8392. tebah

Lexical Summary

tebah: Ark, Basket

Original Word: תֵּבָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: tebah
Pronunciation: tay-VAH
Phonetic Spelling: (tay-baw')
KJV: ark
NASB: ark, basket
Word Origin: [perhaps of foreign derivation]

1. a box

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

box tree

Perhaps of foreign derivation; a box -- ark.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
probably of foreign origin
Definition
a box, chest
NASB Translation
ark (26), basket (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

תֵּבָה noun feminine ark (properly chest, box (compare Late Hebrew תֵּבָה); probably Egyptian loan-word from T-b-t, chest, coffin (Brugsch, Erman^{ZMG xlvi (1892), 123}); > Babylonian word Jen^{ZA iv (1889), 272 f.} Hal^{JAssyr., 1888 {Nov.-Dec.}, 517}); — absolute ׳ת Genesis 7:1 +; construct תֵּבַת Genesis 6:14; Exodus 2:3; — vessel in which infant Moses was laid among reeds Exodus 2:3 (made of papyrus, גֹּמֶא), Exodus 2:5 (both E; ᵐ5 θῖβις, θήβη, compare Lewy^{Fremdw. 100}); vessel which saved Noah and his family, with animals, during flood (ᵐ5 κιβωτός): Genesis 7:1,7,9,17,23; Genesis 8:6,9 (twice in verse); Genesis 8:10,13; Genesis 9:18 (all J), Genesis 6:14 (made of עֲצֵי נֹפֶר), Genesis 6:14; Genesis 6:15; Genesis 6:16; Genesis 6:16; Genesis 6:18; Genesis 6:19; Genesis 7:13,15,18; Genesis 8:1,4,16,19; Genesis 9:10 (all P).

תְּבוּאָה see בוא. תְּבוּנָה, תְּבוּנָם see בין.

תובנתו see בין. תְּבוּסָה see בוס.

Topical Lexicon

Semantic Scope and Distribution

תֵּבָה (tebah) designates a large, watertight container designed for flotation and preservation. All twenty-eight Old Testament occurrences fall within two narratives: the ark built by Noah (Genesis 6–9) and the basket that protected the infant Moses (Exodus 2:3-5). No other Hebrew term is applied to these two structures, and תֵּבָה is never used for the Ark of the Covenant, which is consistently אַרוֹן (aron).

The Ark of Noah (Genesis 6–9)

1. Divine blueprint. Genesis 6:14-16 records the sole naval construction plan directly dictated by God: “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood… three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high” (Genesis 6:14-15). Its displacement (about 1.5 million cubic feet) rivals modern cargo vessels, underlining divine foresight in both scale and stability.
2. Instrument of judgment and salvation. The global Flood would “blot out from the face of the earth every creature” (Genesis 7:4). Yet the ark became the means by which “Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood” (Genesis 7:7). Judgement and grace converge in a single vessel.
3. Covenant motif. “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you will enter the ark” (Genesis 6:18). The תֵּבָה embodies covenantal deliverance, foreshadowing later redemptive covenants culminating in Christ.
4. Typological richness. Peter explicitly links the ark with Christian baptism: “In it a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also” (1 Peter 3:20-21). The New Testament thus interprets the ark as a historical reality that prefigures the believer’s union with Christ in death and resurrection.
5. Ministry implications. God’s directive shows that obedience precedes understanding; Noah constructed the ark “by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Modern ministry stresses a similar call to build according to divine revelation rather than cultural opinion.

The Basket of Moses (Exodus 2:3-5)

1. Parallel vocabulary, parallel grace. Moses’ mother “got him a papyrus basket [tebah], coated it with tar and pitch” (Exodus 2:3). The same sealing agent used on Noah’s ark underscores thematic continuity: salvation through a Spirit-guided enclosure amid threatening waters.
2. Preservation of Israel’s deliverer. Whereas Noah’s ark preserved a remnant of humanity, Moses’ ark preserved the one through whom God would liberate the covenant nation.
3. Humble materials, exalted purpose. Noah’s tebah is massive, built of durable timber; Moses’ tebah is small, fashioned from reeds. The disparity demonstrates that divine salvation is not constrained by size or human expectation.
4. Divine irony. Pharaoh decreed, “Every son that is born you shall cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22). God uses that very river to rescue the future lawgiver, highlighting His sovereign reversal of human tyranny.

Thematic Links between the Two Arks

• Salvation through judgement: waters both destroy and deliver.
• Covenant continuity: Noah emerges to a new creation; Moses will mediate the Sinai covenant.
• Faith response: Noah builds, Moses’ parents hide (cf. Hebrews 11:23); both acts flow from trust in God’s promise.

New Testament Echoes

• Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy through Noah (Luke 3:36), rooting Messianic hope in the ark narrative.
• Hebrews 11 profiles both Noah and Moses as exemplars of faith, uniting the two tebot in one gallery of witnesses.
• The image of believers as those “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5) resonates with the protective function of the tebah.

Historical and Archaeological Notes

Ancient Near-Eastern flood epics (e.g., Gilgamesh) record smaller, cube-shaped vessels. Genesis describes an elongated, barge-like structure optimised for stability, consistent with modern naval engineering. Papyrus boats on the Nile were common in Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, situating Exodus 2 within credible cultural practice.

Ministry Applications

• Proclamation of judgement and mercy: the two tebot urge balanced preaching of divine wrath and grace.
• Family discipleship: Noah saved his household; Moses was safeguarded by parents acting in faith. Modern families are likewise called to intentional, counter-cultural obedience.
• Missional architecture: as Noah built a vessel for survival, churches are to create communities that visibly embody God’s refuge amid moral floodwaters.
• Child advocacy: Moses’ account challenges the church to defend vulnerable lives targeted by societal edicts.

Conclusion

Through its twenty-eight appearances, תֵּבָה consistently signifies a God-designed refuge that carries His people through waters of judgement into new life and mission. From the Flood to the Nile, the theme remains: salvation is of the Lord, secured within His appointed vessel, pointing ultimately to the greater Ark—Jesus Christ—in whom believers find eternal safety.

Forms and Transliterations

בַּתֵּבָ֑ה בַּתֵּבָֽה׃ בתבה בתבה׃ הַתֵּבָ֑ה הַתֵּבָ֔ה הַתֵּבָ֖ה הַתֵּבָֽה׃ הַתֵּבָה֙ התבה התבה׃ לַתֵּבָ֗ה לתבה תֵּ֣בַת תֵּבַ֣ת תבת bat·tê·ḇāh battêḇāh batteVah hat·tê·ḇāh hattêḇāh hatteVah lat·tê·ḇāh lattêḇāh latteVah tê·ḇaṯ têḇaṯ teVat

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 6:14
HEB: עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־ גֹ֔פֶר
NAS: Make for yourself an ark of gopher
KJV: Make thee an ark of gopher wood;
INT: Make an ark wood of gopher

Genesis 6:14
HEB: תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־ הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ
NAS: you shall make the ark with rooms,
KJV: in the ark, and shalt pitch
INT: shall make in the ark and shall cover within

Genesis 6:15
HEB: אַמָּ֗ה אֹ֚רֶךְ הַתֵּבָ֔ה חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים אַמָּה֙
NAS: it: the length of the ark three
KJV: it [of]: The length of the ark [shall be] three
INT: cubits the length of the ark fifty cubits

Genesis 6:16
HEB: צֹ֣הַר ׀ תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה וְאֶל־ אַמָּה֙
NAS: a window for the ark, and finish
KJV: shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit
INT: A window shall make the ark to A cubit

Genesis 6:16
HEB: מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וּפֶ֥תַח הַתֵּבָ֖ה בְּצִדָּ֣הּ תָּשִׂ֑ים
NAS: the door of the ark in the side
KJV: and the door of the ark shalt thou set
INT: the top the door of the ark the side and set

Genesis 6:18
HEB: וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֔ה אַתָּ֕ה וּבָנֶ֛יךָ
NAS: with you; and you shall enter the ark-- you and your sons
KJV: into the ark, thou,
INT: shall enter into the ark thou and your sons'

Genesis 6:19
HEB: תָּבִ֥יא אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֖ה לְהַחֲיֹ֣ת אִתָּ֑ךְ
NAS: of every [kind] into the ark, to keep [them] alive
KJV: of every [sort] shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep [them] alive
INT: shall bring to the ark to keep for

Genesis 7:1
HEB: בֵּיתְךָ֖ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֑ה כִּֽי־ אֹתְךָ֥
NAS: Enter the ark, you and all
KJV: thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen
INT: your household about the ark for have seen

