Hebrew

To turn

סָבַבStrong’s H5437

savav (sa-vav)

Appears in 152 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Savav is the Hebrew word usually translated “go around”, “turned” and “surrounded me”. It appears in 152 verses of the Old Testament.

“All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.”

Zechariah 14:10 KJV

Meaning

To turn, turn about or around or aside or back or towards, go about or around, surround, encircle, change direction(Qal) · (Niphal) · (Piel) to turn about, change, transform · (Poel) · (Hiphil)

How it's translated

go around 7
and he turned 6
they surrounded me 6
they turned 6
and it turns 5
and they surrounded 5
they have surrounded me 5
and they went around 4

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most

Psalms 21
2 Chronicles 13
Joshua 12
1 Samuel 12
Ezekiel 11
2 Kings 10

25 books in all.

Related words

Explore in Scripture

All 152 verses, by book

Genesis 5: 2:11 2:13 19:4 37:7 42:24
Exodus 4: 13:18 28:11 39:6 39:13
Numbers 6: 21:4 32:38 34:4 34:5 36:7 36:9
Deuteronomy 3: 2:1 2:3 32:10
Joshua 12: 6:3 6:4 6:7 6:11 6:14 6:15 7:9 15:3 15:10 16:6 18:14 19:14
Judges 5: 11:18 16:2 18:23 19:22 20:5
1 Samuel 12: 5:8 5:9 5:10 7:16 15:12 15:27 16:11 17:30 18:11 22:17 22:18 22:22
2 Samuel 8: 3:12 5:23 14:20 14:24 18:15 18:30 20:12 22:6
1 Kings 8: 2:15 5:3 7:15 7:23 7:24 8:14 18:37 21:4
2 Kings 10: 3:9 3:25 6:15 8:21 9:18 9:19 16:18 20:2 23:34 24:17
1 Chronicles 5: 10:14 12:23 13:3 14:14 16:43
2 Chronicles 13: 4:2 4:3 6:3 13:13 14:7 17:9 18:31 21:9 23:2 29:6 33:14 35:22 36:4
Ezra 1: 6:22
Job 2: 16:13 40:22
Psalms 21: 7:7 17:11 18:5 22:12 22:16 26:6 32:7 32:10 48:12 49:5 55:10 59:6 59:14 71:21 88:17 109:3 114:3 114:5 118:10 118:11 118:12
Proverbs 1: 26:14
Ecclesiastes 5: 1:6 2:20 7:25 9:14 12:5
Song of Solomon 5: 2:17 3:2 3:3 5:7 6:5
Isaiah 3: 23:16 28:27 38:2
Jeremiah 6: 6:12 21:4 31:22 31:39 41:14 52:21
Ezekiel 11: 1:9 1:12 1:17 7:22 10:11 10:16 26:2 41:7 41:24 42:19 47:2
Hosea 2: 7:2 11:12
Jonah 2: 2:3 2:5
Habakkuk 1: 2:16
Zechariah 1: 14:10

Hebrew dictionary

סָבַב savav · to turn

: turn/bring_around 1) to turn, turn about or around or aside or back or towards, go about or around, surround, encircle, change direction 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to turn, turn about, be brought round, change 1a2) to march or walk around, go partly around, circle about, skirt, make a round, make a circuit, go about to, surround, encompass 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to turn oneself, close round, turn round 1b2) to be turned over to 1c) (Piel) to turn about, change, transform 1d) (Poel) 1d1) to encompass, surround 1d2) to come about, assemble round 1d3) to march, go about 1d4) to enclose, envelop 1e) (Hiphil) …

From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “turn” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

TURN, verb transitive

[Latin turnus; torniare, to turn; tornare, to return; torneare, tornire, to turn to fence round, to tilt; torniamento, tournament.]

To cause to move in a circular course; as, to turn a wheel; to turn a spindle; to turn the body.
To change or shift sides; to put the upper side downwards, or one side in the place of the other.
To alter, as a position.
To cause to preponderate; to change the state of a balance; as, to turn the scale.

