בָּרָא
bârâʼ · H1254 · Hebrew · 54 occurrences
Meanings
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to create
Causative action by which a deity brings to existence something that did not exist before
ExamplesGenesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:21 And God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
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Causative action by which a deity causes something to happen that did not happen before (to create (an event), to cause to happen)
ExamplesExodus 34:10 Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.
Numbers 16:30 “But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the LORD.”
Isaiah 45:7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating disaster; I am the LORD who does all these things.
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Causative action by which humans cause something else to get its desired shape by cutting off certain parts of it (to clear (by cutting), to carve)
ExamplesJoshua 17:15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”
Joshua 17:18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and though they are strong.”
Ezekiel 21:19 “Now as for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city.
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to cut down
Literally: to cut; hence: causative action by which humans kill other humans with the sword
ExamplesEzekiel 23:47 ‘The contingent will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire.
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to fatten oneself
Causative action by which humans cause themselves to become fat by eating too much
Examples1 Samuel 2:29 ‘Why are you showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded for My dwelling, and why are you honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’
How it’s used In 9 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
50 occurrences in 17 groups
- Not stated (participle) 7
- אֱלֹהִיםGod, gods 6
- Not stated: you (one person) 5
- Not stated: I 4
- Not stated: they 4
- Not stated: he, she or it 4
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
36 occurrences in 27 groups
- אָדָםhuman, humankind, human being(s) 4
- שָׁמַיִםheaven, sky 4
- וֹhim 4
- הֶםthem 3
- Other words · 23 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25
Second objectAs in “call him Lord”
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- זָכָרmale, man 2
- נְקֵבָהfemale 2
- גִּילָהrejoicing 1
- שָׁוְאfalsehood, vanity 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
15 occurrences in 14 groups
- Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16
With adverbsAdverbs
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- לֹאnot 3
- יוֹמָםby day 1
- עַתָּהnow 1
- שָׁםthere 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- ךָּyou 2
- יִשְׂרָאֵלIsrael 1
Named alongside itApposition
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 2
- אֵלGod, god 1
- אֱלֹהִיםGod, gods 1
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- זָכַרto remember 1
- שָׂכַלto have insight, to be wise, to prosper 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 2 words
- ποιέω poiéō · G4160 · to do, to perform, to practice
- Greek ποιέω renders Hebrew בָּרָא in creation contexts where the LXX translators understood the act primarily as 'making' rather than ex nihilo divine origination; ποιέω is the broader, general-purpose Greek verb for making/doing, while בָּרָא carries the more specialized theological sense of divine creative activity.
- κτίζω ktízō · G2936 · to create
- Greek κτίζω (ktizō) serves as the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew בָּרָא (bārā') in its primary divine-creation sense, both denoting the act of bringing into existence ex nihilo or forming/establishing something new, though the Hebrew term carries stronger theological overtones of uniquely divine creative activity.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- Exist002002002005
- בָּרָא brings something into existence, most famously in Genesis 1:1's "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (בָּרָא), naming God's act of bringing the cosmos into being.
- Happen002002003003
- The verb also describes the event of creation unfolding, marking each creative act in the Genesis account as a distinct happening within the narrative sequence of days.
- Detach002003001006
- בָּרָא can also carry a sense tied to cutting or separating, an older sense underlying the word's semantic range before its specialization toward divine creative activity.
- Dead002001001018
- The word extends in some contexts toward a sense of cutting off or ending life, an extension of its "cut/separate" root sense toward the ending rather than the beginning of existence.
