קָבַע

# Qaba (H6906): A Hebrew Term for Robbery The Hebrew word *qaba* (קָבַע) denotes the act of robbery or theft, appearing six times throughout the biblical text. As a verb, it describes the taking of property from another person through force or unlawful means. The relatively small number of occurrences suggests this was a specific term in biblical Hebrew with a focused semantic range, distinguishing it from more general words for stealing or taking. The limited attestation of *qaba* in Scripture indicates it held a particular place in the Hebrew lexicon's vocabulary for wrongdoing. Rather than being a common everyday word, its rarity suggests it may have been reserved for cases of robbery that involved some element of force, coercion, or criminal intent. This specificity would have made it a useful legal and narrative term for describing serious property crimes distinct from other forms of illicit taking. Understanding *qaba* requires reliance on its immediate biblical contexts since the data provided does not include specific passages or usage examples. Scholars and translators examining this word must turn directly to the six biblical instances where it appears to determine how ancient writers and editors distinguished robbery from other property crimes, and what consequences or moral judgments were attached to this particular offense.