aheb (aw-habe) [157]

Meaning

a.  To have affection for (sexually or otherwise).

b.  A primary root.

1.  Ahab or aheb means "to love; like."  Basically this verb is equivalent to the English "to love" in the sense of having a strong emotional attachment to and desire either to possess or to be in the presence of the object.

2.  First, the word refers to the love a man has for a woman and a woman for a man.  Such love is rooted in sexual desire, although as a rule it is desire within the bounds of lawful relationships: "And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved [aheb] her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." [Genesis 24:67].

3.  This word may refer to an erotic but legal love outside marriage.  Such an emotion may be a desire to marry and care for the object of that love, as in the case of Shechem's love for Dinah; Genesis 34:3, "And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved [aheb] the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel."

4.  In a very few instances ahab (or aheb) may signify no more than pure lust - an inordinate desire to have sexual relations with its object; 2 Samuel 13:1, "And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved [aheb] her."

5.  Marriage may be consummated without the presence of love for one's marriage partner; Genesis 29:30, "And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved [aheb] also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years."

6.  Ahab (or aheb) seldom refers to making love [usually this is represented yada (3045), "to know", or by shakab (7901), "to lie with"].

7.  The word does seem to have this added meaning, however, in 1 Kings 11:1, "But king Solomon loved [aheb] many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:"cf. Jeremiah 2:25, "Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved [aheb] strangers, and after them will I go."

Hosea appears to use this nuance when he writes that God told him to "go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteres.."; Hosea 3:1, "Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love [aheb] a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love [ahabah] of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love [aheb] flagons of wine."

This is the predominant meaning of the verb when it appears in the causative stem (as a participle).

Example of causative in English: Rise ---> raise.

Participle: adjective (describes noun); formed by inflexion from verb.

Inflexion: inflecting.

Inflect: modify word to express grammatical relation or change or vary in pitch of.

8.  In every instance except one (Zechariah 13:6, "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends (aheb).") ahab (or aheb) signifies those with whom one has made or intends to make love: "Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers [aheb] are destroyed." [Jeremiah 22:20]. cf. Ezekiel 16:33, "They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers [aheb], and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom."

9. Ahab (or aheb) is alo used of the love between parents and their children.  In its first biblical apperance, the word represents Abraham's special attachment to his son Isaac, "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest [aheb], and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. " [Genesis 22:2]

10.  Ahab (or aheb) may refer to the family love experienced by a daughter-in-law toward her mother-in-law; Ruth 4:15, "And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth [aheb] thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. "

This kind of love is also represented by the word racham (7356).

11.  Ahab (or aheb) sometimes depicts a special strong attachment a servant may have toward a master under whose dominance he wishes to remain, "And if the servant shall plainly say, I love [aheb] my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: " [Exodus 21:5].

12.  Perhaps there is an overtone here of family love; he "loves" his master as a son "loves" his father; cf. Deuteronomy 15:16, "And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth [aheb] thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; "

This emphasis may be in 1 Samuel 16:21. where we read that Saul "loved [David] greatly."  Israel came "to love" and deeply admire David so that they watched his every move with admiration; 1 Samuel 18:16, "But all Israel and Judah loved [aheb] David, because he went out and came in before them. "

13.  A special use of this word relates to an especially close attachment of friends: "And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved [aheb] him as his own soul." [1 Samuel 18:1].

In Leviticus 19:18; "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love [aheb] thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.", ahab (or aheb) signifies this brotherly love or friendly kind of love. cf Leviticus 19:34 ; "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love [aheb] him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. "and Deuteronomy 10:19 ;"Love [aheb] ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."

14.  The word suggests furthermore that one seek to relate to his brother and all men according to what is specified in the law structure God gave to Israel.  This was to be the normal state of affairs between men.

15.  This verb is used politically to describe the loyalty of a vassal or a subordinate to his lord - so Hiram of Tyre "loved" David in the sense that he was completely loyal; 1 Kings 5:1, "And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover [aheb] of David."

16.  The strong emotional attachment and desire suggested by ahab (or aheb) may also be fixed on objects, circumstances, actions and relationships.

Syn: 1730 (loved one, beloved); 7453 (friend, intimate)