the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Among
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Preposition.
Qereb (קֶרֶב, Strong's #7130), “among.” The first usage of this preposition is in Genesis: “Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in [among] the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom” (13:12). This word is used 222 times in the Old Testament; it is predominant in the Pentateuch (especially Deuteronomy) but is rare in the historical books (apart from the early books, Joshua and Judges). In the poetical books, qereb is used most often in the Book of Psalms. It occurs only once in Job and three times in Proverbs. It is fairly well represented in the prophetical books.
B. Noun.
Qereb (קֶרֶב, Strong's #7130), “inward part; midst.” As a noun, this word is related to the Akkadian root qarab which means “midst.” In Mishnaic and modern Hebrew, qereb generally means “midst” rather than “inward part” or “entrails.” One idiomatic usage of qereb denotes an inward part of the body that is the seat of laughter (Gen. 18:12) and of thoughts (Jer. 4:14). The Bible limits another idiomatic usage, meaning “inner parts,” to animals: “Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire—his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof” (Exod. 12:9). The noun approximates the prepositional use with the meaning of “midst” or “in.” Something may be “in the midst of” a place: “Peradventure there be fifty righteous within [qereb] the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?” (Gen. 18:24). It may be in the midst of people: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst [qereb] of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Sam. 16:13). God is said to be in the midst of the land (Exod. 8:22), the city of God (Ps. 46:4), and Israel (Num. 11:20). Even when He is close to His people, God is nevertheless holy: “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst [qereb] of thee” (Isa. 12:6; cf. Hos. 11:9). The idiomatic use of qereb in Psalm 103:— “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name”—is more difficult to discern because the noun is in the plural. It seems best to take “all that is within me” as a reference to the Psalmist’s whole being, rather than to a distinct part of the body that is within him. The Septuagint gives the following Greek translations of qereb: kardia “heart [as seat of physical, spiritual, and mental life]” or “heart [figurative in the sense of being interior or central]”; koilia, “body cavity, belly”; and mesos, “middle” or “in the midst.” The KJV gives these senses: “midst” and “inwards.”
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Among'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/a/among.html. 1940.
