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Bible Dictionaries
Plead
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Verb.
Rı̂yb (רוּב, Strong's #7378), “to plead, strive, conduct a legal case, make a charge.” Found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, this term occurs as a verb some 70 times. It appears in the text for the first time in Gen. 26:20: “And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen.…” Such “striving” with words is found frequently in the biblical text (Gen. 31:36; Exod. 17:2). Sometimes contentious words lead to bodily struggle and injury: “And if men strive together, and one smite another …” (Exod. 21:18). The prophets use rı̂yb frequently to indicate that God has an indictment, a legal case, against Israel: “The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people” (Isa. 3:13). In one of his visions, Amos noted: “… the Lord God called to contend by fire …” (Amos 7:4, KJV; RSV, “calling for a judgment”). Micah 6 is a classic example of such a legal case against Judah, calling on the people “to plead” their case (6:1) and progressively showing how only God has a valid case (6:8).
B. Noun.
Rı̂yb (רִב, Strong's #7379), “strife; dispute.” This word appears as a noun 60 times. The word appears twice in Mic. 6:2: “Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.”
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Plead'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/p/plead.html. 1940.
