בָּרַר
bârar · H1305 · Hebrew · 18 occurrences
Meanings
-
to test
The action by which someone carefully examines a group of objects to determine whether they meet certain criteria
ExamplesEcclesiastes 3:18 I said to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as animals, they to themselves.”
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to select or purge
Action of carefully examining a group of objects to determine whether they meet criteria, so that all that fail are removed
Examples1 Chronicles 7:40 All these were the sons of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice, valiant mighty men, and heads of the leaders. And the number of them registered by genealogy for service in war was twenty-six thousand men.
1 Chronicles 9:22 Those who were chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds were 212 in all. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements, those whom David and Samuel the seer appointed in their official capacity.
1 Chronicles 16:41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His kindness is everlasting.
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to purify oneself
Action by which humans examine themselves to determine whether they are ceremonially clean or whether their behavior needs improvement, and do whatever is needed to become pure
ExamplesIsaiah 52:11 Depart, depart, go out from there, Do not touch what is unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD.
2 Samuel 22:27 With the one who is pure You show Yourself pure, But with the perverted You show Yourself astute.
Psalm 18:26 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
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to cleanse or polish
Action by which humans carefully examine an object to determine whether it is clean and do whatever is needed to ensure it is clean
ExamplesIsaiah 49:2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a sharpened arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.
Jeremiah 4:11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness, in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse,
Jeremiah 51:11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.
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to act with purity
Action by which someone does what is right to someone else
Examples2 Samuel 22:27 With the one who is pure You show Yourself pure, But with the perverted You show Yourself astute.
Psalm 18:26 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
-
to make pure
Action by which a deity causes humans to carefully examine themselves to evaluate their behavior and make improvements where necessary
ExamplesDaniel 11:35 “And some of those who have insight will fall, to refine, purge, and cleanse them until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.
How it’s used In 7 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
10 occurrences in 7 groups
- Not stated: you (more than one) 2
- Not stated: you (one person) 2
- Not stated (infinitive) 2
- אֱלֹהִיםGod, gods 1
- רַבmany, great 1
- Not stated: I 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
3 occurrences in 4 groups
- חֵץarrow 1
- מָרַדto rebel 1
- פָּשַׁעto rebel 1
- הֶםthem 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- עִםwith+ בָּרַרto test 2
- מִןfrom+ כֶםyou 1
- בin/on/with+ סַףthreshold, basin 1
- לto/for+ שׁוֹעֵרgatekeeper 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- נָקַבto pierce 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הֶםtheir 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- עִםwith 4
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- שְׁאָרrest, remnant 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.
Near synonyms 7 words
- זָקַק zâqaq · H2212 · to refine, to distil, refined
- Both words denote purification; the target includes “to cleanse, to purify, to purge,” and זָקַק includes “to purify, to refine, to purge.”
- דּוּחַ dûwach · H1740 · to wash, to cleanse
- Both words denote cleansing or purging actions: בָּרַר (bârar, H1305) with a broader range including "purify," "cleanse" and "make clean," and דּוּחַ (dûwach, H1740) more narrowly "cast out, purge, wash."
- טָהֵר ṭâhêr · H2891 · to become clean, to purify, to cleanse
- Both words denote cleansing or purifying actions with directly overlapping senses; both can mean "to cleanse," "to purify" or "to purge."
- מָרַק mâraq · H4838 · to scour, to polish
- Both words denote concrete cleaning or polishing actions that overlap in sense (making something clean and bright). בָּרַר (bârar, H1305) has a broader range (including figurative purification), while מָרַק (mâraq, H4838) is narrower, focused on scouring or furbishing.
- זָכַךְ zâkak · H2141 · to be clean, to be pure, pure
- Both words denote purity or cleanness, with overlapping senses in contexts of ritual or moral purity; the first also includes "clean," while the second includes "innocent."
