707. arag

Lexical Summary

arag: To weave

Original Word: אָרַג
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: arag
Pronunciation: ah-rag'
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-rag')
KJV: weaver(-r)
NASB: weaver's, woven, weave, weaver, weavers, weaving
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to plait or weave

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

weaver

A primitive root; to plait or weave -- weaver(-r).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to weave
NASB Translation
weave (2), weaver (2), weaver's (4), weavers (1), weaving (1), woven (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

אָרַג verb weave (Mishna id. compare Phoenician ארג weaver) —

Qal Imperfect2feminine singular תַּאַרְגִי Judges 16:13, 3masculine plural יֶאֱרֹ֑גוּ Isaiah 59:5; Participle אֹרֵג Exodus 28:32 4t.; plural אֹרְגִים Isaiah 19:9 5t.; אֹרְגוֺת 2 Kings 23:7; — weave cloth, etc. Isaiah 19:9 (in Egypt) 2 Kings 23:7, Samson's locks Judges 16:13; metaphor weave spider's web = intrigue Isaiah 59:5; most often Participle used as substantive = weaver Isaiah 38:12; work of the weaver ׳מעשׂה א Exodus 28:32; Exodus 39:22,27; compare Exodus 35:35; weavers' beam (plural) ׳מְנוֺר א 1 Samuel 17:7; 2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 11:23; 1 Chronicles 20:5 (simile of huge spear-shaft) — compare also below יַעֲרֵי ארגים.

Topical Lexicon

The Weaving Motif in Scripture

אָרַג (’ārag) evokes the deliberate, patterned interlacing of threads into cloth. Across the canon, weaving illustrates artistry, order, strength, and, at times, idolatrous misuse. Whether adorning priests, equipping warriors, or serving as a prophetic metaphor, weaving underscores the truth that God can be glorified—or profaned—through human skill.

Occurrences and Contexts

1. Worship and Holiness
• Exodus 35:35; 39:22, 27 – The robe of the ephod and the tunics of the priests were “the work of a weaver,” displaying God-given craftsmanship dedicated to His service. The single opening of the robe (28:32) prevented tearing, symbolizing wholeness in ministry.

2. Domestic and Vocational Life
• Isaiah 19:9 – Economic judgment falls on Egypt; “the weavers of fine thread will lose hope,” reminding readers that every marketplace skill depends on the LORD’s providence.

3. Personal Experience
• Isaiah 38:12 – Hezekiah likens his fragile life to cloth on a loom: “I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom.” The image captures both human vulnerability and divine sovereignty over life’s span.

4. Moral Failure
• 2 Kings 23:7 – Women “were weaving for Asherah” inside the very house of the LORD, a vivid picture of sacred skills corrupted by idolatry.

5. Military Imagery
• 1 Samuel 17:7; 2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 11:23; 20:5 – The spear shafts “like a weaver’s beam” stress the massive size of Philistine weaponry while highlighting Israel’s God-given victories.

6. Deception and Folly
• Judges 16:13 – Delilah weaves Samson’s braids into a loom, a picture of ritualistic entanglement leading to betrayal.
• Isaiah 59:5 – The wicked “spin a spider’s web,” contrasting flimsy, deceptive works with the sturdy cloth woven for the priests.

Historical Significance

Ancient Near-Eastern looms produced rectangular cloth used for garments, tents, and hangings. Israel’s artisans, “filled…with skill” (Exodus 35:35), matched neighboring cultures in technique yet surpassed them in purpose—crafting items for the tabernacle that mirrored heavenly patterns (Hebrews 8:5). Conversely, the idolatrous weaving for Asherah (2 Kings 23:7) exposes how cultural crafts can be co-opted by false worship.

Ministry Implications

• Craftsmanship as Calling: Bezalel and Oholiab demonstrate that Spirit-empowered artisanship is valid ministry. Churches can encourage vocational excellence as an act of worship.
• Vigilance against Syncretism: Josiah’s reforms warn leaders to guard sacred spaces from cultural practices that dishonor God, even when those practices employ respectable skills.
• Mortality and Hope: Hezekiah’s “weaver” lament provides a pastoral text for funerals and counseling, pointing sufferers to the One who alone determines the length of the thread.
• Spiritual Warfare: David’s triumph over Goliath, whose spear was “like a weaver’s beam,” illustrates that faith, not outward might, secures victory—a theme vital for preaching on Ephesians 6:10-18.

Intertextual Echoes

Although אָרַג appears only thirteen times, the weaving theme resonates elsewhere. Job 7:6 compares fleeting days to “a weaver’s shuttle,” and Psalm 139:13 speaks of God “weaving” the unborn—in Hebrew, a cognate root. These connections broaden meditative and doctrinal applications concerning creation, providence, and human dignity.

Key Takeaways for Teachers and Disciples

1. God endows diverse skills for His glory; weaving exemplifies vocational sanctification.
2. Sacred skills can be perverted when severed from covenant loyalty.
3. Weaving metaphors powerfully communicate life’s brevity, the strength of spiritual weapons, and the contrast between genuine righteousness and fragile deception.
4. Every believer, like a thread, is intentionally placed within the grand design of redemptive history, woven by the Master Craftsman “who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).

