Friend - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Strong's Number: H7453
Original Word: rea‘
Usage Notes: "friend; companion; fellow." This noun appears about 187 times in the Bible. The word refers to a "friend" in 2 Sam. 13:3: "But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab." The word may be used of a husband (Jer. 3:20) or a lover (Song 5:16).
In another sense, rea‘ may be used of any person with whom one has reciprocal relations: "And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots …" (Jonah 1:7). The word also appears in such phrases as "one another," found in Gen. 11:3: "And they said one to another …" (cf. Gen. 31:49). Other related nouns that appear less frequently are re‘eh, which means "friend" about 5 times (e.g., 1 Kings 4:5); and re‘â, which means "companion or attendant" (Judg. 11:38; Psa. 45:14).