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The Historic Faith
Strong's Concordance
Hebrew Word Study

Strong's H178 אוֹב (ob)

Ob means “bottle” — full meaning, definition, and every linked Bible usage across the indexed canon.

Same number, other testament: Strong's G178 — akatakritos (“uncondemned”) in the Greek Bible.

Strong's Number H178
Language Hebrew
Linked Usages 16
Books 8

Strong's H178 Quick Answer

Strong's H178 אוֹב (owb) is a Hebrew Strong's word-study entry. owb (obe) n-m. 1. (properly) a mumble, i.e. a water skin (from its hollow sound) 2. a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar) It has 16 linked Bible usages across 8 books. Visible English usage signals include necromancer. Indexed coverage on this page includes Old Testament.

Meaning
owb (obe) n-m. 1. (properly) a mumble, i.e. a water skin (from its hollow sound) 2. a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar)
Usage
16 linked usages
Books
8 indexed books
Corpus
Old Testament
Usage Words
necromancer

Meaning and Definition

owb (obe) n-m. 1. (properly) a mumble, i.e. a water skin (from its hollow sound) 2. a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar) [from the same as H1 (apparently through the idea of prattling a father's name)] KJV: bottle, familiar spirit. Root(s): H1

Original Word
אוֹב
Transliteration
owb
Derivation
Root: אב First root strongs: 1
Morphology
noun masc

Across Lexicons

How independent scholarly lexicons define Strong's H178. Each definition is shown with its source so you can compare and cite the original reference works.

Extended Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (Brown-Driver-Briggs based)

medium

Usage: 1) water skin bottle 2) necromancer 1b) necromancer, one who evokes the dead 1c) ghost, spirit of a dead one 1d) practice of necromancy 3) one that has a familiar spirit

STEPBible · Tyndale House, Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

How Strong's H178 Is Translated

The English word each shown verse actually uses to render owb, taken from the interlinear word alignment (the same word underlined in the excerpts below). Where a rendering is used more than once, the count is shown.

necromancer Deuteronomy 18:11

How Strong's H178 Usage Compares

Indexed coverage includes Old Testament. Each section below keeps corpus counts and sample passages visible so readers can compare the word across contexts instead of reading one flat concordance list.

  • The largest indexed corpus on this page is Old Testament with 16 linked usages.
  • The linked rows are Old Testament Hebrew usage, grouped by book for fast canonical scanning.

Strong's H178 by Corpus

Indexed usage grouped by testament and extended corpus so readers can compare this word across the Bible, Septuagint, deuterocanonical books, and 1 Enoch where present.

Strong's H178 in the Old Testament

16 indexed usages in Old Testament.

Leviticus 19:31 KJV

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:6 KJV

And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Leviticus 20:27 KJV

A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Usage Excerpts

First 16 linked usage excerpts for Strong's H178.

Leviticus 19:31 Old Testament, KJV
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 20:6 Old Testament, KJV
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Leviticus 20:27 Old Testament, KJV
A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
Deuteronomy 18:11 Old Testament, KJV
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
1 Samuel 28:3 Old Testament, KJV
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.
1 Samuel 28:7 Old Testament, KJV
Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
1 Samuel 28:8 Old Testament, KJV
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
1 Samuel 28:9 Old Testament, KJV
And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
2 Kings 21:6 Old Testament, KJV
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2 Kings 23:24 Old Testament, KJV
Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 10:13 Old Testament, KJV
So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;
2 Chronicles 33:6 Old Testament, KJV
And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Job 32:19 Old Testament, KJV
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
Isaiah 8:19 Old Testament, KJV
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Isaiah 19:3 Old Testament, KJV
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
Isaiah 29:4 Old Testament, KJV
And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

All Indexed Usage Links

Every indexed verse link for Strong's H178, grouped by book.

Leviticus 3 usages, Old Testament
Deuteronomy 1 usage, Old Testament
1 Samuel 4 usages, Old Testament
2 Kings 2 usages, Old Testament
1 Chronicles 1 usage, Old Testament
2 Chronicles 1 usage, Old Testament
Job 1 usage, Old Testament
Isaiah 3 usages, Old Testament

Strong's H178 FAQ

What does ob (אוֹב) mean?

Ob (Strong's H178) is a Hebrew word most simply glossed "bottle". owb (obe) n-m. 1. (properly) a mumble, i.e. a water skin (from its hollow sound) 2. a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar)

How many times is ob (אוֹב) used in the Bible?

This page currently indexes 16 linked usages for Strong's H178 across 8 books.

Where can I study ob (אוֹב) in context?

Use the linked verse references on this page to study Strong's H178 in context. The indexed coverage includes Old Testament.

What English words translate ob (אוֹב)?

The visible usage excerpts most often surface English words such as necromancer. These are scanning signals from the displayed verses, not replacements for the original-language definition.