Bible Dictionaries
Jareb

Holman Bible Dictionary

(jay' rehb) Personal name meaning, “the great one” or “he contends” (in court). Modern translations see the term as part of a Near Eastern expression “the great king” often applied to the king of Assyria, as in the Aramaic treaty inscriptions from Sefire and in the Assyrian equivalent in 2 Kings 18:19 . Hosea accused Israel and Judah of turning to the “great king” of Assyria, probably Tiglath-pileser III (at least for Judah), to cure their ills rather than going to Yahweh, the great King of the universe and the Great Physician (Hosea 5:13 ). Hosea pronounced just punishment for Israel, their “calf-god” (REB) would be carried to Babylon as tribute to “the great king” (Hosea 10:5-6 ).