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Root ר־ב־ה: increasing & many

Roots Atlas 163 · שֹׁרֶשׁ ר ב ה · the increase root
ר ב ה
r · b · h
everything to do with becoming many, growing, multiplying
5 words · 1 root · 3 verb-voices

One idea: more. Things increase, multiply, become numerous. This is a ל"ה root, its third letter is a weak ה that drops or shifts as the word changes shape, which is why the verbs end in ־וֹת rather than a hard third consonant. From the simple 'be many' grow the everyday harbe (a lot), the biological multiply, and, beautifully, tarbut (culture), what a people accumulates and grows over time. The honorific rav (rabbi, a 'great' one) belongs to the same family of greatness. Every word is verified against pealim, niqqud included.

The verb across the binyanim (voices)

The same root runs through the verb system. Each binyan is a voice: it bends the one idea into active, passive, causative or reciprocal. Tap to hear.

Pa'al
לִרְבּוֹתlirbot
simple active, the plain action
to be many, to increase, to multiply
Hif'il
לְהַרְבּוֹתleharbot
causative, make someone do it
to increase (something), to do a lot of
Hitpa'el
לְהִתְרַבּוֹתlehitrabot
reflexive / reciprocal, to / on oneself
to multiply, to reproduce (biology)

Three binyanim, three angles on 'more': the pa'al is the state (being many), the hif'il is causative (you make more of something), the hitpa'el is reflexive (a population multiplies itself). Because this is a ל"ה root, all three end in ־וֹת. The nif'al, pi'el and passive moulds are not lexicalized here.

Words born from the root

Same root letters, different noun moulds (mishkalim). The mould tells you the function: who does it, the act of doing it, or the thing produced.

① The quantity word: 'a lot'

הַרְבֵּה
harbe
many, much, a lot

② The abstract: what grows over time

תַּרְבּוּת
tarbut
culture
תַּקְטוּל

Decode it yourself

Strip the prefixes, suffixes and vowels. Three consonants remain, and the meaning lives there.