ruts · run

What it means

ruts (רוּץ) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “run”.

As a noun, "runner", a guard or courier.

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 move quickly on foot, at a run.
2. The swift messenger or guard on foot.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To run, to go quickly. In the participle, “one who runs”: the runner who carries a message and, in the plural, the guard who ran before the king. BDB: to run, for whatever reason: to hurry, to be a guard or a courier.

• Running to meet someone Genesis 18:2Genesis 33:4
• Running to battle 1 Samuel 17:48
• Running to bring news; the couriers 2 Samuel 18:19Esther 3:13
• The runners, the king's guard 1 Samuel 22:17
• Figuratively: “they will run and not grow weary” Isaiah 40:31Proverbs 1:16

Historical and cultural background

Samuel warns that the king will take the sons of Israel to run before his chariot (1 Samuel 8:11). In Esther the king's letters go out “by the hand of the couriers to all the king’s provinces” (Esther 3:13).

How we translate it

“Run” 34 times, “ran” 28, “running” 7, “runs” 5. For the king's guard, “runners” 17 and “Runner” 3, with a note explaining that it is the guard (1 Samuel 22:17; 1 Kings 14:27); in Esther, “couriers” 4, those who carried the king's letters.

How it is translated

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

• run ×34
• ran ×28
• runners ×17
• running ×7
• runs ×5
• couriers ×4
• Runner ×3
• broke them ×1
• brought them quickly ×1
• hurry them ×1
• others ×2

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Genesis×10
• Numbers×2
• Joshua×2
• Judges×2
• 1 Samuel×12
• 2 Samuel×12
• 1 Kings×6
• 2 Kings×13
• 2 Chronicles×7
• Esther×4
• Job×3
• Psalms×6
• Proverbs×4
• Song of Songs×1
• Isaiah×3
• Jeremiah×7
• Daniel×1
• Joel×3
• Amos×1
• Nahum×1
• Habakkuk×1
• Haggai×1
• Zechariah×1

• Genesis 18:2

  He lifted his eyes and looked, and look, three men were standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed down to the ground.

• Genesis 18:7

  And to the herd Abraham ran, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the young man, who hurried to prepare it.

• Genesis 24:17

  The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.”

• Genesis 24:20

  She quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.

• Genesis 24:28

  The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

• Genesis 24:29

  Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.

• Genesis 29:12

  Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.

• Genesis 29:13

  When Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

• Genesis 33:4

  But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept.

• Genesis 41:14

  Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. He shaved, changed his clothes, and came to Pharaoh.

• Numbers 11:27

  And the young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

• Numbers 16:47

  So Aaron took it as Moses had said and ran into the midst of the assembly, and look, the plague had begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made expiation for the people.

• Joshua 7:22

  So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and look, it was hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.

• Joshua 8:19

  And the ambush rose quickly from its place, and they ran as soon as he stretched out his hand, and entered the city and took it; and they hurried and set the city on fire.

• Judges 7:21

  They stood, each in his place, all around the camp, and all the camp ran; and they shouted and fled.

• Judges 13:10

  So the woman hurried and ran and told her husband; she said to him, “Look, the man who came to me that day has appeared to me!”

• 1 Samuel 3:5

  And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down.

• 1 Samuel 4:12

  And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that day, with his clothes torn and earth on his head.

• 1 Samuel 8:11

  And he said, “This will be the right of the king who will reign over you: your sons he will take and appoint for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots;

• 1 Samuel 10:23

  And they ran and took him from there, and he stood among the people, and he was taller than all the people from his shoulders upward.

• 1 Samuel 17:17

  Jesse said to David his son, “Take, please, for your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves, and hurry them to the camp to your brothers.

• 1 Samuel 17:22

  David left the baggage that was on him in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the battle line, and came and asked his brothers about their welfare.

• 1 Samuel 17:48

  And it came about, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran to the battle line to meet the Philistine.

• 1 Samuel 17:51

  David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it from its sheath and put him to death and cut off with it his head. The Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, and they fled.

• 1 Samuel 20:6

  If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked of me to run to Bethlehem, his city, for there is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

• 1 Samuel 20:36

  He said to his boy, “Run, find, please, the arrows that I shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot the arrow to make it pass beyond him.

• 1 Samuel 22:17

  The king said to the runners who stood by him, “Turn and put to death the priests of YHWH, because their hand too is with David, and because they knew that he was fleeing, and they did not inform me.” But the servants of the king were not willing to stretch out their hand to fall upon the priests of YHWH.

• 2 Samuel 15:1

  After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men running before him.

• 2 Samuel 18:19

  Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and bring news to the king that YHWH has done him justice from the hand of his enemies.”

• 2 Samuel 18:21

  Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down to Joab and ran.

• 2 Samuel 18:22

  Ahimaaz son of Zadok spoke again to Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, when you have no news that finds reward?”

• 2 Samuel 18:23

  He said, “Whatever happens, I will run.” He said to him, “Run.” So Ahimaaz ran by the road of the plain and passed the Cushite.

• 2 Samuel 18:24

  David was sitting between the two gates. The watchman went to the roof of the gate by the wall, and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and there was a man running alone.

• 2 Samuel 18:26

  The watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Look, a man running alone!” The king said, “This one too is bringing news.”

• 2 Samuel 22:30

  For by you I run against a troop; by my Elohim I leap over a wall.

• 1 Kings 1:5

  Now Adonijah son of Haggith was exalting himself, saying, “I will reign.” And he made for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men running before him.

• 1 Kings 14:27

  King Rehoboam made in their place bronze shields, and entrusted them to the hand of the commanders of the runners who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.

• 1 Kings 14:28

  And it happened, as often as the king went into the house of YHWH, that the runners carried them, and brought them back to the guardroom of the runners.

• 1 Kings 18:46

  The hand of YHWH was on Elijah; and he girded his waist and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

• 1 Kings 19:20

  He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss, please, my father and my mother, and I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go, go back, for what have I done to you?”

And 63 more times.