Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary
עוב עבב
According to the experts, there is a root עבב ('bb) that yields the noun עב ('ab), and there is a root עוב ('wb) that yields an identical noun עב ('ab). These two root forms are closely related and the meanings of their derivatives are possibly a complete overlap:
עבב
What the root עבב ('bb) may have meant is unclear, and that's because it isn't used in the Bible. It may very well never have existed. But in 1 Kings 7:6 and Ezekiel 41:25 occurs an architectural term that's hard to interpret. It's the noun עב ('ab), and some scholars have proposed that it denotes a projecting roof, perhaps some kind of shelter from the sun?
עוב
The root עוב ('wb) shows up in various Semitic languages with meanings such as to be absent or hidden. In the Bible, occur two derivatives of this root:
- The masculine noun עב ('ab), meaning cloud, but in the sense of a complete, dark cover of clouds. (Judges 5:4, Isaiah 25:5).
- The denominative verb עוב ('ub), meaning to becloud. This verb occurs in Lamentations 2:1 only.