe the distant source of imperial armies. What lies “across” the great river can thus be a place of threat or of origin, a paradox that heightens the drama of divine sovereignty over the nations.
3. Other physical markers. “Across the Arnon” (Numbers 21:13), “across the Red Sea” (Joshua 24:6), and “across the coastlands” (Jeremiah 25:22) show the flexibility of the term. It can even designate the far side of an interior courtyard or hillside (1 Samuel 14:5), proving that עֵבֶר works wherever a barrier defines space.
Historical and Covenantal Significance
• Patriarchal Pilgrimage.Joshua 24:2-3 recalls that the fathers “lived beyond the Euphrates” before the Lord “took your father Abraham from the other side.” Scripture roots the concept of “Hebrew” (ʿibrî) in this same idea of crossing over, underscoring the pilgrim character of God’s people (compareGenesis 14:13).
• Transjordanian Settlement.Numbers 32 andJoshua 22 relate how Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh chose territory “across the Jordan.” Their settlement tested Israel’s unity, but Moses’ conditional permission bound them to fight for their brothers before returning “to your own land across the Jordan” (Joshua 1:15). Thus עֵבֶר becomes a shorthand for brotherly obligation that transcends geography.
• Wilderness to Promise. Deuteronomy opens “beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 1:1) and closes with Moses’ death “in the land of Moab” (34:5). The location reminds Israel that the covenant was ratified while they were still outside the inheritance—grace precedes possession. Crossing the Jordan under Joshua, then, is an enacted sermon of salvation by faith leading to obedient conquest.
Political and Military Contexts
Foreign coalitions repeatedly assemble “from across” the Euphrates (2 Samuel 10:16;1 Kings 5:4;Isaiah 7:20). The chronic anxiety over powers arising from the far side of the river frames Israel’s reliance on the Lord rather than on human alliances. Similarly,Judges 5:17 censures Reuben for “remaining beyond the Jordan” during Deborah’s campaign, proving that staying on the far side in a time of battle can equal faithlessness.
Prophetic and Poetic Resonances
Psalms and Prophets sometimes lift the term above mere cartography.Psalm 71:20 celebrates God bringing His servant “from the depths of the earth,” echoing the movement from death to life, whileZechariah 9:10 foresees Messiah’s rule “from sea to sea and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth,” stretching the idiom of עֵבֶר into a vision of universal peace. The language of “beyond” turns into a promise that no boundary can exclude the reach of the coming King.
Theological and Ministry Reflections
1. Salvation involves crossing. Just as Israel left Egypt, passed through the Red Sea, and finally crossed the Jordan, every believer moves from death to life (John 5:24) by trusting in the One who has “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).
2. Boundaries create mission fields. What lies “beyond” to us is not outside God’s agenda; rather, it is a summons to obedience (Acts 1:8). Israel’s mandate to care for tribes on both sides of the Jordan illustrates the church’s calling to love the whole body of Christ, near and far.
3. Eschatological hope. The recurring phrase “from beyond the river” in prophetic texts foreshadows the ingathering of nations (Isaiah 11:11;Zephaniah 3:10). What is now “across” will one day be gathered “within,” testifying to the final unification of the New Jerusalem.
Key Passages for Study
Genesis 50:10-11;Numbers 32:19-22;Deuteronomy 1:1-5;Joshua 1:14-18;2 Samuel 10:16;1 Kings 5:4;Isaiah 7:20;Jeremiah 25:22;Zechariah 9:10.
Summary
עֵבֶר binds geography to theology. Whether marking the eastern bank of the Jordan, the remote reaches of imperial power, or the spiritual distance between the lost and the redeemed, the word invites God’s people to trust Him for every crossing—past, present, and future.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּעֵ֖בֶר בְּעֵ֣בֶר בְּעֵ֤בֶר בְּעֵ֥בֶר בְּעֵ֨בֶר בְּעֶבְרֵ֤י בְּעֶבְרֵ֥י בְּעֵ֥בֶר בעבר בעברי הָעֵ֔בֶר העבר וּמֵעֵ֜בֶר וּמֵעֵ֣בֶר ומעבר לְעֵ֣בֶר לְעֶבְרוֹ֙ לעבר לעברו מֵהָעֵ֖בֶר מֵהָעֵ֙בֶר֙ מֵעֵ֖בֶר מֵעֵ֛בֶר מֵעֵ֣בֶר מֵעֵ֤בֶר מֵעֵ֥בֶר מהעבר מעבר עֲבָרָ֖יו עֲבָרָ֛יו עֵ֖בֶר עֵ֣בֶר עֵ֤בֶר עֵ֥בֶר עֶבְרֵיהֶ֔ם עבר עבריהם עבריו ‘ă·ḇā·rāw ‘ăḇārāw ‘ê·ḇer ‘eḇ·rê·hem ‘êḇer ‘eḇrêhem avaRav bə‘êḇer bə‘eḇrê bə·‘ê·ḇer bə·‘eḇ·rê beEver beevRei Ever evreiHem hā‘êḇer hā·‘ê·ḇer haEver lə‘êḇer lə‘eḇrōw lə·‘ê·ḇer lə·‘eḇ·rōw leEver leevRo mê‘êḇer mê·‘ê·ḇer mê·hā·‘ê·ḇer meEver mêhā‘êḇer mehaEver ū·mê·‘ê·ḇer ūmê‘êḇer umeEver
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