Bible Dictionary: Rib

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) One of the curved bones attached to the vertebral column and supporting the lateral walls of the thorax.

2. (n.) That which resembles a rib in form or use.

3. (n.) One of the timbers, or bars of iron or steel, that branch outward and upward from the keel, to support the skin or planking, and give shape and strength to the vessel.

4. (n.) A ridge, fin, or wing, as on a plate, cylinder, beam, etc., to strengthen or stiffen it.

5. (n.) One of the rods on which the cover of an umbrella is extended.

6. (n.) A prominent line or ridge, as in cloth.

7. (n.) A longitudinal strip of metal uniting the barrels of a double-barreled gun.

8. (n.) The chief nerve, or one of the chief nerves, of a leaf.

9. (n.) Any longitudinal ridge in a plant.

10. (n.) In Gothic vaulting, one of the primary members of the vault. These are strong arches, meeting and crossing one another, dividing the whole space into triangles, which are then filled by vaulted construction of lighter material. Hence, an imitation of one of these in wood, plaster, or the like.

11. (n.) A projecting mold, or group of moldings, forming with others a pattern, as on a ceiling, ornamental door, or the like.

12. (n.) Solid coal on the side of a gallery; solid ore in a vein.

13. (n.) An elongated pillar of ore or coal left as a support.

14. (n.) A wife; -- in allusion to Eve, as made out of Adam's rib.

15. (v. t.) To furnish with ribs; to form with rising lines and channels; as, to rib cloth.

16. (v. t.) To enclose, as with ribs, and protect; to shut in.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

RIB

(tsela`, tsal`ah; Aramaic `ala`): The Hebrew words designate the "side," "flank," thence the "ribs." They are found thus translated only in connection with the creation of Eve: "He (Yahweh) took one of his (Adam's) ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: and the rib, which Yahweh God had taken from the man, made he (margin "builded he into") a woman" (Genesis 2:21, 22). The Aramaic word is only found in Daniel 7:5.

Twice the Revised Version (British and American) uses the word "rib" in a figurative sense of two beams or rafters built in to the ark of the covenant and the altar of incense, on which the golden rings were fastened, which served to carry ark and altar by means of staves (Exodus 30:4; Exodus 37:27).

A curious mistranslation has crept into the King James Version, which here follows Jewish commentators or etymologists, in four passages in 2 Samuel (2:23; 3:27; 4:06; 20:10), where the "fifth rib" is mentioned as the place of the body under which spears or swords are thrust, so as to cause lethal wounds. The Hebrew word chomesh, which indeed means "fifth," is here a noun, derived from a root meaning "to be staunch," "stalwart," "stout" "fleshy," "obese" (compare chamush, "armed," "equipped soldier"; Arabic el khamis (el chamis), "the army," which, however, Arabic lexicographers explain as meaning "fivefold," namely, vanguard, right and left wing, center and rear guard). The word is to be translated "abdomen," "belly." the Revised Version (British and American) renders correctly "into the body."

H. L. E. Luering

Greek

5551. chronotribeo -- to spend time
... to spend time. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: chronotribeo Phonetic Spelling:
(khron-ot-rib-eh'-o) Short Definition: I waste time, spend time Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5551.htm - 6k

4125. pleura -- the side
... word Definition the side NASB Word Usage side (5). side. Of uncertain affinity;
a rib, ie (by extension) side -- side. (pleuran) -- 5 Occurrences. 4124, 4125 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4125.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

7379. rib -- strife, dispute
rib or rib. 7378, 7379. rib or rib. 7380 . strife, dispute. Transliteration:
rib or rib Phonetic Spelling: (reeb) Short Definition: strife. ...
/hebrew/7379.htm - 6k

6763. tsela -- rib, side
... rib, side. Transliteration: tsela Phonetic Spelling: (tsay-law') Short Definition:
side. ... beam, board, chamber, corner, leaf, plank, rib, side chamber. ...
/hebrew/6763.htm - 6k

