רָעַע
raa · do evil, harm
Hebrew word · Strong’s number H7489 · appears 102 times in the Bible
What is the Strong number?
Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.What it means
raa (רָעַע) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “do evil, harm”.
Do evil, cause harm; be bad, be displeasing ("it was evil in his eyes").
How to say it
ra·a
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
- To harm someone; evildoers.
- To be unpleasant to someone.
- To break to pieces, shatter.
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)
Word study
To be bad, to do evil or cause harm; also to seem bad or to grieve someone. BDB: to spoil, to break to pieces; figuratively, to make or be good for nothing, bad; to afflict. It is the verb of רַע, “evil, bad” (H7451).
- Doing evil or harm to someone Genesis 19:7Psalms 105:15Isaiah 1:16
- YHWH does evil or harm: the complaint Exodus 5:22Ruth 1:21
- “Was evil in the eyes of” Genesis 38:101 Samuel 8:6
- Grieving, distressing Genesis 21:11
- The evildoers Psalms 37:1
How we translate it
“Evil” 21 times, “evildoers” 16, “do evil” 9, “harm” 8, “do harm” 7, “was evil” 6, “displeasing” 5… This edition sets רָעַע בְּעֵינֵי = “be evil in the eyes of”, as against יָטַב בְּעֵינֵי = “seem good in the eyes of”; when the evil is what someone feels, “displeasing” (Genesis 21:11; 1 Samuel 8:6).
How it is translated
The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.
- evil ×21
- evildoers ×16
- do evil ×9
- harm ×8
- do harm ×7
- was evil ×6
- displeasing ×5
- Broken ×3
- break ×2
- evildoer ×2
- others ×23
Related words
Words that come from it
Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.
Where it appears
- Genesis×9
- Exodus×2
- Leviticus×1
- Numbers×5
- Deuteronomy×5
- Joshua×1
- Judges×1
- Ruth×1
- 1 Samuel×6
- 2 Samuel×3
- 1 Kings×3
- 2 Kings×1
- 1 Chronicles×4
- Nehemiah×3
- Job×2
- Psalms×16
- Proverbs×8
- Isaiah×12
- Jeremiah×14
- Jonah×1
- Micah×2
- Zephaniah×1
- Zechariah×1
- Genesis 19:7
and said, “Please, my brothers, do not do evil.
- Genesis 19:9
But they said, “Step aside!” And they said, “This one came to reside as an alien, and he keeps acting as judge! Now we will do worse to you than to them.” And they pressed hard against the man, against Lot, and came near to break the door.
- Genesis 21:11
The matter was greatly displeasing in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.
- Genesis 21:12
But Elohim said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your eyes on account of the boy and on account of your slave woman. All that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice, for through Isaac offspring will be named for you.
- Genesis 31:7
Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but Elohim did not allow him to do harm to me.
- Genesis 38:10
What he did was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and he put to death him also.
- Genesis 43:6
Israel said, “Why did you do me harm by telling the man that you still had a brother?”
- Genesis 44:5
Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and by which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in what you have done.’”
- Genesis 48:17
When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was displeasing in his eyes; and he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh.
- Exodus 5:22
Then Moses returned to YHWH and said, “Adonai, why have you done evil to this people? Why is it that you sent me?
- Exodus 5:23
Since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
- Leviticus 5:4
Or if a person swears, speaking rashly with his lips to do evil or to do good, in any matter that a man may speak rashly in an oath, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it he will be guilty in one of these.
- Numbers 11:10
And Moses heard the people weeping by their families, each man at the entrance of his tent; and the anger of YHWH burned greatly, and in the eyes of Moses it was evil.
- Numbers 11:11
And Moses said to YHWH, “Why have you done evil to your servant? And why have I not found favor in your eyes, that you put the burden of all this people on me?
- Numbers 16:15
And Moses became very angry and said to YHWH, “Do not turn to their offering. Not one donkey have I taken from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”
- Numbers 20:15
our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians dealt badly with us and with our fathers.
- Numbers 22:34
And Balaam said to the angel of YHWH, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road against me. And now, if it is displeasing in your eyes, I will turn back.”
- Deuteronomy 15:9
Guard yourself so that there is not a wicked word in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” and your eye is evil toward your brother, the needy one, and you do not give him anything, and he cries out against you to YHWH, and it becomes sin in you.
- Deuteronomy 15:10
You shall freely give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because on account of this thing YHWH your Elohim will bless you in all your work and in every undertaking of your hand.
- Deuteronomy 26:6
And the Egyptians treated us badly and afflicted us and laid on us hard bondage.
- Deuteronomy 28:54
The man who is the tenderest among you and very refined will look with an evil eye on his brother and on the wife of his bosom and on the rest of his children whom he has left,
- Deuteronomy 28:56
The woman who is the tenderest among you and the most refined, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicacy and tenderness, will look with an evil eye on the husband of her bosom and on her son and on her daughter,
- Joshua 24:20
If you abandon YHWH and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do harm to you, and consume you, after having done good to you.”
- Judges 19:23
And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do evil, please; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this infamy.
- Ruth 1:21
I went away full, and empty YHWH has brought me back. Why do you call me Naomi, when YHWH has testified against me and Shaddai has done me harm?”
- 1 Samuel 8:6
But the thing was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to YHWH.
- 1 Samuel 12:25
But if you really do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
- 1 Samuel 18:8
Saul was greatly incensed, and this word was evil in his eyes; and he said, “They have given to David myriads, and to me they have given the thousands; and now for him there is only the kingdom!”
- 1 Samuel 25:34
For indeed, as YHWH lives, the Elohim of Israel, who has kept me back from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal, by the light of morning, so much as one who urinates against a wall.”
- 1 Samuel 26:21
Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David, for I will not harm you again, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Look, I have acted foolishly and have erred very greatly.”
- 2 Samuel 11:25
David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing be evil in your eyes, for the sword devours this one as well as that one; press your battle against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
- 2 Samuel 11:27
When the mourning was over, David sent and gathered her into his house; and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of YHWH.
- 2 Samuel 19:7
Now then, get up, go out, and speak to the heart of your servants; for by YHWH I swear that if you do not go out, not a man will spend the night with you tonight; and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
- 1 Kings 14:9
but you have done evil more than all who were before you, and you have gone and made for yourself other gods and cast images to provoke me to anger, and me you have thrown behind your back;
- 1 Kings 16:25
Omri did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and did more evil than all who were before him.
- 1 Kings 17:20
He cried out to YHWH and said, “YHWH my Elohim, have you also brought harm on the widow with whom I am residing as a foreigner, by putting to death her son?”
- 2 Kings 21:11
“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, he has done more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also sin with his idols,
- 1 Chronicles 16:22
‘Do not touch my anointed ones, and to my prophets do no harm.’
- 1 Chronicles 21:7
This matter was evil in the eyes of Elohim, and he struck Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 21:17
David said to Elohim, “Was it not I who said to count the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil; but these sheep, what have they done? YHWH my Elohim, please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father, but not against your people, for a plague.”
And 62 more times.