how to say “to draw close” in Hebrew
לִקְרַב
The Hebrew root ק.ר.ב (k.r.b) is the concept of closeness. It’s one of a handful of verb roots that have meaning when used in all seven Modern Hebrew verb forms (בִּנְיָנִים – been-yah-NEEM). Today I’m introducing you to the first one; the others I’ll introduce throughout the week.
In the simple form (קַל – KAHL), the word לִקְרַב (leek-RAHV) means to draw close, or to approach. It’s used in the past and future tenses, but not in the present tense. In Modern Hebrew, the word is typically used to denote emotional closeness and intimate approach.
An example of this word appears in this week’s Torah portion: וְלֹא קָרַב זֶה אֶל זֶה כָּל הַלָּיְלָה (ve-LOH kah-RAHV zeh el zeh kohl hah-LAH-ee-lah) – …and (the camps of the Egyptians and the Israelites) did not come close to one another all night. (שְׁמוֹת י”ד – sheh-MOHT – Exodus 14).
