תיבה

Hebrew

Etymology

Cognate with Arabic تَابُوت (tābūt). Ultimately from a merger of Egyptian (ḏbꜣt, “sarcophagus, coffin”) and (dbt, “chest, box”); compare Demotic tbyt (“sarcophagus, shrine, chest”), dbt, and tbt (“chest”) and Coptic ⲧⲁⲓⲃⲉ (taibe, “chest, coffin”).

Noun

תיבה / תֵּבָה • (tevá/teivá) f (plural indefinite תיבות / תֵּבוֹת, singular construct תיבת / תֵּבַת־, plural construct תיבות / תֵּבוֹת־)

1. (archaic) box, basket
   • Tanach, Exodus 2:5, with translation of Aryeh Kaplan:

     וַתֵּרֶד בַּת־פַּרְעֹה לִרְחֹץ עַל־הַיְאֹר וְנַעֲרֹתֶיהָ הֹלְכֹת עַל־יַד הַיְאֹר וַתֵּרֶא אֶת־הַתֵּבָה בְּתוֹךְ הַסּוּף וַתִּשְׁלַח אֶת־אֲמָתָהּ וַתִּקָּחֶהָ

     Va-téred bat Parʿó lirḥoṣ ʿal ha-Y'or v-naʿarotéha holkhót ʿal yad ha-Y'or va-tére et hatevá b-tokh has-suf va-tishlaḥ et amatáh va-tiqqaḥéha

     Pharaoh's daughter went to bathe in the Nile, while her maids walked along the Nile's edge. She saw the box in the rushes, and sent her slave-girl to fetch it.

   • a. 217 C.E., Mishnah, Kelim 24:4:

     שָׁלֹשׁ תֵּבוֹת הֵן. תֵּבָה שֶׁפִּתְחָהּ מִצִּדָּהּ טְמֵאָה מִדְרָס. מִלְּמַעְלָן טְמֵאָה טְמֵא מֵת. וְהַבָּאָה בַּמִּדָּה טְהוֹרָה מִכְּלוּם:

     Shalósh tevót hen. Tevá she-pitḥáh mi-ṣiddáh ṭ'meá midrás. Millmaʿlan ṭ'meá t'mé met. V-ha-ba-á ba-middá ṭ'horá mi-klum.

     There are three kinds of boxes. A box with a side-opening is susceptible to treading impurity. If on top, it is susceptible to death-impurity. And one that is a big enough size is pure of anything.

1. (Judaism) Noah's ark
   • Tanach, Genesis 7:9, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     שְׁנַיִם שְׁנַיִם בָּאוּ אֶל־נֹחַ אֶל־הַתֵּבָה זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־נֹחַ׃

     Shnáyim shnáyim bá'u el Nóaḥ el hatēvá zakhár u-nqevá ka-ashér ṣivvá Elohím et Nóaḥ.

     there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

   • a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 108b:

     אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא שֶׁהֶעֱבִירָן לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה כֹּל שֶׁהַתֵּבָה קוֹלַטְתּוֹ בִּידוּעַ שֶׁלֹּא נֶעֶבְדָה בָּהֶם עֲבֵרָה וְכֹל שֶׁאֵין הַתֵּבָה קוֹלַטְתּוֹ בִּידוּעַ שֶׁנֶּעֶבְדָה בָּהּ עֲבֵרָה

     Amár Rav Ḥísda, she-heʿevirán lifnéi hatevá. Kol she-hatevá qolaṭ'to, bidúaʿ she-lo neʿevdá bahém ʿaverá, v-khol she-ein hatevá qolaṭ'to, bidúaʿ she-neʿevdá bah ʿaverá.

     Said Rav Ḥisda: so he passed them by the ark. Those that the ark accepted, it was made known that no transgression was done with them, and those that the ark did not accept, it was made known that a transgression was done with it.

2. casket, coffin
3. rectangular cuboid
4. bar (section of written music)
5. (Judaism) ark (holds Torah scrolls)
   • a. 217 C.E., Mishnah, Ta'anit 2:5:

     מַעֲשֶׂה בִימֵי רַבִּי חֲלַפְתָּא וְרַבִּי חֲנַנְיָה בֶן תְּרַדְיוֹן, שֶׁעָבַר אֶחָד לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה וְגָמַר אֶת הַבְּרָכָה כֻלָּהּ, וְלֹא עָנוּ אַחֲרָיו אָמֵן.

     Maʿasé vi-yméy Rábbi Ḥaláfta v-Rábbi Ḥananyá ven T'radyón, she-ʿavár eḥad lifnéi ha-tevá v-gamár et ha-brakhá khuláh, v-lo ʿanú aḥaráv amén.

     An occurrence in the days of Rabbi Halafta and rabbi Hananiah son of Teradion, when someone went before the ark and finished the entire blessing, but they did not respond "amen" after him.

1. • a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud, Ta'anit 25b:

     שׁוּב מַעֲשֶׂה בר' אֱלִיעֶזֶר שֶׁיָּרַד לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה וְאָמַר עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע בְּרָכוֹת וְלֹא נַעֲנֶה

     Shuv maʿasé b-Rábi Eliʿézer she-yarád lifnéi hatevá v-amár ʿesrím v-arbáʿ brakhót v-lo naʿanéh

     Another occurrence with Rabbi Eliezer, who went down before the ark and said twenty-four blessings and was not answered.

2. (by extension) word (in written form: the letters between spaces)
   • a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 38b:

     אָמְרוּ עָלָיו שֶׁהָיָה נוֹטֵל ד' קוּלְמוֹסִין בֵּין אֶצְבְּעוֹתָיו וְאִם הָיְתָה תֵּיבָה שֶׁל ד' אוֹתִיּוֹת הָיָה כּוֹתְבָהּ בְּבַת אַחַת

     Amrú ʿaláv she-hayá noṭél arbaʿá qulmosín beyn eṣbʿotáv v-im haytá tevá shel arbáʿ otiyót hayá kotváh b-vát aḥát.

     They said of him that he would hold four quills between his fingers, and if he came across a word of four letters he would write it at once.

Synonyms

• (box): קופסה, ארון
• (word): מִלָּה

Derived terms

• ראשי תיבות / רָאשֵׁי תֵּבוֹת (rashéi teivót)
• תיבת דואר / תֵּבַת דֹּאַר (teivát dó'ar)
• תיבת פנדורה / תֵּבַת פַּנְדּוֹרָה (teivát pandóra)

Descendants

• → Dutch: teba

Further reading

• תיבה on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he