Genesis 7:7
HEB: אִתּ֖וֹ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֑ה מִפְּנֵ֖י מֵ֥י
NAS: with him entered the ark because
KJV: wives with him, into the ark, because of
INT: for about the ark of of the water

Genesis 7:9
HEB: נֹ֛חַ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֖ה זָכָ֣ר וּנְקֵבָ֑ה
NAS: there went into the ark to Noah
KJV: unto Noah into the ark, the male
INT: Noah into the ark male and female

Genesis 7:13
HEB: אִתָּ֖ם אֶל־ הַתֵּבָֽה׃
NAS: with them, entered the ark,
KJV: of his sons with them, into the ark;
INT: for about the ark

Genesis 7:15
HEB: נֹ֖חַ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֑ה שְׁנַ֤יִם שְׁנַ֙יִם֙
NAS: So they went into the ark to Noah,
KJV: unto Noah into the ark, two
INT: Noah into the ark twos twos

Genesis 7:17
HEB: וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ אֶת־ הַתֵּבָ֔ה וַתָּ֖רָם מֵעַ֥ל
NAS: and lifted up the ark, so that it rose
KJV: and bare up the ark, and it was lift up
INT: and the water and lifted the ark rose and

Genesis 7:18
HEB: הָאָ֑רֶץ וַתֵּ֥לֶךְ הַתֵּבָ֖ה עַל־ פְּנֵ֥י
NAS: upon the earth, and the ark floated
KJV: upon the earth; and the ark went
INT: the earth floated and the ark on the surface

Genesis 7:23
HEB: וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתּ֖וֹ בַּתֵּבָֽה׃
NAS: was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
KJV: [alive], and they that [were] with him in the ark.
INT: after for the ark

Genesis 8:1
HEB: אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתּ֖וֹ בַּתֵּבָ֑ה וַיַּעֲבֵ֨ר אֱלֹהִ֥ים
NAS: the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God
KJV: and all the cattle that [was] with him in the ark: and God
INT: after in the ark to pass and God

Genesis 8:4
HEB: וַתָּ֤נַח הַתֵּבָה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י
NAS: of the month, the ark rested
KJV: And the ark rested in the seventh
INT: rested the ark month the seventh

Genesis 8:6
HEB: אֶת־ חַלּ֥וֹן הַתֵּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃
NAS: the window of the ark which
KJV: the window of the ark which he had made:
INT: Noah the window of the ark which had made

Genesis 8:9
HEB: אֵלָיו֙ אֶל־ הַתֵּבָ֔ה כִּי־ מַ֖יִם
NAS: so she returned to him into the ark, for the water
KJV: and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters
INT: about to him the ark for the water

Genesis 8:9
HEB: אֵלָ֖יו אֶל־ הַתֵּבָֽה׃
NAS: her, and brought her into the ark to himself.
KJV: and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
INT: about about the ark

Genesis 8:10
HEB: הַיּוֹנָ֖ה מִן־ הַתֵּבָֽה׃
NAS: he sent out the dove from the ark.
KJV: he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
INT: the dove from the ark

Genesis 8:13
HEB: אֶת־ מִכְסֵ֣ה הַתֵּבָ֔ה וַיַּ֕רְא וְהִנֵּ֥ה
NAS: the covering of the ark, and looked,
KJV: the covering of the ark, and looked,
INT: Noah the covering of the ark and looked and behold

Genesis 8:16
HEB: צֵ֖א מִן־ הַתֵּבָ֑ה אַתָּ֕ה וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֛
NAS: Go out of the ark, you and your wife
KJV: Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife,
INT: Go out of the ark you and your wife

Genesis 8:19
HEB: יָצְא֖וּ מִן־ הַתֵּבָֽה׃
NAS: out by their families from the ark.
KJV: went forth out of the ark.
INT: went from the ark

Genesis 9:10
HEB: מִכֹּל֙ יֹצְאֵ֣י הַתֵּבָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֥ת
NAS: that comes out of the ark, even every
KJV: with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast
INT: of all comes of the ark every living

28 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8392
28 Occurrences

bat·tê·ḇāh — 2 Occ.
hat·tê·ḇāh — 23 Occ.
lat·tê·ḇāh — 1 Occ.
tê·ḇaṯ — 2 Occ.