Original Word: כֹּבֶד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: kobed
Pronunciation: koh'-bed
Phonetic Spelling: (ko'-bed)
KJV: grievousness, heavy, great number
NASB: dense, heavy, mass, press
Word Origin: [from H3513 (כָּבַד כָּבֵד - honored)]

1. weight, multitude, vehemence

weight, multitude, vehemence

From kabad; weight, multitude, vehemence:

see HEBREW kabad

Word Origin
from kabad
Definition
heaviness, mass
NASB Translation
dense (1), heavy (1), mass (1), press (1).

כֹּ֫בֶד noun [masculine]

1 heaviness, weight of a stone Proverbs 27:3.

2 mass, abundance, of corpses Nahum 3:3.

3 vehemence, of war Isaiah 21:15, of storm Isaiah 30:27.

Semantic Range and Conceptual Background

כֹּבֶד (kōḇed) conveys the idea of “weight” or “heaviness,” whether literal or figurative. In Scripture this weight can be material (stones, sand, corpses), emotional (provocation), or spiritual (the LORD’s wrath). The term sits within the larger כבד word-family that also yields כָּבוֹד (kābōd, “glory”), underscoring how “weight” may signify importance or honor as well as burden.

Occurrences and Contexts

1. Proverbs 27:3

“A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but provocation from a fool outweighs them both.”

Physical mass illustrates an unseen emotional load. The verse warns that foolish anger imposes a crushing pressure surpassing tangible burdens, urging discernment in relationships and speech.

2. Isaiah 21:15

“For they flee from swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the stress of battle.”

Here kōḇed describes the oppressive “stress” or “heaviness” of combat. The prophet depicts refugees escaping not only weapons but the sheer weight of warfare—its exhausting, soul-draining intensity—reminding hearers of the grievous consequences of sin-fueled conflict.

3. Isaiah 30:27

“See, the name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.”

The “dense” (lit., heavy) rising smoke signals the tangible manifestation of divine judgment. What is heavy here is not merely atmospheric; it is the palpable presence of the LORD’s holiness confronting rebellion, foreshadowing the final day when every person must reckon with the weight of His glory and wrath.

4. Nahum 3:3

“Charging horsemen, flashing sword and glittering spear; a multitude of slain, a great number of corpses, without end— they stumble over their dead.”

The “great number” (kōḇed) of corpses pictures the crushing outcome of Nineveh’s violence. The verse stands as a sober reminder that unchecked wickedness accumulates an unbearable mass of guilt and doom.

Theological and Spiritual Significance

1. From burden to glory. The same root that yields the heaviness of burden also furnishes the vocabulary of glory. Humanity either bears crushing weights of folly and sin or enters the “eternal weight of glory” prepared by God (compare 2 Corinthians 4:17).
2. Divine judgment is never capricious. Isaiah and Nahum show that when the LORD’s wrath comes, it carries a perceptible gravity. His judgments are weighty because His character is weighty.
3. Heaviness of sin contrasted with Christ’s yoke. Proverbs exposes the burdens imposed by folly; Jesus offers rest, saying, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Redemption transfers the load from self-destructive weight to life-giving purpose.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Counseling: Help believers identify “heavy” emotional loads created by unresolved anger or unhealthy relationships (Proverbs 27:3) and lead them to confess, forgive, and pursue peace.
• Preaching: Use Isaiah 30:27 to underscore the seriousness of judgment while offering the gospel as the only refuge from divine wrath.
• Intercession: Pray for war-torn regions, remembering Isaiah 21:15 and pleading for relief from the crushing gravity of conflict and for hearts to turn to the Prince of Peace.
• Discipleship: Contrast the burdens of sin with the glory of obedience, encouraging believers to trade the weight of self for the “weight” of God’s glory expressed in faithful living.

Related Biblical Themes

• Glory (kābōd) as positive “weight” (Exodus 33:18-23; Romans 8:18).
• Burden-bearing in covenant community (Galatians 6:2).
• Judgment imagery of smoke and fire (Genesis 19:27-28; Revelation 14:11).

Christological and Eschatological Outlook

The heaviness of divine wrath in Isaiah 30 and the mass of corpses in Nahum 3 prefigure the final judgment described in Revelation 19. Yet Christ bore the ultimate weight of sin at Calvary (Isaiah 53:4-6). Those who come to Him exchange the unbearable heaviness of guilt for the surpassing weight of glory that will be fully revealed when He returns.

Summary

כֹּבֶד appears only four times, yet its notion of heaviness threads through Scripture—from foolish provocations and battlefield stress to apocalyptic smoke and heaps of judgment. Whether warning against folly, exposing the horrors of war, or revealing the gravity of God’s justice, kōḇed presses readers to feel the true weight of life apart from God and to seek the glorious liberty found in His promised salvation.

וְכֹ֖בֶד וְכֹ֣בֶד וכבד כֹּ֥בֶד כֹּֽבֶד־ כבד כבד־ kō·ḇeḏ kō·ḇeḏ- kōḇeḏ kōḇeḏ- koed veChoed wə·ḵō·ḇeḏ wəḵōḇeḏInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts