Lexical Summary rachab: broad place, expanse Original Word: רַחַב Strong's Exhaustive Concordance breadth, broad place From rachab; a width -- breadth, broad place. see HEBREW rachab NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom rachab Definition breadth, broad expanse NASB Translation broad place (1), expanse (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs רַ֫חַב noun [masculine] not feminine Job 36:16 AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 94 Di Bu] breadth, broad expanse; — absolute ׳ר Job 36:16 (opposed to צָ֑ר); plural construct intensive רַחֲבֵיאָֿ֑רֶץ Job 38:18 the broad expanse of earth. Topical Lexicon Overview Rachab (Strong’s Hebrew 7338) conveys the idea of breadth, width, or a roomy expanse. Though it occurs only twice, its imagery of relief from constriction and the vastness of creation forms a potent theological thread that reaches from the book of Job to the hope of the Gospel. Occurrences in Job 1. Job 36:16 – Elihu assures Job that the LORD “is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from constraint”. Rachab pictures a wide, open landscape that contrasts with the “narrow straits” of suffering. Spaciousness and Divine Deliverance Throughout Scripture, deliverance is often framed as movement from tightness to openness (for example, Psalm 18:19; although a different Hebrew term is used, the motif is identical). In Job 36:16, rachab illustrates this pattern. The believer’s trials are never an end in themselves; God leads from compression to liberty, revealing His character as Redeemer who “sets the lonely in families” and “leads out the prisoners with singing” (Psalm 68:6). Breadth as a Measure of Divine Wisdom Job 38:18 places rachab within God’s interrogation of Job. The Creator alone knows the universe’s breadth; humanity does not. This contrast advances the book’s central theme: reverent submission to divine wisdom. By invoking rachab, God lifts Job’s gaze from personal pain to cosmic grandeur, inviting trust rather than explanation. Intertextual Echoes • Exodus 3:8 describes the Promised Land as “a land flowing with milk and honey” where Israel would find room to flourish. Both passages employ the same imagery of breadth and freedom that rachab encapsulates in Job, reinforcing a consistent biblical pattern: God rescues His people into wide places where covenant life can thrive. Christological Fulfillment Jesus Christ embodies the ultimate rachab. He proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness” (John 10:10). Through His death and resurrection, the constriction of sin and death is broken, ushering believers into the “glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). The width of the earth in Job 38 anticipates the worldwide scope of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), where the Gospel spreads to every nation, filling the earth with the knowledge of the LORD. Pastoral and Missional Applications • Suffering saints can cling to Job 36:16, confident that affliction is temporary and purposeful. Devotional Reflection Meditating on rachab invites worship. The same God who knows the earth’s breadth guides His children from narrow valleys into broad pastures. In seasons of constraint, believers rest in the certainty that His redemptive plan always leads to spacious places, both now and eternally (Revelation 21:1-4). Key References Job 36:16; Job 38:18; Psalm 18:19; Psalm 119:45; John 10:10; Romans 8:21 Forms and Transliterations רַ֭חַב רַחֲבֵי־ רחב רחבי־ ra·ḥă·ḇê- ra·ḥaḇ Rachav rachavei raḥaḇ raḥăḇê-Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 36:16 HEB: מִפִּי־ צָ֗ר רַ֭חַב לֹא־ מוּצָ֣ק NAS: Instead of it, a broad place with no KJV: thee out of the strait [into] a broad place, where INT: the mouth of distress A broad no constraint Job 38:18 2 Occurrences |
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