Back to ISBE

ISBE

Couch

Couch (1): kouch (substantive.). See BED. Couch (verb): rabhats, "to crouch," "lurk," as a beast in readiness to spring on its prey. "If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door" (Ge 4:7, the King James V...

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Bible encyclopedia 26.3 MB

Meaning

Couch (1):

kouch (substantive.).

See BED.

Couch (verb): rabhats, "to crouch," "lurk," as a beast in readiness to spring on its prey. "If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door" (Ge 4:7, the King James Version "lieth"), waiting for it to open. Cain is warned to beware of the first temptations to evil, in his case especially a sullen and jealous disposition (compare Dante, Inferno, I, 30). See ABEL; CAIN. The tribe of Judah is compared for its bravery to a recumbent lion or lioness (Ge 49:9; compare Nu 24:9 f); and Issachar to "a strong ass, couching down between the sheepfolds" (Ge 49:14, the King James Version "between two burdens"; compare Jud 5:16). "The deep that coucheth beneath" (De 33:13), probably the springs of water, or possibly, as Driver suggests, "the subterranean deep, pictured as a gigantic monster."

See ABYSS.

M. O. Evans

(2):

kouch (substantive.).

See BED.

Couch (verb): rabhats, "to crouch," "lurk," as a beast in readiness to spring on its prey. "If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door" (Ge 4:7, the King James Version "lieth"), waiting for it to open. Cain is warned to beware of the first temptations to evil, in his case especially a sullen and jealous disposition (compare Dante, Inferno, I, 30). See ABEL; CAIN. The tribe of Judah is compared for its bravery to a recumbent lion or lioness (Ge 49:9; compare Nu 24:9 f); and Issachar to "a strong ass, couching down between the sheepfolds" (Ge 49:14, the King James Version "between two burdens"; compare Jud 5:16). "The deep that coucheth beneath" (De 33:13), probably the springs of water, or possibly, as Driver suggests, "the subterranean deep, pictured as a gigantic monster."

See ABYSS.

M. O. Evans

Ampiaw
Add to home screen for a faster, app-like experience