Lexical Summary
ereb: Evening
Original Word:עֶרֶב
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:`ereb
Pronunciation:EH-reb
Phonetic Spelling:(eh'-reb)
KJV: + day, even(-ing, tide), night
NASB:evening, twilight, evenings, night, every evening, sunset
Word Origin:[fromH6150 (עָרַב - close)]
1. dusk
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
day, evening, tide, night
Fromarab; dusk -- + day, even(-ing, tide), night.
see HEBREWarab
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitionevening
NASB Translationevening (114), evening* (1), evenings (2), every evening (1), night (2), sunset (1), twilight (11).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
1311 Samuel 20:5 strike out see We Dr and others] ; — absolute
2 Kings 2:16 +,
Exodus 12:18 +; construct
Proverbs 7:9; dual
Exodus 30:8 4t., -
Exodus 12:16 5t. (all P); —
evening, originally sunset, and hence perhapsat the time of sunsetGenesis 8:11 (J),Genesis 24:11 (J; "" ),2 Samuel 11:2;Isaiah 17:14 and (of the day of )Zechariah 14:7,Joshua 8:29 (JE) ; usually alone =time of sunset, evening:in the eveningGenesis 19:1 (J),Genesis 29:23 (E),Exodus 12:18 (P),Deuteronomy 16:6 (+ ),1 Kings 22:35 (compare "" 2 Chronicles 18:34 where + ) + 20 t. + 2Chronicles 13:11 (twice in verse) =every evening;at evening only late:1 Chronicles 16:40;1 Chronicles 23:30; 2Chron 2:3;Ezra 3:3;Psalm 59:7;Psalm 59:15;Psalm 90:6;Ecclesiastes 11:6 ;at the turn of eveningGenesis 24:63 (J),Deuteronomy 23:12; as adverb accusativeExodus 16:6 (P),Psalm 55:18; as marking duration of impurity, in phraseLeviticus 11:24 30t. P +Leviticus 22:6 (H); of Day of AtonementLeviticus 23:32 (P).
(only P)between the two evenings, i.e. probably between sunset and dark (see Thes [various views fully given]; otherwise DiExodus 12:6; on form as possibly only expanded plural see Ges§ 88c),Exodus 12:6;Exodus 16:12;Exodus 29:39,41;Exodus 30:8;Leviticus 23:5;Numbers 9:3,5,11;Numbers 28:4,8 .
other phrases are:Jeremiah 6:4 (distinguished from andJeremiah 6:5),2 Kings 16:15;Ezra 9:4,5;Psalm 141:2;Daniel 9:21 ; see I. ; for all combinations withmorning, see
(late poetry) =night,Job 7:4; compareProverbs 7:9 ("" ).
Topical Lexicon
Overview of the Themeעֶרֶב (ereb) designates the time of day beginning with the setting of the sun and extending into early night. With roughly 134 Old Testament occurrences, it functions both as a literal marker in Israel’s daily rhythm and as a theological signal of completion, transition, and anticipated renewal.
Foundational Place in the Creation Pattern
Genesis opens with the refrain “And there was evening, and there was morning” (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). By placing evening first, Scripture establishes the biblical day as beginning at sundown. This ordering becomes the framework for Sabbath observance (Leviticus 23:32) and every subsequent festival reckoning.
Domestic and Agricultural Life
1. Routine labors closed at evening (Deuteronomy 24:15); wages were to be paid “before the sun sets,” preventing exploitation.
2. Evening was prime time for drawing water (Genesis 24:11), reflecting cooler temperatures and communal interaction.
3. Shepherds guided flocks home at dusk (Psalm 104:23). The Lord thus describes His pastoral oversight: “I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey, and I will judge between one sheep and another” (Ezekiel 34:22).
Evening and Israel’s Daily Worship
The continual burnt offering framed Israel’s day: “Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight” (Exodus 29:39). The second lamb, given in ereb, testified that the nation’s consecration endured until the close of every day.Psalm 141:2 calls prayer “the evening offering,” showing that devotion, not merely ritual, fulfills the sacrifice’s intent.
Festal and Redemptive Significance
1. Passover: “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5). The timing underscores that redemption begins when the day appears to be ending—foreshadowing the Messiah’s atoning death as “the Lamb of God.”
2. Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Booths, and the Day of Atonement all dictate sundown-to-sundown observance. Evening therefore frames holiness as a lived, twenty-four-hour reality.
3. Prophetic Symbolism:Daniel 8:14 foretells “two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings”—a measured period after which the sanctuary will be vindicated. Evening here operates as a prophetic unit of time ensuring the reliability of God’s timetable.
Narrative Moments Marked by Evening
• Covenant scenes: Abraham’s servant meets Rebekah “toward evening” (Genesis 24:63–65), a time signaling providential guidance.
• Judgment scenes: The angels arrive at Sodom “in the evening” (Genesis 19:1), introducing the final night of that city.
• Warfare: Israel’s battles often paused at nightfall (Joshua 8:29), presenting evening as a marker of mercy that limits bloodshed.
Wisdom Literature and Personal Devotion
Proverbs 7:9 warns of the simple youth who ventures “at twilight, in the evening,” indicating that moral danger escalates when light recedes. By contrast,Psalm 55:17 advises covenant communion: “Evening, morning, and noon, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.” The believer’s safest response to nightfall is prayer.
