8401. teben
Lexical Summary
teben: Straw, chaff

Original Word: תֶּבֶן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: teben
Pronunciation: TEH-ben
Phonetic Spelling: (teh'-ben)
KJV: chaff, straw, stubble
NASB: straw
Word Origin: [probably from H1129 (בָּנָה - built)]

1. (properly) material, i.e. (specifically) refuse haum or stalks of grain (as chopped in threshing and used for fodder)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
blemish

Probably from banah; properly, material, i.e. (specifically) refuse haum or stalks of grain (as chopped in threshing and used for fodder) -- chaff, straw, stubble.

see HEBREW banah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
straw
NASB Translation
straw (17).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
תֶּ֫בֶן noun masculineExodus 5:16 straw (√ unknown; Ges and others compare בנה (compare Thes1492), but see LagBN 138; Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; Assyrian tibnu; Aramaic תִּיבְנָא, , whence Arabic as loan-word Frä124); — absolute ׳ת Genesis 24:25 +, תֶּ֑בֶן Exodus 5:10 +; — straw, i.e. straw threshed fine: chaff Jeremiah 23:28 (opposed to בָּר), blown by wind Job 21:28 (in simile; "" מֹץ), yielding Job 41:19 (simile); food for camels Genesis 24:25,32 (J), asses Judges 19:19 (all + מִסְמּוֺא), בָּקָר Isaiah 11:7; Isaiah 65:25, horses 1 Kings 5:8 (+ שְׂעֹרִים); mixed with clay in brick-making Exodus 5:7 (twice in verse); Exodus 5:10,11,12 (opposed to קַשׂ), Exodus 5:13; Exodus 5:16; Exodus 5:18 (J); — see further VogelstLandwirthsch. 67.

Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Significance

תֶּבֶן (teben) denotes the stalk residue of cereal plants—straw—left after threshing. In the Ancient Near East it was indispensable for fodder, fuel, bedding, and as a tempering agent in mud-brick construction. Scripture consistently treats straw as an everyday necessity, yet also employs it as a vivid metaphor for transience and worthlessness when set against the abiding word and work of God.

Agricultural Hospitality in the Patriarchal Era

In the patriarchal narratives straw symbolizes thoughtful provision for travelers and livestock. When Abraham’s servant arrives at Nahor, Rebekah assures him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to spend the night” (Genesis 24:25). Laban then “brought…straw and feed to the camels” (Genesis 24:32). Such references highlight Near-Eastern hospitality: caring for animals was integral to welcoming people. The detail authenticates the background of the Genesis account and underscores God’s providence in the mundane.

Straw, Bricks, and Bondage in Egypt

The most concentrated use of תֶּבֶן occurs in Exodus 5, where Pharaoh withholds straw from the Hebrews yet demands the same brick quota (Exodus 5:7–18). Archaeology confirms that chopped straw strengthened Nile mud bricks. Scripture uses this detail to expose Pharaoh’s cruelty and to set the stage for the LORD’s redemptive intervention. The episode also illustrates a perennial pastoral lesson: tyrannical systems often intensify oppression when deliverance is near, but God overrules for His people’s freedom.

Provision for Animals under the Monarchy

Straw surfaces again in the monarchy period. Barley and straw are supplied “to the required place” for Solomon’s royal stables (1 Kings 4:28), indicating the kingdom’s administrative efficiency and prosperity. In Judges 19:19 the hospitable Ephraimite likewise offers “both straw and feed for our donkeys,” mirroring the Genesis precedent and revealing continuity in Israelite social ethics.

Eschatological Peace in the Prophets

Isaiah envisions a restored creation where predators become herbivores: “the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:7; 65:25). Straw, ordinarily fodder for domesticated beasts, exemplifies the shalom that will pervade nature when Messiah reigns. The image reassures believers of a future harmony in which even the curse on animal predation is lifted.

Straw as a Figure of Ephemerality and Judgment

Job likens the wicked to straw driven by the wind (Job 21:18), and even invincible Leviathan regards iron “as straw” (Job 41:27)—a poetic contrast between human strength and God’s creatures. Jeremiah employs straw to expose false prophecy: “For what does straw have in common with grain?” (Jeremiah 23:28). Grain nourishes; straw is inert. The analogy furnishes a canonical criterion: only God’s authentic word feeds the soul.

Theological Threads

1. Dependence: Human industry—whether tending livestock or molding bricks—rests on God’s provision of raw materials.
2. Oppression versus Deliverance: Straw withheld in Egypt dramatizes sin’s bondage; redemption entails both spiritual and material release.
3. Discernment: The contrast of straw and grain instructs believers to test teaching by Scripture’s sufficiency.
4. Eschatology: Straw in Isaiah pictures the reversal of the Fall, inviting hope in the coming kingdom.

Ministry Applications

• Pastoral care: Like Rebekah and Laban, congregations should meet practical needs, recognizing that hospitality often authenticates testimony.
• Preaching: Exodus 5 encourages oppressed believers; Pharaoh’s tactic of “same quota, no straw” still surfaces in legalistic religion, but the gospel liberates.
• Teaching: Jeremiah’s straw-versus-grain metaphor equips listeners to distinguish edifying doctrine from empty rhetoric.
• Worship and Hope: Isaiah’s vision redirects hearts from present disorder to Christ’s future reign where even lions browse on straw.

Summary

תֶּבֶן functions in Scripture as literal fodder and building material and as a theological symbol of frailty, falsehood, and future peace. Its appearances trace a narrative from patriarchal hospitality, through Egyptian bondage, royal administration, wisdom reflection, to prophetic promise—each thread weaving into the Bible’s unified testimony of God’s sovereignty, human need, and ultimate restoration in the Messiah.

