טָרַף
ṭâraph · H2963 · Hebrew · 25 occurrences
Meanings
-
to tear to pieces, to maul, to mangle
Action by which a person or animal is cut up and killed with one's claws and/or teeth, for food or in order to enlarge one's territory; associated with terrifying and deadly viciousness
ExamplesGenesis 37:33 Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A vicious animal has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
Genesis 44:28 and the one left me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since.
Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoils.”
-
To provide food for someone to eat (to give (food) to eat, to provide (food) to eat)
ExamplesProverbs 30:8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
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
21 occurrences in 11 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 6
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
8 occurrences in 4 groups
- טֶרֶףprey 4
- נֶפֶשׁsoul, life 2
- זְרוֹעַarm, strength 1
- נִיme 1
Second objectAs in “call him Lord”
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לֶחֶםbread, food 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- בin/on/with+ דַּיsufficiency 1
- בin/on/with+ אַףanger, nose 1
- כlike/as+ אֲרִיlion 1
- לto/for+ עַדforever, everlasting 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אַךְonly 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- קֶשֶׁרconspiracy 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 2 groups
- לto/for 3
- עַלon, upon, over, against 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 1 word
- בָּלַע bâlaʻ · H1104 · to swallow, to swallow up, to destroy
- These are distinct but genuinely overlapping consumption verbs used in similar predatory/destructive contexts.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἁρπάζω harpázō · G726 · to seize, to snatch away, to take away
- Greek ἁρπάζω ('to seize') serves as the standard LXX rendering for Hebrew טָרַף's core sense of violent seizing/tearing, particularly in contexts of predatory animals catching prey or forcible taking; the semantic overlap centers on the act of grasping/seizing with force or violence.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Impact002001001024
- טָרַף describes tearing or rending violently, as Jacob's conviction that a vicious animal had torn Joseph to pieces (Genesis 37:33, 44:28).
- Dead002001001018
- The tearing this verb describes typically results in death, the violent destruction of prey by a predator.
- Non-Possess002003002018
- The torn prey passes out of its owner's possession, lost to the predator that seizes and destroys it.
- Ingest002001001025
- The verb also carries the sense of feeding, the predator consuming what it has torn, as Benjamin the ravenous wolf devouring the prey (Genesis 49:27).
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2963. taraph טָרַף verb tear, rend, pluck (Late Hebrew id., especially of wild beasts;…
טָרַף verb tear, rend, pluck (Late Hebrew id., especially of wild beasts; Aramaic טָרַף tear, seize, especially of creditors; טְרֵיפָא torn flesh or animal; Arabic depasture, said of camel) —
Qal Perfect טָרַף Job 16:9; טָרָ֑ף Hos 6:1, etc.; Imperfect יִטְרֹף Psa 7:3; וַיִּטְרֹף Amo 1:11 (but see below); יִטְרָ֑ף Gen 49:27; אֶטְרֹף Hos 5:14; Psa 50:22; Infinitive לִטְרֹף Psa 17:12; Participle active טֹרֵף Job 18:4, etc.; — tear rend, of wild beasts, Gen 37:33 (J), Gen 44:28 (J; infinitive absolute with Punic q. v. ), Exo 22:12 (J E; infinitive absolute with
Niph`al q. v.) Elsewhere only in simile and metaphor; simile of Gad's fierceness Deu 33:20 (like a lioness, poem); so of Benjamin Gen 49:27 (as a wolf, poem); of the remnant of Jacob, like a young lion among sheep, וְטָרַף רָמַס Mic 5:7; of the wicked, Psa 17:12 (lion), Psa 7:3 object נַפְשִׁי (like a lion); Psa 22:14 psalmist's foes like lion (|| שֹׁאֵג); Eze 22:25 (טָ֑רֶף טֹרֵף), princes like wolves Eze 22:27 (id.); metaphor of Israel's princes, like young lion Eze 19:3, Eze 19:6 (with טֶרֶף accusative of congnate meaning with verb); of Nineveh's king Nah 2:13 (as lion); of God's treatment of the wicked Hos 5:14 (like a lion), Psa 50:22; subject wrath of God (אַף) conceived as assailing Job, Job 16:9 his wrath teareth and persecuteth me; compare וְיִרְמָּאֵנוּ טָרָ֖ף Hos 6:1 subject ׳י (|| וְיַחְבְּשֵׁנוּ יַךְ; on tenses see Dr§ 84 β; 171, 174 n. 1); subject anger of Edom (absolute) Amo 1:11, but read perhaps וַיִּטֹּר for וַיִּטְרֹף and he kept his anger perpetually, so Ol on Psa 103:9 We; בְּאַמּוֺ נַפְשׁוֺ טֹרֵף, said of Job by Bildad Job 18:4.
Niph`al Imperfect of animal torn (by wild beasts) יִטָּרֵף טָרֹף Exo 22:12 (JE); יִטָּרֵף also in prediction of judgment on people of Jerusalem Jer 5:6.
Pu`al Perfect יוֺסֵף טֹרַף טָרֹף Gen 37:33 (J) Joseph has certainly been torn in pieces; compare ׳ט טֹרָ֑ף Gen 44:28 (J).
Hiph`il Imperative masculine singular suffix, note especially 2nd accusative חֻקִּי לָחֶם הַטְרִפֵנִי לֶחֶם, Pro 30:8 let me devour my appointed bread (of men, late; compare טֶרֶף Pro 31:15, and Psa 111:5; Mal 3:10).
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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