Hebrew noun (feminine) · H6172
עֶרְוָה
ervaher-vaw'
nakedness
54 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: ʻervâh
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H6172is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 9 of 39Old Testament books
- 25spellings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H6172
nudity, literally (especially the pudenda) or figuratively (disgrace, blemish)
The King James renders it: nakedness, shame, unclean(-ness).
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
ervah is rendered "nakedness". It stands 54 times in the Hebrew text, across nine books.
- Thirty-two of the uses stand in Leviticus, more than in any other book.
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 9:22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
- The Greek text spells it twenty-five different ways.
The first use
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
Genesis 9:22עֶרְוַ֣ת
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Thirty-two of the word's fifty-four uses are in Leviticus.
What the word means
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- nakedness of27
- nakedness her12
- nakedness your6
- and nakedness of3
- nakedness2
- nakedness their2
- nakedness his1
- own nakedness your1
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
| Word | Written | Meaning | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| עֶרְיָה | eryah | nakedness | Uses6 |
All 54, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
25 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- עֶרְוַ֥ת17
- עֶרְוַ֣ת5
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃ ס3
- וְעֶרְוַ֥ת2
- עֶרְוָ֑ה2
- עֶרְוַ֨ת2
- עֶרְוָתָ֔הּ2
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃2
- עֶרְוָתְךָ֖2
- עֶרְוָתֵ֔ךְ2
- וְעֶרְוַ֨ת1
- עֶרְוַ֤ת1
and 13 more spellings in the ledger below.
The grammar of each form
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)27HNcfsc
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singular12HNcfsc/Sp3fs
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singular5HNcfsc/Sp2fs
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)3HC/Ncfsc
- noun · feminine singular2HNcfsa
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular2HNcfsc/Sp2ms
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine plural2HNcfsc/Sp3fp
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular1HNcfsc/Sp3ms
Genesis
five uses
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
- עֶרְוַ֣תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
- עֶרְוַ֣תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- וְעֶרְוַ֥תveervatconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and nakedness of
Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
Exodus
two uses
And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’
- עֶרְוָתְךָ֖ʾervatekhanoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: nakedness your
Make linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, extending from waist to thigh.
- עֶרְוָ֑הʾervahnoun · feminine singulartagged: nakedness
Leviticus
thirty-two uses
None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
- עֶרְוָ֑הʾervahnoun · feminine singulartagged: nakedness
You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- וְעֶרְוַ֥תveervatconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and nakedness of
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃ סʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
- עֶרְוַ֨תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוָתָֽן׃ סʾervatannoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine pluraltagged: nakedness their
You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.
- עֶרְוַ֤תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוָתָ֑ןʾervatannoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine pluraltagged: nakedness their
- עֶרְוָתְךָ֖ʾervatekhanoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: own nakedness your
You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
- עֶרְוַ֨תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃ סʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃ סʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
- עֶרְוָתָ֔הּʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.
- עֶרְוָתָ֛הּʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃ʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.
- עֶרְוָתָ֜הּʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
- עֶרְוָתוֹ֙ervatonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: nakedness his
- עֶרְוַ֧תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.
- עֶרְוָתָהּ֙ʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
You must not have sexual relations with the sister of your mother or your father, for it is exposing one’s own kin; both shall bear their iniquity.
- וְעֶרְוַ֨תveervatconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and nakedness of
If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
Deuteronomy
two uses
For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you.
- עֶרְוַ֣תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
- עֶרְוַ֣תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
1 Samuel
one use
Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the disgrace of the mother who bore you?
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
Isaiah
two uses
so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
- עֶרְוַ֥תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
- עֶרְוָתֵ֔ךְʾervatekhnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness your
Lamentations
one use
Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.
- עֶרְוָתָ֔הּʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
Ezekiel
eight uses
Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.
- עֶרְוָתֵ֑ךְʾervatekhnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness your
This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,
- עֶרְוָתֵ֔ךְʾervatekhnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness your
therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
- עֶרְוָתֵךְ֙ʾervatekhnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness your
- עֶרְוָתֵֽךְ׃ʾervatekhnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness your
In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.
- עֶרְוַת־ʾervat-noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.
- עֶרְוָתָהּ֒ʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.
- עֶרְוָתָ֑הּʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
- עֶרְוַ֣תʾervatnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: nakedness of
Hosea
one use
Therefore I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were given to cover her nakedness.
- עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃ʾervatahnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: nakedness her
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.
The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.