H5674 — עָבַר (ʻâbar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5674
Original: עָבַר
Transliteration: ʻâbar
Pronunciation: aw-bar'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root
Occurrences: 493 unique verses (690 tokens) across 36 books
First Occurrence: Gen 8:1 — "And God remembered Noah... and God made a wind to pass over the earth"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation):—alienate, alter, at all, beyond, bring (over, through), carry over, (over-)come (on, over), conduct (over), convey over, current, deliver, do away, enter, escape, fail, gender, get over, (make) go (away, beyond, by, forth, his way, in, on, over, through), have away (more), lay, meddle, overrun, make partition, (cause to, give, make to, over) pass(-age, along, away, beyond, by, -enger, on, out, over, through), (cause to, make) proclaim(-amation), perish, provoke to anger, put away, rage, raiser of taxes, remove, send over, set apart, shave, cause to (make) sound, speedily, sweet smelling, take (away), (make to) transgress(-or), translate, turn away, (way-)faring man, be wrath.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	%	Typical Meaning
Qal	444	85.2%	cross over, pass through/by, go beyond
Hiphil	66	12.7%	cause to pass, bring over, remove, put away
Hithpael	8	1.5%	be angry, overflow with emotion
Piel	2	0.4%	intensive: impregnate (Job 21:10)
Niphal	1	0.2%	passive: be forded/crossed

The Qal dominates (85%) covering literal movement and metaphorical transitions. The Hiphil (13%) is theologically significant — it shifts the agent from the one crossing to the one causing something to cross/pass. This causative sense produces the meaning "cause to pass from" = "remove" (iniquity in Zech 3:4, idols in 2 Chr 15:8) and "cause to pass through" (children through fire in Lev 18:21, 2 Ki 16:3). The Hithpael cluster expresses emotional overflow ("was wroth" — Deut 3:26, Psa 78:21, 78:59, 89:38).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Grouped by semantic field (individual translations are highly fragmented across 300+ unique renderings):

Semantic Group	Approx. Verses	%
pass / pass over / pass through / pass by / pass away	~200	41%
go over / went over / go through / go beyond	~50	10%
transgress / transgressed / transgressor	~20	4%
wroth / anger / rage	~8	2%
caused / bring over / carry over / send over	~15	3%
put away / take away / remove	~10	2%
proclaim / proclamation / sound	~6	1%
Other (set apart, shave, gender, current, passengers, etc.)	~184	37%

The extreme fragmentation of KJV renderings (300+ unique phrases) reflects the word's versatility: the core motion concept "cross over" is applied to geography, time, emotion, covenant violation, and divine action.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	4	8.5
Joshua	49	7.4
Zephaniah	3	5.7
2 Samuel	37	5.3
Micah	5	4.8
Deuteronomy	44	4.6
Jonah	2	4.2
Esther	7	4.2
Amos	6	4.1
Habakkuk	2	3.6
Judges	20	3.2
1 Samuel	21	2.6
Lamentations	4	2.6
2 Kings	17	2.4
Numbers	31	2.4
Zechariah	5	2.4
Ezekiel	29	2.3
Isaiah	30	2.3
Jeremiah	26	1.9
Job	17	1.6
1 Kings	12	1.5
2 Chronicles	12	1.5
Hosea	3	1.5
Genesis	21	1.4
Proverbs	13	1.4
Joel	1	1.4
Psalms	33	1.3
Exodus	13	1.1
Daniel	4	1.1
Nehemiah	4	1.0
Ezra	2	0.7
Leviticus	4	0.5
Ecclesiastes	1	0.5
1 Chronicles	4	0.4
Ruth	2	—
Song of Solomon	5	—

Joshua (49 occurrences, 7.4/100v) dominates by both count and density — the Jordan-crossing narrative makes this the defining narrative context. Deuteronomy (44) and Numbers (31) form the conquest-anticipation cluster. The prophets use it extensively for both literal movement and covenant-transgression.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Crossing of Geography (River, Territory, Border)¶

The core, literal sense — crossing a body of water or traversing territory. - Gen 31:21 — "he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead" - Jos 3:17 — "the priests... stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground" - 2 Sa 17:22 — "they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over" - Num 21:22 — "Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields"

2. Passing By / Passing Along (Movement Past a Point)¶

Movement past a location or person without stopping or lingering. - Exo 34:6 — "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious" - 1 Ki 19:11 — "the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains" - 2 Ki 4:9 — "this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually" - Lam 1:12 — "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?"

