Lexicon
אוֹב
ov
H0178
H:N-M Hebrew

medium

17
Occurrences
8
Books
Hebrew
Language

ov denotes a medium consulted for guidance, while Job 32:19 uses its plural for wineskins.

The dominant use identifies a medium—someone sought or appointed in settings of consultation, divination, or prohibition; the singular and plural forms occur in these clauses. A single plural occurrence in Job 32:19 refers instead to wineskins about to split.

Senses in use

  1. A person consulted for guidance · dominant

    The singular and plural forms occur among prohibitions and accounts of seeking such persons: in Deuteronomy 18:11 the APB renders a sequence including one who “consults a medium,” and in Leviticus 19:31 it warns not to turn to “mediums or spiritists.” In 1 Samuel 28:7, the singular occurs twice in Saul's request for a woman connected with one so that he may inquire; 1 Chronicles 10:13 likewise recounts that Saul inquired of one to seek guidance.

  2. Wineskins · rare

    In Job 32:19, the plural form is used in the comparison, “My belly is like wine about to burst, like new wineskins ready to split open.” This is distinct from the consultation contexts of the other occurrences.

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the consultation contexts, the APB generally presents the term as “medium” or “mediums,” often beside “spiritist(s).” In Job 32:19 it instead renders the plural in the image of “new wineskins,” though the translation does not provide word-by-word alignment.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture