dod · uncle, beloved

What it means

dod (דּוֹד) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “uncle, beloved”.

Uncle, the father's brother. The same word means "beloved" and "love" in the Song of Songs.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. The one who is loved.
2. The caresses of lovers.
3. An uncle, or a relative.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Beloved; and also uncle, the father’s brother. In the plural, ‘love’, the caresses of love. In the Song it is the name by which the beloved woman calls her beloved.

• “My beloved” in the Song Song of Songs 2:16Song of Songs 5:10Song of Songs 6:3
• Love, caresses Song of Songs 1:2Ezekiel 16:8Proverbs 7:18
• The uncle Leviticus 10:41 Samuel 10:14Esther 2:7
• The uncle as kinsman-redeemer Leviticus 25:49Jeremiah 32:8
• The song of my beloved about his vineyard Isaiah 5:1

Historical and cultural background

Mordecai was bringing up Esther, “the daughter of his uncle” (Esther 2:7). The law of Leviticus 25:49 counted the uncle and the uncle’s son among those who could redeem a relative who had been sold.

How we translate it

“Beloved” 34 times, almost all in the Song; “love” 9 (“better {is} your love than wine”, Song 1:2); “uncle” 16 times and “uncles” once when it names the relative; once “relative” (Amos 6:10). Both renderings come from the same Hebrew term; the context (a love poem or a genealogy) decides.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• beloved ×34
• uncle ×16
• love ×9
• relative ×1
• uncles ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Leviticus×4
• Numbers×1
• 1 Samuel×4
• 2 Kings×1
• 1 Chronicles×1
• Esther×2
• Proverbs×1
• Song of Songs×39
• Isaiah×1
• Jeremiah×4
• Ezekiel×2
• Amos×1

• Leviticus 10:4

  Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel, Aaron’s uncle, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brothers from before the Holy Place to outside the camp.”

• Leviticus 20:20

  And a man who lies with his aunt has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

• Leviticus 25:49

  or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his close relatives from his clan may redeem him; or if his hand prospers, he may redeem himself.

• Numbers 36:11

  Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, became wives to the sons of their uncles.

• 1 Samuel 10:14

  And Saul’s uncle said to him and to his young man, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys; and when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.”

• 1 Samuel 10:15

  And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.”

• 1 Samuel 10:16

  And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him.

• 1 Samuel 14:50

  And the name of the wife of Saul was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the commander of his army was Abiner, son of Ner, uncle of Saul.

• 2 Kings 24:17

  The king of Babylon made king Mattaniah, his uncle, in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

• 1 Chronicles 27:32

  Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe; and Jehiel son of Hachmoni was with the sons of the king.

• Esther 2:7

  And he was bringing up Hadassah, that is, Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had no father or mother; and the young woman was of beautiful form and of good appearance; and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

• Esther 2:15

  And when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not seek anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, said. And Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

• Proverbs 7:18

  Come, let us drink our fill of love until the morning; let us delight ourselves with caresses.

• Song of Songs 1:2

  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for better is your love than wine.

• Song of Songs 1:4

  Draw me after you; let us run! The king has brought me into his chambers; we will exult and rejoice in you; we will recall your love more than wine; with uprightness they love you.

• Song of Songs 1:13

  A little bag of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts he spends the night.

• Song of Songs 1:14

  A cluster of henna is my beloved to me in the vineyards of En-gedi.

• Song of Songs 1:16

  Look, you are beautiful, my beloved, also pleasant; also our bed is leafy.

• Song of Songs 2:3

  Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the boys; in his shade I delighted and sat, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.

• Song of Songs 2:8

  The voice of my beloved! Look, here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.

• Song of Songs 2:9

  My beloved is like a gazelle or a fawn. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices.

• Song of Songs 2:10

  My beloved answered and said to me, “Arise, my companion, my beautiful one, and come away;

• Song of Songs 2:16

  My beloved is mine, and I am his, the one who pastures among the lilies.

• Song of Songs 2:17

  Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a fawn on the mountains of Bether.

• Song of Songs 4:10

  How beautiful is your love, my sister, bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfumes than all balsams!

• Song of Songs 4:16

  Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, let its balsams flow. Let my beloved come to his garden and eat his choice fruits.

• Song of Songs 5:1

  I have come to my garden, my sister, bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, companions; drink, and be drunk with love!

• Song of Songs 5:2

  I was sleeping, but my heart was awake. The voice of my beloved knocking! “Open to me, my sister, my companion, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is filled with dew, my curls with the drops of the night.”

• Song of Songs 5:4

  My beloved put his hand through the hole, and my insides were stirred for him.

• Song of Songs 5:5

  I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped myrrh, and my fingers myrrh that flows, on the handles of the bolt.

• Song of Songs 5:6

  I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had slipped away, had gone on; my soul went out when he spoke; I sought him but did not find him; I called him but he did not answer me.

• Song of Songs 5:8

  I make you swear, daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, what will you tell him? That I am sick with love.

• Song of Songs 5:9

  What is your beloved more than another beloved, beautiful one among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that thus you make us swear?

• Song of Songs 5:10

  My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand.

• Song of Songs 5:16

  His palate is sweetness, and all of him desirable. This is my beloved, and this is my companion, daughters of Jerusalem.

• Song of Songs 6:1

  Where has your beloved gone, beautiful one among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?

• Song of Songs 6:2

  My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the garden beds of balsam, to pasture in the gardens and to gather lilies.

• Song of Songs 6:3

  I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine, the one who pastures among the lilies.

• Song of Songs 7:9

  and your palate like the good wine that goes to my beloved smoothly, that makes the lips of sleepers speak.

• Song of Songs 7:10

  I am my beloved’s, and toward me is his desire.

And 21 more times.