- רָחַץ râchats · H7364 · to take a bath, to bathe, to wash
- Both lexemes are genuine cleaning actions: the target includes cleansing or purifying among its senses, and רָחַץ means 'to wash, to bathe.' These represent a real overlap in the domain of cleaning or purification, near-synonyms in contexts of ritual or physical cleansing.
- נָקָה nâqâh · H5352 · to be emptied, to be cleaned out, to be removed
- Both words denote states of moral or cultic cleanness or freedom from guilt or blame, in contexts of innocence and purity.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἐκλεκτός eklektós · G1588 · chosen
- ἐκλεκτός (eklektós, G1588) ἐκλεκτός specifically renders the 'chosen/select' semantic component of בָּרַר (bârar, H1305) בָּרַר (which has a broader range including 'cleanse/purify/make bright'), functioning as the Greek equivalent when the Hebrew verb denotes selection or choice rather than purification.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Know002004002007
- בָּרַר can denote a discerning, selecting kind of choosing, as in the selection of valiant, choice men in 1 Chronicles 7:40.
- Dissociate002003002009
- The word also denotes a sorting-out or separating action, as reflected in the selection of gatekeepers by genealogical registration in 1 Chronicles 9:22.
- Clean002001001011
- In a purity sense the verb describes being or making oneself morally pure, as in 2 Samuel 22:27's declaration that God shows Himself pure with the one who is pure.
- Innocent002003003015
- Related to the purity sense, the word also carries the nuance of moral innocence or blamelessness before God, closely paired with the Clean sense above.
Word family 9 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Also from the root בָּרַר
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H1305. barar [בָּרַר] verb purify, select (compare Assyrian barâru, be shining, in…
[בָּרַר] verb purify, select (compare Assyrian barâru, be shining, in derivatives ZimBP 46. 73 BelserBAS ii. 154; Arabic pious, kind, true; he was pious, good, virtuous, honest) —
Qal Perfect בָּרוֺתִי Eze 20:38; Infinitive suffix לְבָרָם Ecc 3:18, Ges§ 67 R, 3; compare לָבוּר Ecc 9:1 (si vera lectio) as metaplastic form, but on text see בּוּר above; Participle passive masculine בָּרוּר Job 33:3-4t.; feminine בְּרוּרָה Neh 5:18; Zep 3:9; —
1 purge out, purify: הַמֹּרְדִים מִכֶּם וּבָרוֺתִי and I will purge out from among you the rebels Eze 20:38; בְּרוּרָה שָׂפָה a purified lip Zep 3:9; מִלֵּל֑וּ בָּרוּר utter in a pure, sincere manner Job 33:3.
2 choose, select, only Participle and in Chronicler: chosen, valiant men 1Ch 7:40; porters 1Ch 9:22; musicians 1Ch 16:41; sheep Neh 5:18.
3 cleanse, make shining, polish, passive participle בָּרוּר חֵץ polished arrow Isa 49:2 (compare De & Jer 51:11 below)
4 test, prove Ecc 3:18 הָאֱלֹהִים לְבָרָם that God may prove them (RV); — on Ecc 9:1 see בּוּר.
Niph`al הִבָּרוּ Isa 52:11; Participle נָבָר 2Sa 22:27 (= Psa 18:27); — purify oneself:
a. ceremonially, the bearers of the sacred vessels Isa 52:11.
b. morally 2Sa 22:27 = Psa 18:27.
Pi`el Infinitive לְבָרֵר Dan 11:35 purify (|| לַלְבֵּן לִצְרוֺף,).
Hiph`il 1. Infinitive לְהָבַר Jer 4:11 purify, cleanse.
2 Imperative הַחִצִּים הָבֵרוּ Jer 51:11 polish arrows (see 3 above).
Hithpa`el 1. Imperfect יִתְבָּרֲרוּ Dan 12:10 purify oneself.
2 תִּתְבָּרַר Psa 18:27 = תִּתָּבָר 2Sa 22:27 shew oneself pure, just, kind.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 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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