Evening as Figure of Salvation History
Zechariah 14:7 promises, “At evening there will be light,” pointing to a coming age when normal cycles of gloom give way to perpetual illumination—a hint of Revelation’s “no more night.” Thus ereb becomes a canvas on which God paints eschatological hope.
Pastoral and Ministry Applications
• Family Worship: The biblical precedent encourages households to gather as sunlight fades, recounting God’s works and seeking His protection for the night.
• Sabbath Entrance Ceremonies: Congregations may light candles or readGenesis 1 at sundown, aligning corporate life with Scripture’s rhythm.
• Counseling Wisdom: Advising believers to settle conflicts “before the sun goes down” (Ephesians 4:26) rests on the Old Testament principle of ending each day at peace.
Ethical Dimension—Justice at Sundown
Commands to restore pledges and pay wages before evening (Exodus 22:26;Deuteronomy 24:13) elevate ereb as a daily deadline safeguarding the vulnerable. Such statutes shaped Israel into a society of timely compassion.
Prophetic and Apocalyptic Echoes
The phrase “evening and morning” in Daniel ties temporal cycles to cosmic deliverance. Malachi anticipates that “from the rising of the sun to its setting My name will be great among the nations” (Malachi 1:11), implying global worship that spans every evening across the earth.
Christological Fulfillment
The Gospel writers note that Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb at evening (Matthew 27:57). Redemption’s work completed, the Lord rested through the night until the dawn of the first day, mirroring Genesis’ pattern and sealing the new creation.
Summary
עֶרֶב traces a theological arc from Genesis to the Prophets: it is the boundary of each day, the hour of sacrifice, a symbol of both vulnerability and divine faithfulness, and a prophetic token of the coming age when night will yield to unending light. Faithful observance and reflection upon evening deepen the believer’s appreciation of God’s orderly design, covenant mercy, and ultimate victory.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּעֶ֥רֶב בָּ֭עֶרֶב בָּעֶ֔רֶב בָּעֶ֖רֶב בָּעֶ֗רֶב בָּעֶ֙רֶב֙ בָּעֶ֛רֶב בָּעֶ֜רֶב בָּעֶ֣רֶב בָּעֶ֣רֶב ׀ בָּעֶרֶב֒ בָּעָ֑רֶב בָּעָֽרֶב׃ בָעֶ֔רֶב בָעֶ֗רֶב בָעֶ֙רֶב֙ בערב בערב׃ הָֽעֲרְבַּ֛יִם הָֽעַרְבַּ֙יִם֙ הָֽעַרְבָּ֑יִם הָֽעַרְבָּֽיִם׃ הָעֲרְבַּ֖יִם הָעֶ֔רֶב הָעֶ֖רֶב הָעֶ֗רֶב הָעֶ֜רֶב הָעֶ֥רֶב הָעֶ֧רֶב הָעֶרֶב֒ הָעַרְבַּ֖יִם הָעַרְבָּ֑יִם הָעַרְבָּֽיִם׃ הָעָ֑רֶב הָעָֽרֶב׃ הערב הערב׃ הערבים הערבים׃ וְהָעֶ֔רֶב וְלָעֶ֔רֶב וְלָעֶ֖רֶב וְלָעָ֑רֶב וְלָעָֽרֶב׃ וָעֶ֣רֶב וּבָעֶ֛רֶב וּבָעֶ֜רֶב וּבָעֶ֥רֶב וּבָעֶֽרֶב־ ובערב ובערב־ והערב ולערב ולערב׃ וערב לָ֝עֶ֗רֶב לָ֭עֶרֶב לָעֶ֣רֶב לָעָֽרֶב׃ לערב לערב׃ מֵעֶ֣רֶב מֵעֶ֥רֶב מֵעֶ֧רֶב מערב עֶ֔רֶב עֶ֕רֶב עֶ֖רֶב עֶ֙רֶב֙ עֶ֣רֶב עֶ֤רֶב עֶ֥רֶב עָ֑רֶב עָֽרֶב׃ ערב ערב׃ ‘ā·reḇ ‘āreḇ ‘e·reḇ ‘ereḇ Arev bā‘āreḇ bā‘ereḇ ḇā‘ereḇ bā·‘ā·reḇ bā·‘e·reḇ ḇā·‘e·reḇ baArev baErev bə‘ereḇ bə·‘e·reḇ beErev Erev hā‘arbayim hā‘arbāyim hā‘ărbayim hā‘āreḇ hā‘ereḇ hā·‘ā·reḇ hā·‘ar·ba·yim hā·‘ar·bā·yim hā·‘ăr·ba·yim hā·‘e·reḇ haarBayim haArev haErev lā‘āreḇ lā‘ereḇ lā·‘ā·reḇ lā·‘e·reḇ laArev laErev mê‘ereḇ mê·‘e·reḇ meErev ū·ḇā·‘e·reḇ ū·ḇā·‘e·reḇ- ūḇā‘ereḇ ūḇā‘ereḇ- uvaErev vaErev vehaErev velaArev velaErev wā‘ereḇ wā·‘e·reḇ wə·hā·‘e·reḇ wə·lā·‘ā·reḇ wə·lā·‘e·reḇ wəhā‘ereḇ wəlā‘āreḇ wəlā‘ereḇ
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