5967. ala -- a rib
... 5966, 5967. ala. 5968 . a rib. Transliteration: ala Phonetic Spelling:
(al-ah') Short Definition: ribs. ... rib. (Aramaic) corresponding to tsela'; a rib -- ...
/hebrew/5967.htm - 6k

7378. rib -- to strive, contend
rib or rub. 7377, 7378. rib or rub. 7379 . to strive, contend. Transliteration:
rib or rub Phonetic Spelling: (reeb) Short Definition: contend. ...
/hebrew/7378.htm - 6k

7239. ribbo -- ten thousand, myriad
ribbo or ribbo. 7238, 7239. ribbo or ribbo. 7240 . ten thousand, myriad.
Transliteration: ribbo or ribbo Phonetic Spelling: (rib-bo') Short Definition: 20000 ...
/hebrew/7239.htm - 6k

2570. chomesh -- belly
... fifth rib. From an unused root probably meaning, to be stout; the abdomen (as obese) --
fifth (rib). 2569, 2570. chomesh. 2571 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/2570.htm - 5k

7240. ribbo -- myriad
... 7239, 7240. ribbo. 7241 . myriad. Transliteration: ribbo Phonetic Spelling:
(rib-bo') Short Definition: myriads. Word Origin (Aramaic ...
/hebrew/7240.htm - 6k

7247. Riblah -- a city in Hamath, also one on NE border of Isr.
... 7246, 7247. Riblah. 7248 . a city in Hamath, also one on NE border of Isr.
Transliteration: Riblah Phonetic Spelling: (rib-law') Short Definition: Riblah. ...
/hebrew/7247.htm - 6k

7256. ribbea -- pertaining to the fourth
... 7255, 7256. ribbea. 7257 . pertaining to the fourth. Transliteration: ribbea
Phonetic Spelling: (rib-bay'-ah) Short Definition: fourth. ...
/hebrew/7256.htm - 6k

7259. Ribqah -- wife of Isaac
... 7258, 7259. Ribqah. 7260 . wife of Isaac. Transliteration: Ribqah Phonetic
Spelling: (rib-kaw') Short Definition: Rebekah. Word ...
/hebrew/7259.htm - 6k

Library

Whether the Woman was Fittingly Made from the Rib of Man?
... THE PRODUCTION OF THE WOMAN (FOUR ARTICLES) Whether the woman was fittingly made
from the rib of man? ... For the rib was much smaller than the woman's body. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the woman was fittingly.htm

Why Eve was Formed of Adam's Rib.
... Theophilus to Autolycus: Book II. Chapter XXVIII."Why Eve Was Formed of
Adam's Rib. And Adam having been cast out of Paradise, in ...
/.../theophilus/theophilus to autolycus/chapter xxviii why eve was formed.htm

It is Written that when the Side of Jesus was Pierced "He Shed ...
... if you ask further why our Lord is said to have poured forth blood and water from
His side rather than from any other member, I imagine that by the rib in the ...
/.../23 it is written that.htm

Whether in the State of Innocence Man Would have Been Passible?
... Objection 3: Further, the same passage goes on to say that "He took a rib out of
Adam." Therefore he was passible even to the degree of the cutting out of part ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether in the state of 3.htm

Whether the Woman was Formed Immediately by God?
... On the contrary, Augustine says, in the same work: "God alone, to Whom all nature
owes its existence, could form or build up the woman from the man's rib.". ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the woman was formed.htm

On Our First Parents and their Fall
... God wished Adam to have a companion; so one day He caused Adam to fall into a deep
sleep, and then took from his side a rib, out of which he formed Eve. ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 5 on our first.htm

John Chapter iv. Jan-42
... For he was deemed worthy to receive a wife while he slept, and that wife was made
for him of his own rib: since from Christ, sleeping on the cross, was the ...
/.../augustine/homilies on the gospel of john/tractate xv john chapter iv.htm

