Love
אַהֲבָהStrong’s H0160ahavah (a-ha-vah)
Appears in 35 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Ahavah is the Hebrew word usually translated “love”, “love his” and “love of”. It appears in 35 verses of the Old Testament.
“And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.”
Meaning
- Lovehuman love for human object
- God's love to His people
How it's translated
- love 13
- in love his 5
- love of 2
- more than love 2
- love my 2
- from love of 1
- love your 1
- more than love of 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Song of Solomon 10
- Proverbs 5
- Jeremiah 3
- Hosea 3
- 1 Samuel 2
- 2 Samuel 2
14 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Deuteronomy 7:8But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
- 1 Samuel 18:3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
- 1 Samuel 20:17And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
- 2 Samuel 1:26I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
- 2 Samuel 13:15Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
- 1 Kings 11:2Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
All 35 verses, by book
Hebrew dictionary
אַהֲבָה ahavah · love
1) love 1a) human love for human object 1a1) of man toward man 1a2) of man toward himself 1a3) between man and woman 1a4) sexual desire 2) God's love to His people
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “love” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
LOVE, verb transitive
luv. [Latin libeo, lubeo. See Lief. The sense is probably to be prompt, free, willing, from leaning, advancing, or drawing forward.]
- In a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of gratification.“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” Matthew 19:19
- To have benevolence or good will for. John 3:16
All definitions and other forms of “love”
LOVE, noun
- An affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual.
- Courtship; chiefly in the phrase, to make love that is, to court; to woo; to solicit union in marriage.
- Patriotism; the attachment one has to his native land; as the love of country.
- Benevolence; good will.“God is love” 1 John 4:8
- The object beloved.
- A word of endearment.
- Picturesque representation of love
- Lewdness.
- A thin silk stuff. obsolete
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.