3. Passing Away / Transience (Time, Things, Conditions)¶

The metaphorical sense of something ceasing, coming to an end, or being over. - Job 6:15 — "as the stream of brooks they pass away" - Job 30:15 — "my welfare passeth away as a cloud" - Psa 144:4 — "Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away" - Jer 8:20 — "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved"

4. Transgressing / Crossing a Boundary of Law or Covenant¶

The figurative sense of overstepping a divine commandment or covenant stipulation. - Jos 7:11 — "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant" - Dan 9:11 — "all Israel have transgressed thy law" - Hos 6:7 — "they like men have transgressed the covenant" - Isa 24:5 — "they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant"

5. Causative: Removing / Putting Away (Hiphil)¶

The Hiphil "cause to pass from" — used for removal of iniquity, idols, or persons. - Zech 3:4 — "I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment" - 2 Sa 12:13 — "The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die" - 2 Chr 15:8 — "he took courage, and put away the abominable idols" - Est 8:3 — "besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman"

6. Causative: Making to Pass Through Fire (Hiphil — Idolatrous Ritual)¶

A distinct Hiphil usage specifically denoting the pagan practice of passing children through fire to Molech. - Lev 18:21 — "thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech" - 2 Ki 16:3 — "made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen" - 2 Ki 23:10 — "that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech" - Eze 20:31 — "when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves"

7. Divine Passing Through (Theophany, Judgment)¶

God himself as the one who "passes through" — in theophanic revelation or judgment. - Exo 12:12 — "I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn" - Exo 12:23 — "the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians" - Exo 33:19 — "I will make all my goodness pass before thee" - Amo 5:17 — "in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD"

8. Emotional Overflow: Wrath (Hithpael)¶

Reflexive sense — "to overflow with feeling," rendered as anger or indignation. - Deu 3:26 — "the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes" - Pro 14:16 — "the fool rageth, and is confident" - Pro 20:2 — "whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יַרְדֵּן (Yarden)	H3383	60x	"passed over Jordan" — the defining geographical collocation
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	87x	"pass through the land" — territorial traversal
בּוֹא (bo)	H935	57x	Sequential motion: "passed over... and came"
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	52x	"the land which the LORD giveth" — goal of crossing
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	51x	Royal crossing / royal context
אִישׁ (ish)	H376	46x	"every man" / "wayfaring man"
עַם (am)	H5971	46x	"the people passed over" — collective national crossing
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	46x	"they have done" — paired in covenant-violation contexts
בְּרִית (berith)	H1285	~15x	"transgressed my covenant" — covenant-violation formula

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5676 עֵבֶר (eber) — noun: region beyond, opposite side; also proper name Eber
H5675 עֲבַר (abar) — Aramaic cognate (appears in Daniel Aramaic sections)
H5680 עִבְרִי (ibriy) — "Hebrew" — gentilic adjective from the same root (one who "crossed over")
H4569 מַעֲבָר (maʻabar) — ford, crossing-place, passage (from abar)
H5678 עֶבְרָה (ebrah) — wrath, overflow of anger (from the Hithpael sense)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חָלַף (chalaph)	H2498	"pass" / "pass on"	chalaph = slip by, change, exchange; abar = actively cross over a boundary
פָּסַח (pasach)	H6452	"pass over" / "passed"	pasach = skip/leap over (Passover), selective sparing; abar = traverse/cross
הָלַךְ (halak)	H1980	"went" / "go"	halak = walk, generic motion; abar = specifically cross a boundary or pass a point
יָלַךְ (yalak)	H3212	"went" / "go"	yalak = depart, travel; abar = cross over
מָעַל (maal)	H4603	"transgressed"	maal = act treacherously/unfaithfully; abar = overstep a boundary
פָּשַׁע (pasha)	H6586	"transgressed"	pasha = rebel, revolt against authority; abar = cross a stipulated line

Synonyms (SDBH)¶

H1478 גָּוַע (gava) — expire, die (overlap in "perish/pass away" sense)
H4191 מוּת (muth) — die (overlap in "pass away" = death sense)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
διαβαίνω (diabaino)	G1224	99	25.28	Primary: "cross over" — mirrors literal Qal
παρέρχομαι (parerchomai)	G3928	81	22.86	"pass by / pass away" — covers passing-by and transience senses
διέρχομαι (dierchomai)	G1330	63	19.51	"pass through" — territorial traversal
παραπορεύομαι (paraporeuomai)	G3899	29	18.38	"travel near, pass by" — passerby sense
Ἰορδάνης (Iordanes)	G2446	61	16.58	Place name (Jordan) — high co-occurrence reflects Jordan-crossing centrality
παραβαίνω (parabaino)	G3845	13	10.66	"transgress, violate" — covers covenant-violation sense

The LXX splits abar across multiple Greek verbs by semantic field: diabaino for crossing, parerchomai for passing by/away, dierchomai for passing through, and parabaino for transgressing. No single Greek word captures the full range.