Whether Whatever in the Body Belonged to the Truth of Human Nature ...
... Objection 2: Further, Adam's rib belonged to the truth of human nature
in him, as ours does in us. But Adam's rib will rise again ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether whatever in the body.htm

The Bones and Flesh of Wisdom; the Side Out of which the Spiritual ...
... [2573] Genesis 1:18. [2574] Rib. [2575] Commonly used by the Greek Fathers for the
Baptized. ... Migne has anaplastheis, moulded. [2577] Rib. [2578] Isaiah 11:2. ...
/.../chapter viii the bones and flesh.htm

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
... The creation of woman from the rib of Adam is thus commented on (Shab.23): "It is
as if Adam had exchanged a pot of earth for a precious jewel." This, although ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 9 mothers daughters and.htm

Thesaurus

Rib (5 Occurrences)
... thorax. 2. (n.) That which resembles a rib in form or use. 3 ... 14. (n.) A wife; --
in allusion to Eve, as made out of Adam's rib. 15. (vt) To ...
/r/rib.htm - 11k

Fifth (65 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 2:23 Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder
end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind ...
/f/fifth.htm - 28k

Thread (32 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) The prominent part of the spiral of a screw or nut; the rib. ... 8. (vt) To form
a thread, or spiral rib, on or in; as, to thread a screw or nut. ...
/t/thread.htm - 16k

Ribband (1 Occurrence)
... Standard Bible Encyclopedia. RIBBAND. rib'-and, rib'-an (pathil (Numbers 15:38 the
King James Version)). See COLOR, (2); CORD, (4). Multi-Version Concordance ...
/r/ribband.htm - 7k

Smiteth (156 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 2:23 And he refuseth to turn aside, and Abner smiteth him with the hinder
part of the spear unto the fifth 'rib', and the spear cometh out from behind ...
/s/smiteth.htm - 38k

Dieth (192 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 2:23 And he refuseth to turn aside, and Abner smiteth him with the hinder
part of the spear unto the fifth 'rib', and the spear cometh out from behind ...
/d/dieth.htm - 34k

Jarib (3 Occurrences)
... ja'-rib, jar'-ib (yaribh, "he contends," or "takes (our) part," or "conducts (our)
case"): (1) In 1 Chronicles 4:24, a "son" (clan) of Simeon = "Jachin" of ...
/j/jarib.htm - 8k

Joarib
... jo'-a-rib (Ioarib; the King James Version Jarib): Ancestor of Mattathias (1 Maccabees
14:29), given as "Joarib" in the King James Version of 1 Maccabees 2:1 ...
/j/joarib.htm - 6k

Jehoiarib (2 Occurrences)
... je-hoi'-a-rib (yehoyaribh, "Yahweh pleads" or "contends"): A priest in Jerusalem
(1 Chronicles 9:10); the name occurs again in 1 Chronicles 24:7 as the name of ...
/j/jehoiarib.htm - 8k

Joiarib (5 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. JOIARIB. joi'-a-rib (yoyaribh, "Yahweh pleads"
or "contends"; compare JEHOIARIB): (1) A "teacher" of Ezra's time (Ezra 8:16). ...
/j/joiarib.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Rib (5 Occurrences)

Genesis 2:22 He made the rib, which Yahweh God had taken from the man, into a woman, and brought her to the man.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 2:23 Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.
(KJV WBS YLT)

2 Samuel 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
(KJV WBS YLT)

2 Samuel 4:6 And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
(KJV WBS YLT)

2 Samuel 20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
(KJV WBS YLT)

Subtopics

Rib

Related Terms

Fifth (65 Occurrences)

Thread (32 Occurrences)

Ribband (1 Occurrence)

Smiteth (156 Occurrences)

Dieth (192 Occurrences)

Jarib (3 Occurrences)

Joarib

Jehoiarib (2 Occurrences)

Joiarib (5 Occurrences)