The Hebrew verb abar means to pass over, to cross, to go through, to transgress, or to transfer. One of the most common verbs in the OT (~550 occurrences), it carries both simple spatial meaning and deep covenantal significance.
Abar is central to some of the most pivotal moments in Israel's story. The Passover itself (pesach) involves the angel of death passing over homes with blood on the doorposts (Exodus 12:23). The entire Exodus narrative turns on crossing the Red Sea, and the entry into the Promised Land hinges on crossing the Jordan River. God commands Joshua to 'cross this Jordan' (Joshua 1:2) — the verb signaling a decisive transition from wandering to inheritance. The word also describes the passing of God's presence before Moses in the cleft of the rock: 'I will cause all my goodness to pass before you' (Exodus 33:19). Theologically, abar encompasses the movement from death to life, from exile to homeland, from the old covenant to the new — the great divine crossings of redemptive history.