697. arbeh
Lexical Summary
arbeh: Locust

Original Word: אַרְבֶּה
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: arbeh
Pronunciation: ar-BEH
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-beh')
KJV: grasshopper, locust
NASB: locusts, locust, swarming locust
Word Origin: [from H7235 (רָבָה - To increase)]

1. a locust (from its rapid increase)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
grasshopper, locust

From rabah; a locust (from its rapid increase) -- grasshopper, locust.

see HEBREW rabah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from rabah
Definition
(a kind of) locust
NASB Translation
locust (8), locusts (11), swarming locust (5).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
אַרְבֶּה noun masculineExodus 10:19 a kind of locust (usually interpreted as the multitudinous, but DlHWB 126 as = Assyrian âribu, êribu, êribû, locust-swarm, from ארב devastate); — always absolute ׳(הָ)א; — usually collective locust-swarm, in simile of swarm of invaders Judges 6:5; Judges 7:12; often apparently the common species ("" other species, compare לְמִינוֺ Leviticus 11:22): Jeremiah 46:23; Nahum 3:15 (simile of multitude; "" יֶלֶק); as destructive Exodus 10:4,12,13,14 (twice in verse); Exodus 10:19a (all J), Psalm 105:34 ("" יֶלֶק), Deuteronomy 28:38 (verb תסל), 1 Kings 8:37 2Chronicles 6:28; Psalm 78:46 (all + תָסִיל), Joel 1:4 (twice in verse) ("" גָּזָם, יֶלָק, חָסִיל), Joel 2:25 ("" id.); as disappearing suddenly (simile) Nahum 3:17 ("" גּוֺב גּוֺבַי); as edible Leviticus 11:22 (H; "" סָלְעָם, חִרְגֹּל, חָגָב); as well organized Proverbs 30:27 (compare Joel 2:7,8); of single locust, אֶחָד ׳א Exodus 10:19b (J), as leaping (simile) Job 39:20, as shaken out of garment (simile) Psalm 109:23 (see II. נָעַר). — compare DrJoel 82 ff.

Topical Lexicon
Natural Description and Habits

The אַרְבֶּה is the migratory locust, the scourge of the ancient Near East. Swarms emerge when drought is followed by sudden rain, triggering an explosive population boom. Each adult consumes its body-weight in vegetation daily; a cloud can obscure the sun, stretch for miles, and leave a land “devoured” in hours (Exodus 10:15). Scripture’s observations align with modern entomology: they advance in ranks (Joel 2:7), cannot be counted (Judges 6:5), have a voracious appetite (Psalm 78:46), and rise at dawn on the wind (Exodus 10:13).

Instrument of Divine Judgment

From Genesis onward, creation moves at the Lord’s command; the locust uniquely displays this sovereignty. In the eighth plague on Egypt (Exodus 10), Moses warns Pharaoh, “Tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory” (Exodus 10:4). The east wind delivers them, the west wind removes them, and Israel learns that the God of the covenant controls earth, sky, and insect alike. Later, Solomon names locusts among potential chastisements for covenant infidelity (1 Kings 8:37), a theme repeated by the Chronicler (2 Chronicles 6:28). Moses had forewarned “You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will consume it” (Deuteronomy 28:38). Prophets apply the same covenant logic: Joel opens with four successive waves of devourers (Joel 1:4), and Nahum 3:15–17 likens Nineveh’s merchants and guards to locusts that settle in cool dawn but flee when the sun rises, exposing the emptiness of Assyria’s power.

Symbol of Overwhelming Armies

Israel’s enemies are often pictured as locusts for number, noise, and sudden devastation. Midianite and Amalekite hordes were “as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number” (Judges 6:5; Judges 7:12). In Jeremiah 46:23 the woodcutters of Babylon “are more numerous than locusts,” felling Egypt like a forest. The image conveys total encirclement and inevitability: as a swarm cannot be fenced out, so these armies breach every defense. Hence prophetic poetry moves seamlessly between natural plague and military threat to describe divine judgment.

Provision of Food and Sustenance

Leviticus 11:22 classifies the locust as clean: “These you may eat: the locust after its kind….” In lean seasons the insect became survival fare; John the Baptist later subsisted on “locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). For a desert people, God’s law thus turned a threat into provision, underscoring His care even amid judgment.

Songs and Wisdom Literature

Job 39:20, set among God’s rhetorical questions, asks whether the war-horse “leaps like the locust,” highlighting the creature’s springing motion. Proverbs 30:27 marvels that “locusts have no king, yet all of them advance in formation,” an observation of ordered movement without visible leadership—an implicit call to recognize the unseen Hand directing creation. Psalm 105:34 recounts God’s faithfulness to Abraham’s offspring: “He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number,” while Psalm 109:23 uses the passing shadow of a locust to picture the psalmist’s frailty.

Joel’s Message of Repentance and Restoration

Joel 1–2 is the most concentrated treatment. A literal plague devastates Judah, yet Joel employs the event as a trumpet to repentance. The imagery deepens in 2:1–11, where the locusts resemble an invading army climbing walls and bursting through defenses. After national lament, God promises, “I will restore to you the years eaten by the locust—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust” (Joel 2:25). Restoration reaches its climax when the Spirit is poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28–32; Acts 2:16–21). Thus the locust becomes a doorway to grace: judgment awakens repentance; repentance invites renewal; renewal anticipates the messianic age.

