בָּרַח
bârach · H1272 · Hebrew · 65 occurrences
Meanings
-
to flee, put to flight
To depart swiftly from a location in order to escape a threat or undesirable situation, or to compel someone else to retreat and run away
ExamplesGenesis 16:6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slave woman is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.
Genesis 27:43 “Now then, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban!
Nehemiah 13:28 Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, became a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me.
-
to hurry, to make haste
Action by which humans move to another place in haste
ExamplesSong of Solomon 8:14 “Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of balsam trees!”
-
to pass through
Causative action by which one object is passed through an opening in another object
ExamplesExodus 26:28 “The middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through from end to end.
Exodus 36:33 And he made the middle bar to pass through in the center of the boards from end to end.
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
64 occurrences in 30 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 15
- Not stated: they 5
- הוּאhe, she, it 4
- Not stated: you (one person) 4
- Not stated (infinitive) 4
- דָּוִדDavid 3
- Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (23) 23
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
5 occurrences in 4 groups
- וֹhim 2
- יָשַׁבto dwell, to live, to sit 1
- אֵםmother 1
- עֵמֶקvalley 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
34 occurrences in 26 groups
- מִןfrom+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 13
- לto/for+ ךָּyou 3
- Other words · 24 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לֹאnot 1
What it doesIt is the subject
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- נָגַדto tell, to inform, to report 3
What is done to itIt is the object
4 occurrences in 2 groups
- יָדַעto know 3
- נָגַדto tell, to inform, to report 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- בֵּןson 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הֵםthey, them 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
8 occurrences in 2 groups
- בin/on/with 4
- לto/for 4
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
- φεύγω pheúgō · G5343 · to run away, to flee, flight
- Greek φεύγω captures the core flight/fleeing sense of Hebrew בָּרַח, both denoting rapid departure or escape from danger, matching in register as standard verbs of fleeing across their respective corpora.
- ἀναχωρέω anachōréō · G402 · to withdraw, to retire, to go off
- Greek ἀναχωρέω emphasizes the deliberate act of withdrawing or retiring to a place of safety, often with intentionality and a destination in view, whereas Hebrew בָּרַח covers a broader semantic range including urgent fleeing, driving away, and hasty departure, with less emphasis on planned withdrawal.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Move002002001012
- בָּרַח most basically describes fleeing, a rapid movement away from danger, as in Genesis 27:43's instruction "arise, flee to Haran" (בְּרַח), naming the act of escape.
- Space002002001017
- The verb also marks the spatial separation achieved by fleeing, putting distance between the fugitive and the pursuer, as reflected in Genesis 16:8's "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai" (בֹּרַחַת), emphasizing the resulting distance.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H1272. barach בָּרַח verb go through, flee (compare German durchgehen (Arabic go away,…
בָּרַח verb go through, flee (compare German durchgehen (Arabic go away, withdraw, flee) —
Qal Perfect בָּרַח Gen 31:22 Gen 31:9t., בָּֽרְחוּ Job 9:25, בָּרָ֑חוּ Isa 22:3; Imperfect יִבְרַח Job 20:24, יִבְרָ֑ח Job 27:22; Neh 6:11, וַיִּבְרַח Gen 31:21 Gen 31:13t.; 3 feminine singular וַתִּבְרַח Gen 16:6, אֶבְרָ֑ח Psa 139:7, יִבְרְחוּ Jer 52:7, וַיִּבְרְחוּ 2Sa 4:3-4t., נִבְרָחָ֑ה 2Sa 15:14; Imperative בְּרַח Gen 27:43 Gen 27:3t., בִּרְחוּ Isa 48:20; Infinitive absolute בָּרוֺחַ Job 27:22; construct בְּרֹחַ 1Sa 23:6 1Sa 23:3t., בִּרוֺחַ Jon 1:3; suffix בָּרְחִי 1Ki 2:7, בָּרְחֲךָ Gen 31:5, בָּרְחוֺ Gen 35:7 Gen 35:2t.; —
1 go or pass though, of bar, אֶתהַֿבְּרִיחַלִ֗֗֗בְרֹחַ וַיַּעַשׂ Exo 36:33 (P).
2 flee Gen 31:20; Gen 21:21; Gen 31:22 (E) Exo 14:5 (J) Jdg 9:21; 1Sa 19:12, 1Sa 19:18; 1Sa 22:17; 2Sa 13:34, 2Sa 13:37, 2Sa 13:38 (strike out Dr compare We) 2Sa 15:14; Isa 22:3; Jer 4:29; Jer 26:21; Jer 39:4; Jer 52:7; Neh 6:11; figurative of days fleeing away Job 9:25; of man, like a shadow Job 14:2; with מִן flee from a place 1Sa 20:1; 2Sa 19:10; 2Sa 19:9+ מֵעַל person) Isa 48:20, a weapon Job 20:24; a person, with מֵאֵת 1Ki 11:23, usually with מִמְּנֵי Gen 16:6, Gen 16:8; Gen 31:27; Gen 35:1, Gen 35:7; Exo 2:15 (all J E) Jdg 11:3; 2Sa 21:11; 1Ki 2:7; 1Ki 12:2 2Ch 10:2; Psa 3:1; Psa 57:1 (titles) Psa 139:7; Jon 1:10; י ׳מִיַּד figurative Job 27:22; flee to, with accusative place 1Sa 27:4; 1Ki 11:40; Hos 12:13; with place & לְ Neh 13:10; with place & ָ ה locative Jon 1:3; Jon 4:2; 2Sa 4:3; with place & אֶלֿ Num 24:11; Amo 7:12; with אֶלֿ & person 1Sa 23:6; Gen 27:43 (J) 1Ki 2:39; 1Ki 11:40; אַחֲרֵי & person 1Sa 22:20; flee, followed by infinitive 1Ki 11:17; Dan 10:7.
3 flee = hasten, come quickly Son 8:14.
Hiph`il Perfect הִבְרִיחוּ 1Ch 8:13; Imperfect יַבְרִיחַ Pro 19:26; suffix יַבְרִיחֶנּוּ Job 41:20, וָאַבְרִחֵהוּ Neh 13:28, וַיַּבְרִיחוּ 1Ch 12:15; Participle מַבְרִחַ Exo 26:28; —
1 pass through literal Exo 26:28 (P) compare Qal. 2. cause to flee, put to flight, animal Job 41:20, men 1Ch 8:18; 1Ch 12:16; drive away Pro 19:16; Neh 13:28 (followed by מֵעָלַי).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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