Forms and Transliterations
הַתֶּֽבֶן׃ התבן׃ וְהַתֶּ֔בֶן וְתֶ֖בֶן והתבן ותבן כְּתֶ֥בֶן כתבן לְתֶ֣בֶן לַתֶּ֥בֶן לַתֶּֽבֶן׃ לתבן לתבן׃ תֶּ֔בֶן תֶּ֗בֶן תֶּ֤בֶן תֶּ֥בֶן תֶּ֧בֶן תֶּֽבֶן׃ תבן תבן׃ hat·te·ḇen hatteḇen hatTeven kə·ṯe·ḇen kəṯeḇen keTeven lat·te·ḇen latteḇen latTeven lə·ṯe·ḇen ləṯeḇen leTeven te·ḇen teḇen Teven vehatTeven veTeven wə·hat·te·ḇen wə·ṯe·ḇen wəhatteḇen wəṯeḇen
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 24:25
HEB: אֵלָ֔יו גַּם־ תֶּ֥בֶן גַּם־ מִסְפּ֖וֹא
NAS: of both straw and feed,
KJV: moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender
INT: about both straw of both and feed

Genesis 24:32
HEB: הַגְּמַלִּ֑ים וַיִּתֵּ֨ן תֶּ֤בֶן וּמִסְפּוֹא֙ לַגְּמַלִּ֔ים
NAS: and he gave straw and feed
KJV: and gave straw and provender
INT: the camels gave straw and feed to the camels

Exodus 5:7
HEB: תֹאסִפ֞וּן לָתֵ֨ת תֶּ֧בֶן לָעָ֛ם לִלְבֹּ֥ן
NAS: the people straw to make brick
KJV: give the people straw to make brick,
INT: longer to give straw the people to make

Exodus 5:7
HEB: וְקֹשְׁשׁ֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם תֶּֽבֶן׃
NAS: and gather straw for themselves.
KJV: and gather straw for themselves.
INT: go and gather straw

Exodus 5:10
HEB: נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶ֖ם תֶּֽבֶן׃
NAS: I am not going to give you [any] straw.
KJV: Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
INT: I am not to give you straw

Exodus 5:11
HEB: קְח֤וּ לָכֶם֙ תֶּ֔בֶן מֵאֲשֶׁ֖ר תִּמְצָ֑אוּ
NAS: [and] get straw for yourselves wherever
KJV: Go ye, get you straw where ye can find
INT: go get straw where find

Exodus 5:12
HEB: לְקֹשֵׁ֥שׁ קַ֖שׁ לַתֶּֽבֶן׃
NAS: to gather stubble for straw.
KJV: to gather stubble instead of straw.
INT: to gather stubble straw

Exodus 5:13
HEB: כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר בִּהְי֥וֹת הַתֶּֽבֶן׃
NAS: just as when you had straw.
KJV: tasks, as when there was straw.
INT: you had straw

Exodus 5:16
HEB: תֶּ֗בֶן אֵ֤ין נִתָּן֙
NAS: There is no straw given
KJV: There is no straw given
INT: straw There given

Exodus 5:18
HEB: לְכ֣וּ עִבְד֔וּ וְתֶ֖בֶן לֹא־ יִנָּתֵ֣ן
NAS: no straw, yet you must deliver
KJV: therefore now, [and] work; for there shall no straw be given
INT: go work straw no will be given

Judges 19:19
HEB: וְגַם־ תֶּ֤בֶן גַּם־ מִסְפּוֹא֙
NAS: is both straw and fodder
KJV: Yet there is both straw and provender
INT: is both straw and also and fodder

1 Kings 4:28
HEB: וְהַשְּׂעֹרִ֣ים וְהַתֶּ֔בֶן לַסּוּסִ֖ים וְלָרָ֑כֶשׁ
NAS: barley and straw for the horses
KJV: Barley also and straw for the horses
INT: barley and straw the horses and swift

Job 21:18
HEB: יִהְי֗וּ כְּתֶ֥בֶן לִפְנֵי־ ר֑וּחַ
NAS: Are they as straw before the wind,
KJV: They are as stubble before the wind,
INT: become straw before the wind

Job 41:27
HEB: יַחְשֹׁ֣ב לְתֶ֣בֶן בַּרְזֶ֑ל לְעֵ֖ץ
NAS: iron as straw, Bronze
KJV: iron as straw, [and] brass
INT: regards straw iron wood

Isaiah 11:7
HEB: כַּבָּקָ֥ר יֹֽאכַל־ תֶּֽבֶן׃
NAS: will eat straw like the ox.
KJV: shall eat straw like the ox.
INT: the ox will eat straw

Isaiah 65:25
HEB: כַּבָּקָ֣ר יֹֽאכַל־ תֶּ֔בֶן וְנָחָ֖שׁ עָפָ֣ר
NAS: will eat straw like the ox;
KJV: shall eat straw like the bullock:
INT: the ox will eat straw will be the serpent's and dust

Jeremiah 23:28
HEB: אֱמֶ֑ת מַה־ לַתֶּ֥בֶן אֶת־ הַבָּ֖ר
NAS: What does straw have [in common] with grain?
KJV: faithfully. What [is] the chaff to the wheat?
INT: truth What straw has corn

17 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8401
17 Occurrences


hat·te·ḇen — 1 Occ.
kə·ṯe·ḇen — 1 Occ.
lat·te·ḇen — 2 Occ.
lə·ṯe·ḇen — 1 Occ.
te·ḇen — 10 Occ.
wə·hat·te·ḇen — 1 Occ.
wə·ṯe·ḇen — 1 Occ.

8400
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