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) 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

     vatéred bat par'ó lirkhóts al hay'ór v'na'arotéha holkhót al yad hay'ór vatére et hatevá b'tokh hasúf vatishlakh et amatáh vatikakhéha

     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 shepitkháh mi-tsidáh t'meá midrás. mil'ma'lan t'meá t'mé met. v'haba'á bamidá t'horá miklum.

     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.

2. (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 nóakh el hatevá zakhár u'nkevá ka'ashér tsivá elohím et nóakh.

     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 khísda, shehe'evirán lifné hatevá. kol shehatevá kolat'tó, bidúaʿ sheló ne'evdá bahém averá, v'khol she'én hatevá kolat'tó, bidúa' shene'evdá bah averá.

     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.

3. coffin, casket
4. rectangular cuboid
5. bar (section of written music)
6. (Judaism) ark (a decorated cabinet at the front of a synagogue, in which Torah scrolls are kept)
   • 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.

     ma'asé viymé rábi khaláfta v'rábi khananyá ven t'radyón, she'avár ekhad lifné hatevá v'gamár et habrakhá khuláh, v'lo anú akharáv 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.

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

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

     shuv ma'asé b'rábi eliʿézer sheyarád lifné hatevá v'amár 'esrím v'arbá' brakhót v'lo na'ané

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

7. (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 aláv sh'hayá notél arba'á kulmosín ben etsb'otáv v'im haytá tevá shel arbá' otiyót hayá kotváh b'vát akhát.

     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): מילה / מִלָּה
• (Torah ark): ארון קודש / אֲרוֹן קֹדֶשׁ (arón kódesh)

Derived terms

• ראשי תיבות / רָאשֵׁי תֵּבוֹת (rashé tevót)
• תיבת דואר / תֵּבַת דֹּאַר (tevát dó'ar)
• תיבת פנדורה / תֵּבַת פַּנְדּוֹרָה (tevát pandóra)

Descendants

• → Dutch: teba

Further reading

• תיבה on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he