Forms and Transliterations

אֹֽרְגִ֔ים אֹרְג֥וֹת אֹרְגִ֔ים אֹרְגִֽים׃ אֹרֵ֑ג אֹרֵ֗ג ארג ארגות ארגים ארגים׃ וְאֹרְגִ֖ים וְאֹרֵ֑ג וארג וארגים יֶאֱרֹ֑גוּ יארגו כָאֹרֵ֤ג כארג תַּאַרְגִ֗י תארגי ’ō·rə·ḡîm ’ō·rə·ḡō·wṯ ’ō·rêḡ ’ōrêḡ ’ōrəḡîm ’ōrəḡōwṯ chaoReg ḵā’ōrêḡ ḵā·’ō·rêḡ oReg oreGim oregoyt ta’arḡî ta·’ar·ḡî taarGi veoReg veoreGim wə’ōrêḡ wə’ōrəḡîm wə·’ō·rə·ḡîm wə·’ō·rêḡ ye’ĕrōḡū ye·’ĕ·rō·ḡū yeeRogu

Englishman's Concordance

Exodus 28:32
HEB: סָבִ֜יב מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה אֹרֵ֗ג כְּפִ֥י תַחְרָ֛א
NAS: there shall be a binding of woven work,
KJV: thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work
INT: around work of woven the opening of a coat

Exodus 35:35
HEB: הַשָּׁנִ֛י וּבַשֵּׁ֖שׁ וְאֹרֵ֑ג עֹשֵׂי֙ כָּל־
NAS: [material], and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers
KJV: and in fine linen, and of the weaver, [even] of them that do
INT: scarlet fine A weaver performers of every

Exodus 39:22
HEB: הָאֵפֹ֖ד מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה אֹרֵ֑ג כְּלִ֖יל תְּכֵֽלֶת׃
NAS: of the ephod of woven work,
KJV: of the ephod [of] woven work,
INT: of the ephod work of woven all of blue

Exodus 39:27
HEB: שֵׁ֖שׁ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה אֹרֵ֑ג לְאַהֲרֹ֖ן וּלְבָנָֽיו׃
NAS: of finely woven linen
KJV: [of] fine linen [of] woven work
INT: of finely work woven Aaron and his sons

Judges 16:13
HEB: אֵלֶ֔יהָ אִם־ תַּאַרְגִ֗י אֶת־ שֶׁ֛בַע
NAS: to her, If you weave the seven
KJV: And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven
INT: to her If weave the seven locks

1 Samuel 17:7
HEB: חֲנִית֗וֹ כִּמְנוֹר֙ אֹֽרְגִ֔ים וְלַהֶ֣בֶת חֲנִית֔וֹ
NAS: of his spear was like a weaver's beam,
KJV: of his spear [was] like a weaver's beam;
INT: of his spear beam A weaver's and the head of his spear

2 Samuel 21:19
HEB: חֲנִית֔וֹ כִּמְנ֖וֹר אֹרְגִֽים׃ ס
NAS: of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
KJV: of whose spear [was] like a weaver's beam.
INT: spear beam A weaver's

2 Kings 23:7
HEB: אֲשֶׁ֣ר הַנָּשִׁ֗ים אֹרְג֥וֹת שָׁ֛ם בָּתִּ֖ים
NAS: the women were weaving hangings
KJV: where the women wove hangings
INT: which the women were weaving in it hangings

1 Chronicles 11:23
HEB: חֲנִית֙ כִּמְנ֣וֹר אֹרְגִ֔ים וַיֵּ֥רֶד אֵלָ֖יו
NAS: [was] a spear like a weaver's beam,
KJV: [was] a spear like a weaver's beam;
INT: a spear beam A weaver's went to him

1 Chronicles 20:5
HEB: חֲנִית֔וֹ כִּמְנ֖וֹר אֹרְגִֽים׃
NAS: of whose spear [was] like a weaver's beam.
KJV: staff [was] like a weaver's beam.
INT: spear beam A weaver's

Isaiah 19:9
HEB: פִשְׁתִּ֖ים שְׂרִיק֑וֹת וְאֹרְגִ֖ים חוֹרָֽי׃
NAS: flax And the weavers of white cloth
KJV: flax, and they that weave networks,
INT: of linen combed and the weavers networks

Isaiah 38:12
HEB: רֹעִ֑י קִפַּ֨דְתִּי כָאֹרֵ֤ג חַיַּי֙ מִדַּלָּ֣ה
NAS: up and removed from me; As a weaver I rolled
KJV: I have cut off like a weaver my life:
INT: A shepherd's rolled A weaver my life the loom

Isaiah 59:5
HEB: וְקוּרֵ֥י עַכָּבִ֖ישׁ יֶאֱרֹ֑גוּ הָאֹכֵ֤ל מִבֵּֽיצֵיהֶם֙
NAS: eggs and weave the spider's
KJV: eggs, and weave the spider's
INT: web the spider's and weave eats of their eggs

13 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 707
13 Occurrences

ḵā·’ō·rêḡ — 1 Occ.
’ō·rêḡ — 3 Occ.
’ō·rə·ḡîm — 4 Occ.
’ō·rə·ḡō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
ta·’ar·ḡî — 1 Occ.
wə·’ō·rêḡ — 1 Occ.
wə·’ō·rə·ḡîm — 1 Occ.
ye·’ĕ·rō·ḡū — 1 Occ.