para

At its core this verb means to let something loose, to release it from whatever holds it in place. The most concrete picture is hair: letting the hair of the head fall loose, or leaving the head bared. In Israel's worship that gesture was not casual; it marked mourning or ritual defilement, which is why it is either commanded or forbidden at charged moments (the grieving priest, the person with a skin disease, the woman under an ordeal).

From that physical image the word stretches outward. A crowd let loose runs wild and throws off all restraint, as when the people broke free around the golden calf, close to the picture of bursting through a barrier (פָּרַץ). Turned toward wise words, to "let go of" counsel or discipline is to ignore it, neglect it, or refuse it: the same loosening of one's grip, now applied to instruction one should have held onto.

The thread tying the senses together is release. Something once held in check, whether hair, a crowd, or an obligation to listen, is turned loose. Whether that is good or disastrous depends entirely on what is being let go, and by whom.

In the opening line of Deborah's song (Judges 5:2) the same three consonants carry a much-debated sense. Many modern translations read "when the leaders take the lead in Israel," taking the word to mean to go first, to lead out.

Others hear the hair idiom instead and render "when locks hang loose," picturing warriors who let their hair grow long as a sign of dedication for holy war. The line is one of the hardest in the song, and the choice between "lead" and "loosened hair" is not settled.