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Bible Dictionaries
Friend
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or Rêa‛ (רֵיעַ, Strong's #7453), “friend; companion; fellow.” This noun appears about 187 times in the Bible. The word refers to a “friend” in 2 Sam. 13:3: “But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab.” The word may be used of a husband (Jer. 3:20) or a lover (Song of Sol. 5:16).
In another sense, rêa‛ may be used of any person with whom one has reciprocal relations: “And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots …” (Jonah 1:7). The word also appears in such phrases as “one another,” found in Gen. 11:3: “And they said one to another …” (cf. Gen. 31:49).
Other related nouns that appear less frequently are rêa‛, which means “friend” about 5 times (e.g., 1 Kings 4:5); and rêa‛, which means “companion or attendant” (Judg. 11:38; Ps. 45:14).
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Friend'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/f/friend.html. 1940.
