a.vad describes people, nations, things, or qualities passing away or being lost, and also the act of destroying them.

The prevailing use describes persons, peoples, and other things coming to an end or disappearing: a house, nation, righteous person, weapons, wisdom, and human affections may be spoken of this way. In forms that govern an object, it also describes bringing people, places, cultic objects, or names to destruction; a smaller group refers to animals or possessions that have gone missing.

1. Perishing or passing away · dominant

   Qal forms describe a person, group, or thing coming to an end: in Deuteronomy 11:17 the addressed people face this outcome after drought and failed produce, while in Amos 1:8 the remaining Philistines do so after the inhabitants and ruler are cut off. The same use extends to nonhuman and abstract subjects: in 2 Samuel 1:27 the APB renders the clause about the weapons of war as having “perished,” and in Isaiah 29:14 wisdom and understanding are said to vanish.

   Deuteronomy 11:17Amos 1:82 Samuel 1:27Isaiah 29:14Isaiah 57:1Ecclesiastes 9:6
2. Destroying or bringing to ruin · common

   Piel and Hiphil forms occur where an agent brings an object to destruction. In Deuteronomy 12:2 the command concerns eliminating the places where dispossessed nations served their gods; in 2 Kings 19:18 the object is gods put into the fire. Ezekiel 30:13 similarly places the action upon idols in Memphis.

   Deuteronomy 12:2Deuteronomy 12:32 Kings 19:182 Kings 24:2Esther 3:13Ezekiel 30:13
3. Being lost or missing · occasional

   Qal forms can identify something absent from its owner rather than its final destruction. In 1 Samuel 9:3 the donkeys have gone missing and Saul is sent to search for them; in Deuteronomy 22:3 the clause concerns a brother’s lost donkey, cloak, or other lost item that is found. Ezekiel 34:16 uses a Qal active participle for the one sought alongside the banished, broken, and weak.

   1 Samuel 9:31 Samuel 9:20Deuteronomy 22:3Ezekiel 34:16

In the Anselm Paraphrase: The APB variously presents the relevant clauses with “perish,” “destroy,” “lost,” “gone missing,” and “ruined.” Because it paraphrases whole verses rather than aligning each term, these renderings show the clauses' outcomes rather than fixed English equivalents.