a.hav denotes lovers or an intimate relational reference in the two attested Hebrew clauses.

The attested plural noun occurs in a relational setting: Hosea 8:9 explicitly speaks of Ephraim hiring lovers, while Proverbs 5:19 places the form in the closing clause about being intoxicated with her love; the latter’s precise English correspondence is less certain in the translation.

1. Lovers in an intimate relational context · dominant

   In Hosea 8:9, the plural noun occurs in the clause that says Ephraim has hired lovers. In Proverbs 5:19, the same plural form stands in the clause the APB renders “may you be intoxicated always with her love,” though the translation does not isolate the term’s specific contribution.

   Hosea 8:9Proverbs 5:19

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB explicitly uses “lovers” in Hosea 8:9 and “her love” in Proverbs 5:19. Because it is a whole-verse translation, this variation does not by itself establish separate meanings.