radaf · pursue

What it means

radaf (רָדַף) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “pursue”.

Chase, go after someone.

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. To go after someone to catch them.
2. To pursue something eagerly, like peace.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To pursue, to go after someone, usually with hostile intent; also to seek eagerly. BDB: to run after (usually with hostile intent).

• The Egyptians pursue Israel Exodus 14:9
• Pursuing someone who flees Genesis 44:41 Samuel 26:18
• “Five of you will pursue a hundred” Leviticus 26:8
• “Seek peace and pursue it” Psalms 34:14
• “Only good and loyal love will pursue me” Psalms 23:6

How we translate it

“Pursue” 48 times, “pursued” 46, “pursuing” 12, “pursuers” 11, “pursues” 7, “persecutors” 3… “Pursue” is kept also in Psalms 23 and 34, where what pursues is good or peace, because the Hebrew uses that same verb.

How it is translated

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

• pursue ×48
• pursued ×46
• pursuing ×12
• pursuers ×11
• pursues ×7
• whoever pursues ×5
• persecutors ×3
• chased ×2
• pursuer ×2
• Follow me ×1
• others ×6

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Genesis×5
• Exodus×5
• Leviticus×7
• Deuteronomy×8
• Joshua×19
• Judges×11
• 1 Samuel×11
• 2 Samuel×11
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×3
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Nehemiah×1
• Job×4
• Psalms×20
• Proverbs×8
• Ecclesiastes×1
• Isaiah×6
• Jeremiah×6
• Lamentations×6
• Ezekiel×2
• Hosea×4
• Amos×1
• Nahum×1

• Genesis 14:14

  When Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive, he called out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.

• Genesis 14:15

  He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

• Genesis 31:23

  He took his brothers with him and pursued him a journey of seven days, and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.

• Genesis 35:5

  As they set out, the terror of Elohim came upon the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

• Genesis 44:4

  They had gone out of the city and had not gone far when Joseph said to the one over his house, “Get up, pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

• Exodus 14:4

  I will make Pharaoh’s heart obstinate, and he will pursue them, and I will gain glory over Pharaoh and over all his army; and the Egyptians will know that I am YHWH.” And they did so.

• Exodus 14:8

  YHWH made the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt obstinate, and he pursued the sons of Israel, while the sons of Israel were going out with hand raised.

• Exodus 14:9

  The Egyptians pursued them and overtook them camping by the sea, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, near Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.

• Exodus 14:23

  The Egyptians pursued and went in after them, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea.

• Exodus 15:9

  The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the plunder; my soul will have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’

• Leviticus 26:7

  And you will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword.

• Leviticus 26:8

  And five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword.

• Leviticus 26:17

  And I will set my face against you, and you will be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

• Leviticus 26:36

  And as for those who are left of you, I will bring faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a driven leaf will pursue them, and they will flee as one flees from the sword, and fall when no one is pursuing.

• Leviticus 26:37

  And they will stumble, one over another, as before the sword, when no one is pursuing; and you will have no power to stand before your enemies.

• Deuteronomy 1:44

  Then the Amorite who lived in that hill country came out to meet you and chased you as bees do, and crushed you in Seir as far as Hormah.

• Deuteronomy 11:4

  and what he did to the army of Egypt, to its horses and to its chariots, how he made the waters of the Sea of Reeds flow over their faces when they pursued you, and YHWH made them perish to this day;

• Deuteronomy 16:20

  Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue, so that you may live and possess the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you.

• Deuteronomy 19:6

  so that the avenger of blood does not pursue the manslayer while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally, though he did not deserve a sentence of death, since he did not hate him previously.

• Deuteronomy 28:22

  YHWH will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew; and they will pursue you until you perish.

• Deuteronomy 28:45

  And all these curses will come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not listen to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.

• Deuteronomy 30:7

  And YHWH your Elohim will put all these oaths of imprecation on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

• Deuteronomy 32:30

  How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and YHWH had handed them over?

• Joshua 2:5

  When the gate was about to be shut at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”

• Joshua 2:7

  So the men pursued them by the way to the Jordan as far as the fords, and they shut the gate after the pursuers had gone out after them.

• Joshua 2:16

  She said to them, “Go to the hill country, or the pursuers will come upon you. Hide there three days until the pursuers return, and afterward you may go on your way.”

• Joshua 2:22

  They went and came to the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers searched along all the way but did not find them.

• Joshua 7:5

  The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, and pursued them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them on the descent. And the heart of the people melted and became water.

• Joshua 8:16

  All the people who were in Ai were called out to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.

• Joshua 8:17

  Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel; and they abandoned the city open and pursued Israel.

• Joshua 8:20

  The men of Ai turned back and looked, and look, the smoke of the city was going up to the heavens, and they had no strength to flee this way or that way; and the people who were fleeing to the wilderness turned back against the pursuer.

• Joshua 8:24

  And it came about, when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were finished, that all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.

• Joshua 10:10

  And YHWH threw them into confusion before Israel, and he struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and as far as Makkedah.

• Joshua 10:19

  But you do not stop; pursue your enemies and cut off their rear guard. Do not let them enter into their cities, for YHWH your Elohim has given them into your hand.”

• Joshua 11:8

  And YHWH gave them into the hand of Israel, and they struck them and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and as far as Misrephoth-maim, and as far as the valley of Mizpah to the east; and they struck them until they had left them no survivor.

• Joshua 20:5

  And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not hand over the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him beforehand.

• Joshua 23:10

  One man of you pursues a thousand, for YHWH your Elohim, he is the one who fights for you, just as he spoke to you.

• Joshua 24:6

  And I brought out your fathers from Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Sea of Reeds.

• Judges 1:6

  Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued him, seized him, and cut off the thumbs of his hands and of his feet.

• Judges 3:28

  He said to them, “Follow me, for YHWH has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” They went down after him, captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab, and did not let anyone cross.

And 103 more times.