Lexicon
כָּבָה
ka.vah
H3518
H:V Hebrew

to quench

24
Occurrences
11
Books
Hebrew
Language

ka.vah describes putting out a fire or light, and can extend to ending a remaining life, brightness, or love.

The attested clauses chiefly describe fire, lamps, or flames being put out—or remaining unquenched. Several passages apply the same action to a last coal, Israel’s lamp, faint flax, the darkening of the heavens, and love that waters cannot extinguish.

Senses in use

  1. Putting out fire or light · dominant

    The Qal imperfect תִכְבֶּה appears in negative clauses concerning fire: in Isaiah 34:10 the APB renders that the fire "is not quenched," and in Jeremiah 17:27 it renders a fire that "will not be quenched." A Piel sequential imperfect occurs where people shut the hall and act upon the lamps in 2 Chronicles 29:7, while Proverbs 26:20 places the Qal imperfect in the statement that a fire goes out without wood.

  2. Ending what is portrayed as remaining or enduring · occasional

    In 2 Samuel 14:7, the Piel sequential perfect כִבּוּ occurs in the family’s threat concerning the woman’s last coal and the loss of her husband’s name and remnant; the APB renders the clause "quench the last coal I have left." In Song of Songs 8:7, the Piel infinitive construct כַבּוֹת stands in the assertion that many waters are not able to extinguish love; Isaiah 42:3 similarly places a Piel imperfect with faint flax.

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB uses "quenched," "extinguish," and "goes out" for clauses involving fire, lamps, flax, and love. These renderings confirm the clauses’ overall presentation rather than establish a separate meaning for each English expression.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture