עָרַף
𐤏𐤓𐤐
ʻâraph
H6201 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To bend, incline, or let fall downward, particularly in reference to the neck or head; by extension, to decapitate, to cause to fall by striking the neck. While the fundamental sense is physical inclination or bending, it is most frequently used in texts to describe the act of breaking or striking the neck, sometimes with ritual implications, and less commonly in relation to the act of drooping or letting drip.
Semantic Range
to bend or cause to bend (the neck or head), to break the neck (of an animal or person), to behead, to let fall or droop (rare or archaic sense)
Root / Etymology
Root: ערף. The root conveys the idea of bending or inclining downward, especially of the neck. The verb form עָרַף originally denotes to bow or bend the neck, but in most biblical occurrences, it comes to specify the action of breaking or striking the neck (often with a tool or weapon). This specialization represents a shift from a generic sense of drooping/bending to an act of execution or ritual animal slaughter.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In biblical usage, עָרַף primarily appears in contexts describing ritual or judicial execution, especially the breaking of the neck of an animal (as in the case of the egla arufa, Deuteronomy 21:4, 6) or, less commonly, a person (Judges 4:21, 5:26; 2 Kings 10:7). The basic meaning of 'to hang or bend down the neck' underlies its more concrete sense of 'to break the neck.' Strong's gloss of 'to droop; hence to drip, drop (down)' reflects an older, more general sense, but the lexical and contextual evidence from biblical Hebrew emphasizes the violent or ritual sense over the neutral. Later rabbinic sources use a related form for ceremonial animal killing. English translations often render עָרַף as 'to behead' or 'to break the neck,' but sometimes miss the nuance that the method is not always decapitation, but may be a specific ritual action. The word is distinct from כָּרַת (karat, to cut off), which is a more general term for cutting or severing.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to droop; hence, to drip; drop (down).
Bantu Hebrew
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ערף (ʿ-r-p) — to bend downward, to incline, to break the neck
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H6183 | עָרִיף | in her dripping-skies |
| H6202 | עָרַף | neck-broken (feminine) |
| H6203 | עֹרֶף | their nape |
| H6204 | עׇרְפָּה | Orpah |
| H6205 | עֲרָפֶל | dense gloom |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6201-02 |
יַעֲרֹ֤ף | yaarof | HVqi3ms |
drop | he will break the neck | 1 |
H6201-01 |
יַֽעַרְפוּ | yaarefu | HVqi3mp |
shall drop | they will break the neck | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6201-02 |
Deuteronomy 32:2 | יַעֲרֹ֤ף | yaarof | HVqi3ms |
drop | he will break the neck |
H6201-01 |
Deuteronomy 33:28 | יַֽעַרְפוּ | yaarefu | HVqi3mp |
shall drop | they will break the neck |