Echoes in Later Prophecy

Revelation 9:3–11 depicts demonic locusts unleashed from the Abyss, borrowing Joel’s language to portray intensified end-time judgment. The Exodus plague, the prophets’ warnings, and the apocalyptic vision together reveal an unbroken biblical theology: those who harden their hearts face escalating calamity, culminating in final judgment, yet mercy remains available through repentance and the Lamb’s blood.

Historical Parallels

Extra-biblical records confirm the devastation suggested by Scripture. Pliny, Augustine, and modern travelers like Edward Robinson describe heaps of dead locusts rotting in the sun and causing famine. In 1915 a swarm ravaged Palestine, stripping even tree bark. Such accounts validate the historical realism of the biblical narratives and make tangible the terror felt in Egypt, Canaan, and Judah.

Lessons for Preaching and Ministry

1. Sin’s Consequences: The locust illustrates the certainty and completeness of divine retribution. Unchecked disobedience invites a harvest nothing can restrain.
2. God’s Sovereignty: Winds that bring and remove locusts remind believers that the Creator rules secondary causes. This assures the church amid ecological or societal upheaval.
3. Hope of Restoration: Joel’s promise that God can repay lost years comforts congregations lamenting wasted seasons or corporate decline. No devastation lies beyond His power to reverse.
4. Urgency of Repentance: The swift onset of a swarm urges immediate turning to the Lord; delay courts ruin.
5. Corporate Solidarity: Locusts move as one body without a king. Likewise, the church advances under Christ’s unseen headship when each member keeps in step with the Spirit.

Summary

Across the canon, אַרְבֶּה functions as living parable and historical reality—a tiny creature mighty enough to topple empires when commanded by the Almighty, yet also a clean source of food provided by the same hand. The image crescendos in Joel and ultimately in Revelation, pressing every generation to choose between hardened resistance that invites devouring judgment and humble repentance that leads to bountiful restoration.

Forms and Transliterations
אַרְבֶּ֑ה אַרְבֶּ֖ה אַרְבֶּ֣ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ ארבה בָּֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה בארבה הָ֣אַרְבֶּ֔ה הָֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה הָֽאַרְבֶּ֗ה הָֽאַרְבֶּ֣ה הָאַרְבֶּ֖ה הָאַרְבֶּֽה׃ הארבה הארבה׃ כָּֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה כָּֽאַרְבֶּֽה׃ כָּאַרְבֶּ֑ה כָּאַרְבֶּ֖ה כָּאַרְבֶּֽה׃ כארבה כארבה׃ לָאַרְבֶּ֑ה לָאַרְבֶּֽה׃ לארבה לארבה׃ מֵֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה מארבה ’ar·beh ’arbeh arBeh bā’arbeh bā·’ar·beh baarBeh hā’arbeh hā·’ar·beh haarBeh kā’arbeh kā·’ar·beh kaarBeh lā’arbeh lā·’ar·beh laarBeh mê’arbeh mê·’ar·beh mearBeh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 10:4
HEB: מֵבִ֥יא מָחָ֛ר אַרְבֶּ֖ה בִּגְבֻלֶֽךָ׃
NAS: I will bring locusts into your territory.
KJV: will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
INT: will bring tomorrow locusts your territory

Exodus 10:12
HEB: אֶ֤רֶץ מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ בָּֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְיַ֖עַל עַל־
NAS: of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come
KJV: of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up
INT: the land of Egypt the locusts may come over

Exodus 10:13
HEB: נָשָׂ֖א אֶת־ הָאַרְבֶּֽה׃
NAS: wind brought the locusts.
KJV: wind brought the locusts.
INT: the east brought the locusts

Exodus 10:14
HEB: וַיַּ֣עַל הָֽאַרְבֶּ֗ה עַ֚ל כָּל־
NAS: The locusts came up over
KJV: And the locusts went up
INT: came the locusts over all

Exodus 10:14
HEB: הָ֨יָה כֵ֤ן אַרְבֶּה֙ כָּמֹ֔הוּ וְאַחֲרָ֖יו
NAS: so [many] locusts, nor
KJV: them there were no such locusts as they, neither after
INT: been so locusts according to again

Exodus 10:19
HEB: וַיִּשָּׂא֙ אֶת־ הָ֣אַרְבֶּ֔ה וַיִּתְקָעֵ֖הוּ יָ֣מָּה
NAS: which took up the locusts and drove
KJV: which took away the locusts, and cast
INT: A very took the locusts and drove Sea

Exodus 10:19
HEB: לֹ֤א נִשְׁאַר֙ אַרְבֶּ֣ה אֶחָ֔ד בְּכֹ֖ל
NAS: Sea; not one locust was left in all
KJV: not one locust in all the coasts
INT: not was left locust one all