All definitions and other forms of “turn”

To bring the inside out; as, to turn a coat.
To alter, as the posture of the body, or direction of the look.
To form on a lathe; to make round.
To form; to shape; used in the participle; as a body finely turned.
To change; to transform; as, to turn evil to good; to turn goods into money.“I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” 2 Samuel 15:31
To metamorphose; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect.
To alter or change, as color; as, to turn green to blue.
To change or alter in any manner; to vary.
To translate; as, to turn Greek into English.
To change, as the manner of writing; as, to turn prose into verse.
To change, as from one opinion or party to another; as, to turn one from a tory to whig; to turn Mohammedan or a pagan to a Christian.
To change in regard to inclination or temper.“TURN thee to me, and have mercy upon me” Psalms 25:16
To change or alter from one purpose or effect to another.
To transfer.“Therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom to David” 1 Chronicles 10:14
To cause to nauseate or lothe; as, to turn the stomach.
To make giddy.
To infatuate; to make mad, wild or enthusiastic; as, to turn the brain.
To change direction to or from any point; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn the eyes from a disgusting spectacle.
To direct by a change to a certain purpose or object; to direct, as the inclination, thoughts or mind.
To revolve; to agitate in the mind.
To bend from a perpendicular direction; as, to turn the edge of an instrument.
To move from a direct course or strait line; to cause to deviate; as, to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course.
To apply by a change of use.
To reverse.“The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee” Deuteronomy 30:3
To keep passing and changing in the course of trade; as, to turn money or stock two or three times in the year.
To adapt the mind; chiefly in the participle.
To make acid; to sour; as, to turn cider or wine; to turn milk.
To persuade to renounce an opinion; to dissuade from a purpose, or cause to change sides.
To avert; as, to turn away wrath or evil.
To give over; to resign.
To divert; to deflect; as, to turn off the thoughts from serious subjects.
To put to pasture; as cattle or horses.
To transfer; as, to turn over a business to another hand.
To open and examine one leaf after another; as, to turn over a concordance.
To overset.

TURN, verb intransitive

To move round; to have a circular motion; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.

To be directed.
To show regard by directing the look towards any thing.
To move the body round.
To move; to change posture.
To deviate; as, to turn from the road or course.
To alter; to be changed or transformed; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another.
To become by change; as, the fur of certain animals turns in winter.
To change sides.
To change opinions or parties; as, to turn Christian or Mohammedan.
To change the mind or conduct.“TURN from thy fierce wrath” Exodus 32:12
To change to acid; as, mild turns suddenly during a thunder storm.
To be brought eventually; to result or terminate in.
To depend on for decision.
To become giddy.
To change a course of life; to repent.“TURN ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die?” Ezekiel 33:11
To change the course or direction; as, the tide turns.
To depart from; to forsake.turn in, to bend inwards.
To enter for lodgings or entertainment. Genesis 19:2
To go to bed.
To depend on.
To bend outwards; to project.
To rise from bed; also, to come abroad.
To change sides or parties.

TURN, noun

The act of turning; movement or motion in a circular direction, whether horizontally, vertically or otherwise; a revolution; as the turn of a wheel.

A winding; a meandering course; a bend or bending; as the turn of river.
A walk to and from.
Change; alteration; vicissitude; as the turns and varieties of passions.
Successive course.
Manner of proceeding; change of direction.
Chance; hap; opportunity.
Occasion; incidental opportunity.
Time at which, by successive vicissitudes, any thing is to be had or done.
Action of kindness or malice.
Reigning inclination or course.
A step off the ladder at the gallows.
Convenience; occasion; purpose; exigence; as, this will not serve his turn
Form; cast; shape; manner; in a literal or figurative sense; as the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.
Manner of arranging words in a sentence.
Change; new position of things.
Change of direction; as the turn of the tide from flood to ebb.
One round of a rope or cord.
In mining, a pit sunk in some part of a drift.
turn or tourn, in law.
At intervals.

TURN'-BENCH, noun

[turn and bench.]

A kind of iron lathe.

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.