בֶּן עֲרוּבָּה
(ben aruba)
«hostage – male».

בַּת עֲרוּבָּה
(bat aruba)
«hostage – female».

בן ערובה (ben aruba) and בת ערובה (bat aruba) are Hebrew words that literally mean “son of a pledge” and “daughter of a pledge,” respectively. They are used to refer to a hostage, or someone who is held captive in order to force someone else to do something.

The word עֲרוּבָּה (aruba) comes from the Hebrew root ערב (erev), which means “to mix” or “to mingle.” In the context of hostage-taking, the idea is that the hostage is a kind of “pledge” or “guarantee” that the other person will do what is demanded.

Here are some examples of how the words בן ערובה and בת ערובה can be used in a sentence:

* חמושים החזיקו חמישה בני ערובה בבית ספר. (Armed men held five hostages in a school.)
* היא נחטפה ונלקחה כבת ערובה. (She was kidnapped and taken hostage.)
* המשטרה ניהלה משא ומתן עם החוטפים כדי לשחרר את בני הערובה. (The police negotiated with the kidnappers to release the hostages.)

• Hebrew-English vocab, but also texts on Israel, Jews, linguistics