Lexicon
רֵיחַ
re.ach
H7381
H:N-M Hebrew

aroma

58
Occurrences
9
Books
Hebrew
Language

re.ach denotes a smell, most often the pleasing smell associated with offerings, and also scents of plants, clothing, water, and wine.

The term most often occurs in clauses about offerings burned or presented to the LORD, where the surrounding wording describes a pleasing or soothing smell. Elsewhere it concerns the smell of garments, vines, wine, and water, and once appears in a complaint that people had been made to stink before Pharaoh.

Senses in use

  1. Pleasing smell connected with offerings · dominant

    The construct noun appears in offering clauses in which an animal, fat, grain, or drink offering is burned or presented to the LORD. In Leviticus 1:9 the APB renders the altar-burning of the offering as a food offering of “soothing aroma,” while Numbers 15:3 describes burnt offerings and sacrifices made to produce that result.

  2. Smell of persons, plants, water, or wine · common

    Outside offering language, the noun names a smell associated with tangible settings: Isaac smells Jacob's garments in Genesis 27:27, water is connected with a tree's sprouting in Job 14:9, and blossoming vines give their scent in Song of Songs 2:13. Jeremiah 48:11 likewise speaks of Moab's aroma as remaining unchanged, while Song of Songs 1:3 places the noun with good-smelling oils.

  3. A stinking public impression · rare

    In Exodus 5:21 the construct form occurs in a complaint addressed to Moses and Aaron: the speakers say they have been made to stink in Pharaoh's eyes and those of his servants. The clause applies smell-language to how they are regarded before Pharaoh rather than to an offering or a physical object being smelled.

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the offering clauses with “soothing aroma” or “pleasing aroma,” while other verses use “smell,” “scent,” “fragrance,” or “aroma.” These English expressions show the verse-level presentation rather than a fixed rendering in every instance.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture