3792. kethab
Lexical Summary
kethab: inscription, document, needed

Original Word: כְּתָב
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: kthab
Pronunciation: keh-thawb'
Phonetic Spelling: (keth-awb')
NASB: inscription, document, needed, written
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H3791 (כָּתָב - script)]

1. prescribing, writing(-ten)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
prescribing, writing

(Aramaic) corresponding to kathab -- prescribing, writing(-ten).

see HEBREW kathab

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to kethab
Definition
a writing
NASB Translation
document (3), inscription (7), needed (1), written (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
כְּתָב noun masculineDaniel 5:7 writing ; — absolute כְּתָ֑ב Ezra 7:22 (Baer כְּתַב, but see K§ 57 near the end Str); construct ׳כ Ezra 6:18; emphatic כְּתָבָאDaniel 5:8 +, הָ֯ Daniel 5:7,15; —

1 writing, inscription (on wall) Daniel 5:7,8,15,16,17,24,25.

2. a. written decree Daniel 6:9; Daniel 6:10; Daniel 6:11.

b. written requirement Ezra 6:18; Ezra 7:22.

Topical Lexicon
Range of Meaning

Kəṯāḇ denotes a written script, inscription, or document. In the inspired Aramaic portions of Ezra and Daniel it describes civil decrees, temple regulations, and the supernatural writing that appeared on Belshazzar’s wall. The term always assumes a visible, authoritative text whose contents must be heeded.

Occurrences and Literary Setting

Ezra 6:18; Ezra 7:22; Daniel 5:7, 8, 15, 16, 17, 24, 25; Daniel 6:8, 9, 10. Ten occurrences belong to Daniel’s narrative of Babylonian and Medo-Persian court life, two to post-exilic temple administration in Ezra. Every text lies within the exilic or early restoration period when God’s people were subject to imperial law yet sustained by divine revelation.

Historical Background

During the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., the Babylonian and Persian empires relied heavily on written law codes and royal archives. Sealed letters determined taxation (Ezra 7:22) and worship practices (Ezra 6:18). In Daniel, kəṯāḇ underscores how irrevocable “the law of the Medes and Persians” was (Daniel 6:8-10). By stressing the permanence of such records, Scripture contrasts transient human decrees with the unchanging word of God.

The Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5)

In Daniel 5, kəṯāḇ is clustered eight times around the mysterious hand that interrupted Belshazzar’s blasphemous feast:
• “Then the king called aloud to bring in the astrologers... that they might read the inscription” (Daniel 5:7).
• “But they could neither read the inscription nor interpret it” (Daniel 5:8).
• “Now I have heard about you that you can give interpretations and solve problems. If you can read the inscription...” (Daniel 5:16).
• “Then from His presence the hand was sent, and this inscription was written” (Daniel 5:24).
• “This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.” (Daniel 5:25).

Here the term marks a divine verdict written in human language but inaccessible without prophetic insight. The king’s wise men could not decipher it, demonstrating that worldly wisdom fails without revelation.

Royal Decrees and Administrative Authority

In Ezra 6:18 the Persian authorities authorize the restored temple’s priestly duties “according to the book of Moses,” showing that Gentile edicts could support covenant faithfulness. In Daniel 6, a hostile decree forbids prayer to anyone but the king; Daniel continues praying toward Jerusalem three times a day despite “the written decree” (Daniel 6:10). The clash between imperial kəṯāḇ and the higher law of God illustrates the believer’s obligation to obey God rather than men when commands conflict.

Implications for Scripture

Kəṯāḇ reminds readers that God communicates through writing and guards His purposes through providentially ordered documents. The Babylonian edict that doomed Belshazzar validated Daniel’s prophetic message and foretold the kingdom’s fall that very night (Daniel 5:30-31). Likewise, Persian records preserved temple funding and protected Jewish worship (Ezra 6:18). These texts affirm God’s sovereignty over history and His ability to use secular paperwork to advance redemption.

Lessons for Ministry

1. Treat written Scripture as the decisive authority, superior to any cultural or governmental decree.
2. Expect God to vindicate obedience even when official documents threaten faithfulness.
3. Encourage believers to study and rightly interpret God’s written word, lest they remain as ignorant as Belshazzar’s counselors.
4. Remember that every human statute is temporary; only God’s written judgments endure forever.

Related Concepts

Sefer (“scroll”), Kathab (“to write”), Dath (“law”), Megillah (“roll”), Grapho (Greek “to write”).

