Lexical Summary yubal: Stream, River Original Word: יוּבַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance river From yabal; a stream -- river. see HEBREW yabal NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom yabal Definition a stream NASB Translation stream (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. יוּבַל noun [masculine] stream, Jeremiah 17:8 ("" מַיִם). Topical Lexicon Occurrence and Immediate Context Hebrew 3105 appears once in Scripture, Jeremiah 17:8, within the prophet’s contrast between the man who trusts in the LORD and the man who relies on flesh. The blessed man “will be like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream” (Jeremiah 17:8). The stream is the steady, life-giving watercourse that guarantees fruitfulness even when heat and drought come. Imagery of the Nourishing Stream 1. Source of life – Ancient Israel’s semi-arid climate made perennial water rare. A tree beside a dependable channel could outlast scorching summers, illustrating the believer’s resilience when rooted in God. Intertextual Echoes Psalm 1:3 speaks of the righteous person “planted by streams of water,” clearly paralleling Jeremiah. Ezekiel 47:1-12 envisions the life-giving river from the temple, while Revelation 22:1-2 looks to the river of the water of life in the New Jerusalem. Throughout Scripture, watercourses symbolize divine blessing, cleansing, and the Spirit (Isaiah 44:3; John 7:38). Geographical and Cultural Background Agricultural survival in Judah depended on wadis, springs, and man-made channels. A guaranteed flow meant economic stability, shade, and fruit—vivid images for audiences who knew flash floods and prolonged droughts. Jeremiah’s choice of a dependable channel underscores how secure the LORD’s provision is compared to unreliable cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13). Theological Significance • Trust versus self-reliance – The stream embodies the LORD’s covenant faithfulness. Rooting in Him brings stability; turning elsewhere leads to barrenness (Jeremiah 17:5-6). Practical Ministry Applications 1. Cultivate hidden roots – Private prayer and Scripture intake are the primary taproots to the divine stream. Christological and Eschatological Forward Glances Jesus fulfills the stream imagery: “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him’ ” (John 7:38). The believer becomes both recipient and conduit of life, pointing ahead to the consummation where the river of life flows from God’s throne (Revelation 22:1-2). Until that day, every act of trust taps the same life-giving current glimpsed in Jeremiah’s single, vivid word. Forms and Transliterations יוּבַל֙ יובל yū·ḇal yūḇal yuValLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Jeremiah 17:8 HEB: מַ֗יִם וְעַל־ יוּבַל֙ יְשַׁלַּ֣ח שָֽׁרָשָׁ֔יו NAS: its roots by a stream And will not fear KJV: her roots by the river, and shall not see INT: the water by A stream extends roots |
    |