Leviticus 11:22
HEB: תֹּאכֵ֔לוּ אֶת־ הָֽאַרְבֶּ֣ה לְמִינ֔וֹ וְאֶת־
NAS: of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds,
KJV: [Even] these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind,
INT: you may eat the locust kinds and the devastating

Deuteronomy 28:38
HEB: כִּ֥י יַחְסְלֶ֖נּוּ הָאַרְבֶּֽה׃
NAS: in little, for the locust will consume
KJV: in; for the locust shall consume
INT: for will consume the locust

Judges 6:5
HEB: ק) כְדֵֽי־ אַרְבֶּה֙ לָרֹ֔ב וְלָהֶ֥ם
NAS: they would come in like locusts for number,
KJV: as grasshoppers for multitude;
INT: came as locusts number and their camels

Judges 7:12
HEB: נֹפְלִ֣ים בָּעֵ֔מֶק כָּאַרְבֶּ֖ה לָרֹ֑ב וְלִגְמַלֵּיהֶם֙
NAS: as numerous as locusts; and their camels
KJV: along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude;
INT: were lying the valley locusts numerous and their camels

1 Kings 8:37
HEB: שִׁדָּפ֨וֹן יֵרָק֜וֹן אַרְבֶּ֤ה חָסִיל֙ כִּ֣י
NAS: [or] mildew, locust [or] grasshopper,
KJV: mildew, locust, [or] if there be caterpiller;
INT: is blight mildew locust grasshopper if

2 Chronicles 6:28
HEB: שִׁדָּפ֨וֹן וְיֵרָק֜וֹן אַרְבֶּ֤ה וְחָסִיל֙ כִּ֣י
NAS: if there is locust or grasshopper,
KJV: or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers;
INT: is blight mildew is locust grasshopper if

Job 39:20
HEB: הְֽ֭תַרְעִישֶׁנּוּ כָּאַרְבֶּ֑ה ה֖וֹד נַחְר֣וֹ
NAS: Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic
KJV: Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory
INT: leap grasshopper beauty snorting

Psalm 78:46
HEB: יְבוּלָ֑ם וִֽ֝יגִיעָ֗ם לָאַרְבֶּֽה׃
NAS: And the product of their labor to the locust.
KJV: and their labour unto the locust.
INT: their crops and the product to the locust

Psalm 105:34
HEB: אָ֭מַר וַיָּבֹ֣א אַרְבֶּ֑ה וְ֝יֶ֗לֶק וְאֵ֣ין
NAS: He spoke, and locusts came,
KJV: He spake, and the locusts came,
INT: spoke came and locusts and young without

Psalm 109:23
HEB: נֶהֱלָ֑כְתִּי נִ֝נְעַ֗רְתִּי כָּֽאַרְבֶּֽה׃
NAS: I am shaken off like the locust.
KJV: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
INT: I am passing I am shaken the locust

Proverbs 30:27
HEB: מֶ֭לֶךְ אֵ֣ין לָאַרְבֶּ֑ה וַיֵּצֵ֖א חֹצֵ֣ץ
NAS: The locusts have no king,
KJV: The locusts have no king,
INT: king have the locusts go ranks

Jeremiah 46:23
HEB: כִּ֤י רַבּוּ֙ מֵֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְאֵ֥ין לָהֶ֖ם
NAS: than locusts And are without
KJV: because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.
INT: though numerous locusts without like

Joel 1:4
HEB: הַגָּזָם֙ אָכַ֣ל הָֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְיֶ֥תֶר הָאַרְבֶּ֖ה
NAS: has left, the swarming locust
KJV: hath left hath the locust eaten;
INT: the gnawing has eaten the swarming has left locust

Joel 1:4
HEB: הָֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְיֶ֥תֶר הָאַרְבֶּ֖ה אָכַ֣ל הַיָּ֑לֶק
NAS: the swarming locust has eaten;
KJV: eaten; and that which the locust hath left
INT: the swarming has left locust has eaten the creeping

Joel 2:25
HEB: אֲשֶׁר֙ אָכַ֣ל הָֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה הַיֶּ֖לֶק וְהֶחָסִ֣יל
NAS: up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten,
KJV: to you the years that the locust hath eaten,
INT: which has eaten the swarming the creeping the stripping

Nahum 3:15
HEB: כַּיֶּ֔לֶק הִֽתְכַּבְּדִ֖י כָּאַרְבֶּֽה׃
NAS: Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
KJV: make thyself many as the locusts.
INT: the creeping Multiply the swarming

Nahum 3:17
HEB: מִנְּזָרַ֙יִךְ֙ כָּֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְטַפְסְרַ֖יִךְ כְּג֣וֹב
NAS: Your guardsmen are like the swarming locust. Your marshals
KJV: Thy crowned [are] as the locusts, and thy captains
INT: your guardsmen the swarming your marshals hordes

24 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 697
24 Occurrences


’ar·beh — 7 Occ.
bā·’ar·beh — 1 Occ.
hā·’ar·beh — 8 Occ.
kā·’ar·beh — 5 Occ.
lā·’ar·beh — 2 Occ.
mê·’ar·beh — 1 Occ.

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