- Fat002001001028
- בָּרָא also carries a rarer sense "to make fat," as reflected in its Strong's gloss "make (fat)," a further specialized nuance distinct from the dominant creation sense.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Also from the root בָּרָא
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H1254. bara ' I. בָּרָא53 verb shape, create (compare Arabic probably loan-word, form,…
' I. בָּרָא53 verb shape, create (compare Arabic probably loan-word, form, fashion by cutting, shape out, pare a reed for writing, a stick for an arrow, but also , create; Phoenician הברא CISi. 347 incisor, a trade involving cutting; Assyrian barû, make, create, COTGloss & Hpt KAT2Gloss 1 but dubious; Sabean ברא found, build, DHMZMG 1883, 413, synonym בנה; BaZA. 1888, 58, compare Assyrian banû, create, beget, with change of liquid; Aramaic בְּרָא, , create) —
Qal Perfect Gen 1:1 Gen 1:19t.; Imperfect יִבְרָא Gen 1:21, Gen 1:27; Num 16:30; Infinitive בְּראֹ Gen 5:1; Imperative בְּרָא Psa 51:12; Participle בּוֺרֵא Isa 42:5 Isa 42:10t.; suffix בֹּרַאֲךָ Isa 43:1; בּוֺרְאֶיךָ Ecc 12:1; — shape, fashion, create, always of divine activity, with accusative of thing, seldom except in P and Isa2.
1 object heaven and earth Gen 1:1; Gen 2:3 (P) Isa 45:18 (twice in verse); mankind Gen 1:27 (3 t. in verse); Gen 5:1-2,(P) Gen 6:7 (J) Deu 4:32; Psa 89:48; Isa 45:12; the host of heaven Isa 40:26; heavens Isa 42:5; ends of the earth Isa 40:28; north and south Psa 89:13; wind Amo 4:13; the תנינים Gen 1:21 (P).
2 the individual man Mal 2:10 (|| father) Ecc 12:1; the smith and the waster Isa 54:16 (twice in verse); Israel as a nation Isa 43:15; Jacob Isa 43:1; the seed of Israel Isa 43:7.
3 new conditions and circumstances: righteousness and salvation Isa 45:8; darkness and evil Isa 45:7; fruit of the lips Isa 57:19; a new thing חֲדָשָׁה (a woman encompassing a man) Jer 31:22; בְּרִיאָה (swallowing up the Korahites) Num 16:30 (J); cloud and flame over Zion Isa 4:5.
4 of transformations: a clean heart Psa 51:12 (|| חִדֵּשׁ); new heaven and earth Isa 65:17 (in place of old); transformation of nature Isa 41:20; with double accusative גילה ירושׁלם בורא transform Jerusalem into rejoicing Isa 65:18.
Niph`al Perfect2feminine singular נִבְרֵאתְ Ezekiel 21:35; Eze 21:3plural נִבְרְאוּ Exo 34:10 Exo 34:2t.; Imperfect יִבָּרֵא֑וּן Psa 104:30; Infinitive suffix הִבָּרַאֲךָ Eze 28:13; הִבָּֽרְאָךְ Eze 28:15; הִבָּֽרְאָם Gen 2:4; Gen 5:2; Participle נִבְרָא Psa 102:19; — Pass.
1 be created: heaven and earth Gen 2:4 (P); creatures Psa 104:30; mankind Gen 5:2 (P); heavens Psa 148:5.
2 with reference to birth: נבראת אשׁר במקום in the place where thou wast created (i.e. native land) Ezekiel 21:35; הבראך יום day when thou wast created (king of Tyre) Eze 28:13, Eze 28:15 (compare ילדתיך היום Psa 2:7); נִבְרָא עַם Psa 102:19 (|| נוֺלָד עַם Psalm 22:32).
3 of something new, astonishing: miracles Exo 34:10 (J); new things, חדשׁות Isa 48:6.
Pi`el Perfect בֵּרֵאתָ Jos 17:15; בֵּרֵאתוֺ Jos 17:18; Infinitive absolute בָּרֵא Eze 21:24 (twice in verse); Eze 23:47; —
1 cut down: a forest Jos 17:15, Jos 17:18 (J); בְּחַרְבוֺתָם אוֺתְהֶן וּבָרֵא Eze 23:47.
2 cut out: יָד hand, as an index Eze 21:24 (twice in verse).
II. [בָּרָא] verb be fat (Arabic be free of a thing, sound, healthy; see מרא) —
Hiph`il Infinitive לְהַבְרִיאֲכֶם 1Sa 2:29 to make yourselves fat.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 5 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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