Lexical Summary tabbach: bodyguard, guard, cook Original Word: טַבָּח Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cook, guard From tabach; properly, a butcher; hence, a lifeguardsman (because he was acting as an executioner); also a cook (usually slaughtering the animal for food) -- cook, guard. see HEBREW tabach NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom tabach Definition cook, guardsman NASB Translation bodyguard (16), cook (2), guard (14). Brown-Driver-Briggs טַבָּח noun masculine1Samuel 9:23 1 cook, 2 guardsman; — 1 cook (who also killed the animal for food and served it) טַבָּח absolute 1 Samuel 9:23,24 . 2 elsewhere only plural טַבָּחִים guardsmen, bodyguard (originally royal slaughterers; see RSOTJC 426 (262); Semitic i. 1st ed., 396); always in the following combinations: ׳שַׂר הַטּ captain of Pharaoh's bodyguard Genesis 37:36; Genesis 39:1 (both J), Genesis 40:3,4; Genesis 41:10,12 (all E); ׳רַבטֿ chief of Nebuchadrezzar's bodyguard 2 Kings 25:8,10,11,12,15,18,20; Jeremiah 39:9 16t. Jeremiah (hence Aramaic רַב טַבָּחַיָּא Daniel 2:14). [טַבָּח] noun masculine guardsman (see Biblical Hebrew id.; √ טבח); — plural emphatic טַבָּחַיָא Daniel 2:14. Topical Lexicon Overview טַבָּח (tabbach) designates a person who slaughters, prepares, or oversees food, and by extension one who carries out capital sentences or guards those awaiting judgment. The word’s eighty-plus English renderings (cook, butcher, executioner, captain of the guard, etc.) all flow from this central idea: a servant entrusted with life-and-death authority over flesh. About thirty-two Old Testament occurrences cluster in narrative sections that highlight covenant faithfulness, royal power, judgment, and deliverance. Occurrences and Range of Meaning 1. Household or cultic butcher/cook (1 Samuel 8:13; 1 Samuel 9:23). Though the functional settings differ, every use emphasizes stewardship under a higher ruler—human or divine. Domestic and Hospitality Contexts When Samuel honors young Saul, he commands, “Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside” (1 Samuel 9:23-24). The cook’s reserved portion underscores God’s sovereign choice of Israel’s first king; the tabbach becomes an instrument through whom prophetic hospitality is mediated. Earlier Samuel had warned that Israel’s demand for a monarchy would conscript their daughters as “perfumers and cooks and bakers” (1 Samuel 8:13). Royal privilege would redirect domestic skills once freely offered to the Lord. Royal Security and Administration In Egypt Potiphar is introduced as “one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard” (Genesis 39:1). Here tabbachim serve not merely as kitchen staff but as an elite security force charged with executing Pharaoh’s justice. Joseph’s incarceration “in the house of the captain of the guard” (Genesis 40:3) places him under tabbach jurisdiction, setting the stage for his eventual rise and for Israel’s preservation. Centuries later Nebuzaradan, “captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon” (2 Kings 25:8), supervises Jerusalem’s fall, reflecting the same fusion of culinary, military, and judicial authority. Agents of Divine Judgment and Mercy The Babylonian captain embodies both wrath and grace. He razes the temple yet releases Jeremiah, declaring, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster…Now behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands” (Jeremiah 40:2-4). The tabbach thus appears as an unwitting theological messenger: judgment on covenant breakers and mercy to the faithful remnant. Priestly and Sacrificial Resonances While tabbach never denotes Levitical priests, its slaughtering nuance parallels priestly ministry at the altar. The word reminds readers that sacrifice—whether culinary or cultic—requires skilled hands to divide and prepare flesh in obedience to divine instruction (compare Leviticus 1:6-9). Every faithful butcher anticipates the ordered worship God desires. Christological and Prophetic Foreshadowing Joseph’s experience under Potiphar’s guard prefigures Christ, who was “numbered with the transgressors” yet exalted to save many lives. Likewise Jeremiah’s liberation under Nebuzaradan anticipates the gospel pattern of judgment passing over the righteous. In both narratives the tabbach stands at the hinge of humiliation and exaltation, death and deliverance, pointing ultimately to the cross where the True Shepherd “was led like a lamb to slaughter.” Practical Ministry Lessons • God governs even mundane vocations; a cook or guard may figure prominently in redemptive history. Key References Genesis 37:36; 39:1; 40:3-4; 41:10-12 1 Samuel 8:13; 9:23-24 Jeremiah 39:9-14; 40:1-4; 52:12-15 Forms and Transliterations הַ֠טַּבָּח הַטַּבָּחִ֔ים הַטַּבָּחִ֧ים הַטַּבָּחִֽים׃ הַטַּבָּחִים֙ הַטַבָּחִ֖ים הטבח הטבחים הטבחים׃ טַבָּחִ֑ים טַבָּחִ֔ים טַבָּחִ֖ים טַבָּחִ֗ים טַבָּחִ֛ים טַבָּחִֽים׃ טבחים טבחים׃ לַטַּבָּ֔ח לטבח ha·ṭab·bā·ḥîm haṭ·ṭab·bā·ḥîm haṭ·ṭab·bāḥ hatabbaChim haṭabbāḥîm hattabbaChim haṭṭabbāḥ haṭṭabbāḥîm Hattabboch laṭ·ṭab·bāḥ lattabBach laṭṭabbāḥ ṭab·bā·ḥîm tabbaChim ṭabbāḥîmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 37:36 HEB: פַּרְעֹ֔ה שַׂ֖ר הַטַּבָּחִֽים׃ פ NAS: officer, the captain of the bodyguard. KJV: [and] captain of the guard. INT: Pharaoh's the captain of the bodyguard Genesis 39:1 Genesis 40:3 Genesis 40:4 Genesis 41:10 Genesis 41:12 1 Samuel 9:23 1 Samuel 9:24 2 Kings 25:8 2 Kings 25:10 2 Kings 25:11 2 Kings 25:12 2 Kings 25:15 2 Kings 25:18 2 Kings 25:20 Jeremiah 39:9 Jeremiah 39:10 Jeremiah 39:11 Jeremiah 39:13 Jeremiah 40:1 Jeremiah 40:2 Jeremiah 40:5 Jeremiah 41:10 Jeremiah 43:6 Jeremiah 52:12 32 Occurrences |
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