Davar
/daˈvaʁ/noun
A Hebrew word meaning “word,” “thing,” “matter,” or “event,” often used in Jewish religious and philosophical contexts.
Did you know?In the Hebrew Bible, davar can mean a spoken message, a command, an event, or a concrete thing, reflecting an ancient idea that speech can produce reality.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*d-b-r
“A reconstructed Semitic root associated with speech, utterance, or ordering; the exact prehistoric meaning is debated.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
דָּבָר — dāḇār
“Word, speech, command, matter, thing, or event.”
Ancient Hebrew Bible
Hebrew
dāḇār YHWH
““The word of the LORD,” a divine message or authoritative command delivered by God or a prophet.”
Second Temple period
Jewish Aramaic/Hebrew
dāḇār / devar
“Word, matter, or subject; the term continued in religious interpretation and commentary.”
Medieval Judaism
Hebrew
davar
“A word, matter, or underlying subject in biblical, rabbinic, and philosophical writing.”
Modern English
English
davar / dvar
“A Hebrew loanword used in English Jewish and academic contexts for a word, teaching, statement, or matter.”
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