Lexical Summary taab: To abhor, to detest, to loathe Original Word: תַּעָב Strong's Exhaustive Concordance make to be abhorred, be, commit more, utterly A primitive root; to loathe, i.e. (morally) detest -- (make to be) abhor(-red), (be, commit more, do) abominable(-y), X utterly. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origindenominative verb from toebah Definition to abhor NASB Translation abhor (5), abhorred (3), abhorrent (1), abhors (1), acted...abominably (2), committed abominable (2), despise (1), detest (2), detestable (1), made your abominable (1), rejected (1), utterly abhor (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [תָּעַב] verb denominative Niph`al Pi`el: Niph`al Perfect3masculine singular נִתְעַב 1 Chronicles 21:6; Participle נִתְעָב Isaiah 14:19; Job 15:16; — be abhorred: 1 ritual sense: נֵצֶר נִתְעָב Isaiah 14:19 an abhorred (rejected) branch ( < נֵץ vulture, the unclean scavenger bird); נִתְעָב וֶנֶאֱלָךְ֑ Job 15:16 abhorred and corrupt, from disease (נאלח elsewhere Psalm 14:3 = Psalm 53:4 "" התעיב). 2 ethically: David's census, according to 1 Chronicles 21:6. Pi`el Perfect3plural sf תִּעֲבוּנִי Job 9:31 2t.; Imperfect יְתָעֵב Psalm 106:40; Psalm 5:7 (read 2 masculine singular תְּתַעֵב); 3 feminine singular תְּתַעֵב Psalm 107:18; 2masculine singular תְּתַעֵב Deuteronomy 23:8 (twice in verse), etc.; Infinitive absolute תַּעֵב Deuteronomy 7:26; Participle מְתָעֵב Isaiah 49:7 (but see infra), + Amos 6:8 (so read for מְתָאֵב GeiUrschrift 349 We Now Marti Harper); plural מְתַעֲבִים Micah 3:9; — 1 regard as an abomination abhor: a. ritual sense: (1) of God; with accusative of Israel, because of idols Psalm 106:40. (2) of man: with accusative, of abomination Deuteronomy 7:26 (twice in verse), compare Deuteronomy 23:8 (twice in verse); Job Job 19:19; Job 30:10. b. ethically: (1) of God; "" שׂנא, with accusative: אישׁ דמים ומרמה Psalm 5:7 (Amos 6:8 see II. תאב). (2) of man; with accusative מִשְׁמָּט Micah 3:9, דֹּבֵר תָּמִים Amos 5:10 ("" שׂנא), שֶׁקֶר Psalm 119:163 ("" שׂנא). c. physically: with accusative כָּלאֹֿכֶל Psalm 107:18. 2 cause to be an abomination: with accusative, ritual sense Ezekiel 16:25; Job, from filthy garments Job 9:31; מְתָעֵב גּוֺי Isaiah 49:7 ("" בְּזִה נֶפֶשׁ) (read probably Pu`al מְתִעַב, as Oort SS Bu Du). Hiph`il Perfect2feminine singular הִתְעַבְתְּ Ezekiel 16:52; 3masculine plural הִתְעִיבוּ Psalm 14:1 = Psalm 53:2; Imperfect וַיַּתְעֵב 1 Kings 21:26; — make abominable, do abominably: 1 ritual sense: with accusative of thing, Ezekiel 16:52; לְ with infinitive 1 Kings 21:26. 2 ethically: with accusative עלילה Psalm 14:1 = Psalm 53:2 (עול). Topical Lexicon Root idea and range of usage The verb תַּעָב describes intense revulsion—an emotional, moral, and spiritual loathing that treats the object as repulsive and worthy of rejection. It can be directed (1) vertically—God toward sin or idolatry, (2) horizontally—people toward one another, or (3) reflexively—self-loathing. Its presence in law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy shows that abhorrence is a thread running through Israel’s covenant life: what God despises, His people must despise; what God embraces, His people must honor. Occurrences and thematic clusters Twenty-two appearances fall into five natural clusters: 1. Covenant law (Deuteronomy 7:26; 23:7) These texts fall naturally into two main uses: abhorrence of evil (divine or human) and abhorrence of persons (persecuted or judged). Both illuminate God’s holiness and the ethical life He requires. Abhorrence of idolatry and covenant infidelity Deuteronomy 7:26 opens the theme: “You are to utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.” Israel must hate Canaanite idols as fiercely as God does; hatred of idolatry is part of loving God exclusively. The seriousness of the command reappears in 1 Kings 21:26, where Ahab “committed the most detestable acts by following idols.” Ezekiel sharpens the indictment: Jerusalem’s idolatry “made your beauty abominable” (Ezekiel 16:25). By Ezekiel 16:52 Judah’s sins are “more vile” than Sodom’s. Taʿab therefore brands covenant breach as something God cannot tolerate; it demands judgment but also summons repentance. Despising divine instruction and social justice Prophetic preaching extends abhorrence to ethical decay. Amos 5:10 laments, “They … despise him who speaks the truth.” Micah 3:9 accuses leaders “who