Biblica Analytica

רֵעֶה

re.eh (H7463)

friend

3 verses 2 books OT 3 / NT 0
AI Word Study

# רֵעֶה (re.eh) - Friend The Hebrew word *re.eh* appears only three times in the biblical text, making it a relatively rare term for expressing friendship. Its basic meaning is "friend," designating a relationship of personal connection and companionship. The scarcity of this particular form suggests it held a specialized or literary function rather than serving as the everyday vocabulary for friendship in biblical Hebrew. The limited occurrence of *re.eh* in just three biblical passages restricts what we can determine about its precise nuances or how it differed from other Hebrew terms for friendship. Without access to the specific contexts where it appears, we cannot fully characterize whether it emphasized a particular type of friendship, carried emotional weight, or held cultural significance distinct from more common alternatives. Its rarity indicates that biblical writers had other preferred vocabulary available for describing friendly relationships, and *re.eh* may have been selected for specific rhetorical or poetic purposes in those three instances.

AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.

2 Samuel 15:37

So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city; and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 16:16

When Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, had come to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

1 Kings 4:5

Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king’s friend;