Word Study for H3619 (כְּלוּב)

kᵉlûwb /kel-oob'/ Ask about this word

Rootfrom the same as כֶּלֶב

Meaningxlit kᵉlûb corrected to kᵉlûwb; a bird-trap (as furnished with a clap-stick or treadle to spring it); hence, a basket (as resembling a wicker cage)

KJV usagebasket, cage.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of kᵉlûwb — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word kᵉlûwb, represented by H3619, is defined as a bird-trap, a basket, or a cage. The word appears only 3 times across 3 unique verses in the Bible. Its meaning shifts between a simple container and a trap, depending on the context in which it is used.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its biblical usage, H3619 serves as a powerful prophetic symbol. In the book of Amos, the Lord shows the prophet a vision of a basket of summer fruit, signifying that the end has come for the people of Israel Amos 8:1-2. In Jeremiah, the word is translated as cage, used in a simile to describe the state of corruption: "As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit" Jeremiah 5:27. In both instances, the object is used to illustrate a message of impending judgment.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words provide context for the imagery associated with H3619:

H7019 qayits (summer fruit, harvest): This word is used alongside kᵉlûwb in the vision shown to Amos, where the basket is filled with summer fruit, symbolizing a finality and ripeness for judgment Amos 8:1.
H5775 ʻôwph (bird, fowl): In Jeremiah's prophecy, the cage is filled with these, creating a metaphor for entrapment Jeremiah 5:27.
H4392 mâlêʼ (full, filling): This term describes how the cage is full of birds and, in parallel, how the houses are full of deceit Jeremiah 5:27.
H1004 bayith (house): This word is used to draw a direct comparison to the cage in Jeremiah 5:27, where the deceit-filled houses of the wicked are likened to a cage full of trapped birds.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H3619 is conveyed through its use in divine warnings to Israel.

Symbol of Final Judgment: In Amos, the vision of the basket of summer fruit is not a sign of blessing but of an end. The Lord uses this image to declare that He will no longer pass by His people, signaling that the time for judgment has arrived Amos 8:2.
Metaphor for Deceit and Corruption: Jeremiah uses the image of a cage to illustrate how the people have amassed wealth through treachery. Their houses are filled with deceit just as a trapper's cage is filled with birds, which has led to them becoming great and rich Jeremiah 5:27.

Summary

In summary, H3619 is a word that, despite its infrequent use, carries significant prophetic meaning. Whether translated as a basket or a cage, it functions as a visual aid to communicate divine truth. It powerfully illustrates the concepts of finality in judgment, as seen with the basket of summer fruit in Amos Amos 8:2, and the entrapment caused by moral decay, as seen with the cage full of birds in Jeremiah Jeremiah 5:27.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 3 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

כְּלוּב
כְלוּב

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 3 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Amos (2 verses); never once in the other 37.

Jeremiah

Amos

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.