Swarm
עָרֹבStrong’s H6157arov (a-rov)
Appears in 7 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Arov is the Hebrew word usually translated “swarm” and “swarm of flies”. It appears in 7 verses of the Old Testament.
“Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.”
Meaning
- Swarmprobable meaning from 'mixture' and 'incessant or involved motion'
How it's translated
- the swarm 5
- a swarm 2
- a swarm of flies 2
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Exodus 5
- Psalms 2
2 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- Exodus 8:22And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
- Exodus 8:24And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
- Exodus 8:29And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
- Exodus 8:31And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
- Psalms 78:45He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
- Psalms 105:31He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.
Hebrew dictionary
עָרֹב arov · swarm
1) swarm 1a) probable meaning from 'mixture' and 'incessant or involved motion'
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “swarm” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
SWARM, noun
sworm. [Latin ferveo, and boiling is very expressive of the motions of a swarm of bees. See the Verb.]
- In a general sense, a large number or body of small animals or insects, particularly when in motion; but appropriately, a great number of honey bees which emigrate from a hive at once, and seek new lodgings under the direction of a queen; or a like body of bees united and settled permanently in a hive. Exodus 8:24Judges 14:8
- A swarm or multitude; particularly, a multitude of people in motion.
All definitions and other forms of “swarm”
SWARM, verb intransitive
sworm.
- To collect and depart from a hive by flight in a body, as bees.
- To appear or collect in a crowd; to run; to throng together; to congregate in a multitude.
- To be crowded; to be thronged with a multitude of animals in motion.
- To breed multitudes.
- To climb, as a tree, by embracing it with the arms and legs, and scrambling.
SWARM, verb transitive
To crowd or throng. [Not in use.]
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.