StrongerBible

peraḥ

פֶּרַח

HebrewH6525flower, blossom, ...

Appears 17 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 25:31Exo 25:33 (2×)Exo 25:34Exo 37:17Exo 37:19 (2×)Exo 37:20Num 8:4Num 17:8(23)1Ki 7:261Ki 7:492Ch 4:52Ch 4:21Isa 5:24Isa 18:5Nam 1:4
Root family
Word studyPEH-rakhnoun

What peraḥ means

a blossom or flower: the bloom of a plant, and by extension a flower-shaped ornament in metal or carving

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

פֶּרַח names what opens on a plant, the blossom or the early bud just breaking out of the stem. It is the noun that belongs to the verb פָּרַח, "to bud" or "to break into bloom," so it can point to the fresh bud that appeared on Aaron's rod or to the wider bloom of a whole landscape, as when the greenery of Lebanon withers.

The same word also names a made thing: the flower-shaped decorations worked into the golden lampstand of the tabernacle, where the cups and knobs and blossoms were shaped like almond flowers, and the flower ornaments cast for Solomon's temple. Here the blossom has become a design, a stylized flower in gold or bronze rather than a living one.

One image ties the two uses together. Whether it grows on a branch or is hammered into metal, a פֶּרַח is the open flower, the point where a plant shows its bloom, and the craftsman simply borrows that shape. A closely related word, צִיץ, covers much the same ground.

Nuances

1aa blossom or bud growing on a plant
Num 17:8(23)Isa 5:24Isa 18:5Nam 1:4
1ba flower-shaped ornament, cast or carved as decoration
Exo 25:31Exo 25:33 (2×)Exo 25:34Exo 37:17Exo 37:19 (2×)Exo 37:20Num 8:41Ki 7:261Ki 7:492Ch 4:52Ch 4:21

What scholars say about peraḥ

The standard lexica (HALOT; BDB; DCH) treat פֶּרַח as a single noun from the root פרח "to bud, sprout," covering both the living bud or blossom and, in the priestly tabernacle texts and the monarchic building accounts, the ornamental flower of the menorah and the temple furnishings. HALOT distinguishes the botanical sense from the calyx/blossom ornament of the lampstand without positing separate roots. The word overlaps semantically with צִיץ "blossom, flower" (H6731) and נִצָּה "blossom" (H5328), the latter standing in parallel with פרח in Isaiah 18:5.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. פֶּרַחlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. פֶּרַחlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. פֶּרַחlexicon

All attested forms of פֶּרַח

m s absolute

פֶּרַח, פָרַח

Exo 25:33, Exo 37:19, Num 17:8, 1Ki 7:49, 2Ch 4:21, Isa 18:5, Exo 25:33, Exo 37:19

m p construct

פְרָחֶיהָ

Exo 25:31, Exo 25:34, Exo 37:17, Exo 37:20

m s construct

פֶּרַח

1Ki 7:26, 2Ch 4:5, Nam 1:4

m s construct

פִּרְחָהּ

Num 8:4

m s construct

פִרְחָם

Isa 5:24