Forms and Transliterations
וּכְתָבָ֥א וכתבא כְּתָבָ֑א כְּתָבָ֖א כְּתָבָ֜א כְּתָבָ֣ה כְּתָבָא֙ כְתָֽב׃ כְתָבָ֖א כְתָבָ֤ה כִּכְתָ֖ב ככתב כתב׃ כתבא כתבה cheTav chetaVa chetaVah kə·ṯā·ḇā ḵə·ṯā·ḇā kə·ṯā·ḇāh ḵə·ṯā·ḇāh ḵə·ṯāḇ ḵəṯāḇ kəṯāḇā ḵəṯāḇā kəṯāḇāh ḵəṯāḇāh ketaVa ketaVah kichTav kiḵ·ṯāḇ kiḵṯāḇ ū·ḵə·ṯā·ḇā uchetaVa ūḵəṯāḇā
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ezra 6:18
HEB: דִּ֣י בִירוּשְׁלֶ֑ם כִּכְתָ֖ב סְפַ֥ר מֹשֶֽׁה׃
NAS: in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book
KJV: which [is] at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book
INT: in Jerusalem is written the book of Moses

Ezra 7:22
HEB: דִּי־ לָ֥א כְתָֽב׃
NAS: of oil, and salt as needed.
KJV: without prescribing [how much].
INT: forasmuch without needed

Daniel 5:7
HEB: דִּֽי־ יִקְרֵ֞ה כְּתָבָ֣ה דְנָ֗ה וּפִשְׁרֵהּ֙
NAS: this inscription and explain
KJV: this writing, and shew
INT: who read inscription this interpretation

Daniel 5:8
HEB: וְלָֽא־ כָהֲלִ֤ין כְּתָבָא֙ לְמִקְרֵ֔א [וּפִשְׁרָא
NAS: not read the inscription or make known
KJV: read the writing, nor make known
INT: not could the inscription read interpretation

Daniel 5:15
HEB: אָֽשְׁפַיָּ֔א דִּֽי־ כְתָבָ֤ה דְנָה֙ יִקְר֔וֹן
NAS: this inscription and make
KJV: this writing, and make known
INT: the conjurers forasmuch inscription this read

Daniel 5:16
HEB: (תִּכ֨וּל ק) כְּתָבָ֜א לְמִקְרֵ֗א וּפִשְׁרֵהּ֙
NAS: to read the inscription and make
KJV: read the writing, and make known
INT: if be able the inscription to read interpretation

Daniel 5:17
HEB: הַ֑ב בְּרַ֗ם כְּתָבָא֙ אֶקְרֵ֣א לְמַלְכָּ֔א
NAS: I will read the inscription to the king
KJV: I will read the writing unto the king,
INT: give however the inscription will read to the king

Daniel 5:24
HEB: דִֽי־ יְדָ֑א וּכְתָבָ֥א דְנָ֖ה רְשִֽׁים׃
NAS: from Him and this inscription was written
KJV: him; and this writing was written.
INT: forasmuch the hand inscription and this was written

Daniel 5:25
HEB: וּדְנָ֥ה כְתָבָ֖א דִּ֣י רְשִׁ֑ים
NAS: Now this is the inscription that was written
KJV: And this [is] the writing that was written,
INT: now this is the inscription that was written

Daniel 6:8
HEB: אֱסָרָ֖א וְתִרְשֻׁ֣ם כְּתָבָ֑א דִּ֣י לָ֧א
NAS: and sign the document so
KJV: and sign the writing, that it be not
INT: the injunction and sign the document so that it be not

Daniel 6:9
HEB: דָּֽרְיָ֔וֶשׁ רְשַׁ֥ם כְּתָבָ֖א וֶאֱסָרָֽא׃
NAS: signed the document, that is, the injunction.
KJV: signed the writing and the decree.
INT: Darius signed the document is the injunction

Daniel 6:10
HEB: דִּֽי־ רְשִׁ֤ים כְּתָבָא֙ עַ֣ל לְבַיְתֵ֔הּ
NAS: knew that the document was signed,
KJV: knew that the writing was signed,
INT: now when was signed the document entered his house

12 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3792
12 Occurrences


ḵə·ṯāḇ — 1 Occ.
ḵə·ṯā·ḇā — 1 Occ.
ḵə·ṯā·ḇāh — 1 Occ.
kə·ṯā·ḇā — 6 Occ.
kə·ṯā·ḇāh — 1 Occ.
kiḵ·ṯāḇ — 1 Occ.
ū·ḵə·ṯā·ḇā — 1 Occ.

3791
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