despise justice and pervert all that is right.” The rejection of truth, equity, and prophetic rebuke is equal in vileness to idol worship because both are rebellions against the LORD’s character. Personal suffering and social rejection Job’s laments turn the camera on the righteous sufferer. Friends “despise me” (Job 19:19); outcasts “detest me” and “do not hesitate to spit in my face” (Job 30:10). Even garments would “despise me” if God plunged him into a pit (Job 9:31). The vocabulary underlines his humiliation and foreshadows the Servant of Isaiah: “to one who is despised and abhorred by the nation” (Isaiah 49:7). This bridge from Job to Isaiah prepares for the New Testament portrayal of Jesus, “despised and rejected by men.” Divine abhorrence: holiness expressed in judgment Psalm 5:6 states, “The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.” Psalm 106:40 reveals the cost of persistent rebellion: “the LORD … abhorred His own inheritance.” God’s loathing is never arbitrary; it is the outworking of perfect righteousness. Where sin persists, abhorrence leads to wrath; where repentance appears, loathing is removed. Thus Psalm 119:163 models the covenant response: “I hate and abhor falsehood, but Your law I love.” Self-loathing that leads to repentance or despair Psalm 107:18 shows the sick who “loathed all food” and neared death—a physical mirror of spiritual nausea. In Ezekiel 16 the promise of restoration includes Israel remembering her ways “and you will loathe yourself for all the evil you have done” (compare 16:61, a cognate idea). Genuine repentance produces a healthy detestation of sin without lapsing into hopeless self-hatred; it drives the sinner back to covenant mercy. National and messianic significance Isaiah 49:7, echoing earlier hostility toward Job and foreshadowing the Passion, presents the Servant “despised and abhorred.” Paradoxically, the One loathed by the nation becomes the covenant and light to the Gentiles. God’s answer to human abhorrence is exaltation: “Kings will see and stand up.” The New Testament repeatedly cites this motif (Luke 23:18; 1 Peter 2:4). Thus תַּעָב forms part of the redemptive arc—from rejection to vindication—in the life of the Messiah. Pastoral and ministry implications 1. Cultivate holy revulsion. Believers are commanded, “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). The Old Testament verb teaches that genuine love contains moral hatred of sin. Theological synthesis תַּעָב reveals the relational nature of holiness. God’s covenant love is not sentimental; it hates what violates His character. Conversely, human abhorrence, when guided by God’s standards, protects worship and justice; when misdirected, it persecutes the innocent and rejects truth. The term therefore exposes idolatry, comforts sufferers, informs ethics, and frames the gospel storyline. Forms and Transliterations הִֽתְעִ֥יבוּ הִתְעַ֥בְתְּ הַֽמֲתַעֲבִ֣ים המתעבים התעבת התעיבו וְ֝תִֽעֲב֗וּנִי וְהִֽתְעִ֥יבוּ וְתַעֵ֥ב ׀ וַ֝יְתָעֵ֗ב וַאֲתַעֵ֑בָה וַיַּתְעֵ֣ב וַתְּתַֽעֲבִי֙ ואתעבה והתעיבו ויתעב ותעב ותעבוני ותתעבי יְתָ֘עֵ֥ב ׀ יְתָעֵֽבוּ׃ יתעב יתעבו׃ לִמְתָ֤עֵֽב למתעב נִתְעַ֥ב נִתְעָ֔ב נִתְעָ֥ב נתעב תְּֽתַעֲבֶ֖נּוּ תְּתַעֵ֣ב תְתַעֵ֣ב תִּֽ֭עֲבוּנִי תעבוני תתעב תתעבנו ha·mă·ṯa·‘ă·ḇîm hamăṯa‘ăḇîm hamataaVim hiṯ‘aḇt hiṯ‘îḇū hiṯ·‘aḇt hiṯ·‘î·ḇū hitAvt hitIvu lim·ṯā·‘êḇ limṯā‘êḇ limTaev niṯ‘aḇ niṯ‘āḇ niṯ·‘aḇ niṯ·‘āḇ nitAv tə·ṯa·‘ă·ḇen·nū tə·ṯa·‘êḇ ṯə·ṯa·‘êḇ təṯa‘ăḇennū təṯa‘êḇ ṯəṯa‘êḇ tetaaVennu tetaEv ti‘ăḇūnî ti·‘ă·ḇū·nî Tiavuni vaataEvah vaiyatEv vattetaaVi vaytaEv vehitIvu vetaEv vetiaVuni wa’ăṯa‘êḇāh wa·’ă·ṯa·‘ê·ḇāh wat·tə·ṯa·‘ă·ḇî wattəṯa‘ăḇî way·ṯā·‘êḇ way·yaṯ·‘êḇ wayṯā‘êḇ wayyaṯ‘êḇ wə·hiṯ·‘î·ḇū wə·ṯa·‘êḇ wə·ṯi·‘ă·ḇū·nî wəhiṯ‘îḇū wəṯa‘êḇ wəṯi‘ăḇūnî yə·ṯā·‘ê·ḇū yə·ṯā·‘êḇ yəṯā‘êḇ yəṯā‘êḇū yeTaEv yetaEvuLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Deuteronomy 7:26 HEB: שַׁקֵּ֧ץ ׀ תְּשַׁקְּצֶ֛נּוּ וְתַעֵ֥ב ׀ תְּֽתַעֲבֶ֖נּוּ כִּי־ NAS: detest it and you shall utterly abhor KJV: detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor INT: shall utterly detest shall utterly abhor for Deuteronomy 7:26 Deuteronomy 23:7 Deuteronomy 23:7 1 Kings 21:26 1 Chronicles 21:6 Job 9:31 Job 15:16 Job 19:19 Job 30:10 Psalm 5:6 Psalm 14:1 Psalm 53:1 Psalm 106:40 Psalm 107:18 Psalm 119:163 Isaiah 14:19 Isaiah 49:7 Ezekiel 16:25 Ezekiel 16:52 Amos 5:10 Micah 3:9 22 Occurrences |
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