Hebrew word · H1305

בָּרַר

barur

to purify

From bārar, "to purify, sort out, sift, make clean." The passive form here (bārûr) means "purified, cleaned" (Zeph 3:9, "pure lip"; Job 33:3, "plainly/purely"). It also means "selected, chosen": 1 Chr 7:40, 9:22 and 16:41 use it for hand-picked men.

Appears 18 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to purify, select, polish, choose, purge, cleanse or make bright, test or prove

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to purge, purge out, purify

1a2) to choose, select

1a3) to cleanse, make shining, polish

1a4) to test, prove

1b) (Niphal) to purify oneself

1c) (Piel) to purify

1d) (Hiphil)

1d1) to purify

1d2) to polish arrows

1e) (Hithpael)

1e1) to purify oneself

1e2) to show oneself pure, just, kind

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 49:2

Range of meaning

From bārar, "to purify, sort out, sift, make clean." The passive form here (bārûr) means "purified, cleaned" (Zeph 3:9, "pure lip"; Job 33:3, "plainly/purely"). It also means "selected, chosen": 1 Chr 7:40, 9:22 and 16:41 use it for hand-picked men. Elsewhere a related form of the verb means "to sharpen" or "polish" arrows (Jer 51:11, "sharpen the arrows").

Against the English

"Polished" (BSB, KJV, NIV, ESV) brings out the sense of a smooth, clean, gleaming arrow. NASB's "select arrow" and the ancient Greek and Latin "chosen arrow" bring out the sense of choice. YLT's "clear arrow" keeps the root idea of purity. No single English word holds both senses.

How it drifted

Not really drift. English simply has to choose one side of a word with two sides.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament has belos eklekton, "chosen arrow." The Vulgate has sagittam electam. Jer 51:11 uses the verb for sharpening or polishing arrows before battle.

From the study of Isaiah 52:11

Range of meaning

To sift, separate out, purge, cleanse, polish; to select or test. The adjective bār means 'pure, clean' (grain winnowed clean, Jer 4:11; 'pure of heart', Ps 24:4). The passive participle bārûr means 'polished, choice' (a 'polished arrow', Isa 49:2). The Niphal form here (hibbārû) means 'be/keep yourselves pure' or 'purify yourselves'.

Against the English

BSB, ESV and WEB say 'purify/cleanse yourselves', which stresses an act of purification. KJV says 'be ye clean' and YLT 'be ye pure', which stress a state. The Hebrew form allows both. The Greek Septuagint renders it 'be separated' (aphoristhēte), which emphasises the separating side of the root.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 18:26 (Niphal: 'with the pure you show yourself pure'). Daniel 11:35 and 12:10 use the root for being refined and purified through testing. 2 Samuel 22:27 parallels Psalm 18.

From the study of Jeremiah 4:11

Range of meaning

To separate out, select, cleanse, purify; polish (arrows, Jeremiah 51:11, the same stem as here). Related nouns are bar, 'grain (threshed and cleaned)', and the adjective bar, 'pure, clean'. In later books it is used of people being purified through ordeal (Daniel 11:35; 12:10).

Against the English

BSB 'sift', KJV, WEB and ESV 'cleanse', NIV 'cleanse'. 'Sift' keeps the threshing-floor picture. 'Cleanse' is accurate but invites a modern reader to think straight away of moral or ritual cleansing, when the first picture is of cleaning grain.

Used elsewhere in the period

Qal (the basic form): Ezekiel 20:38 ('I will purge out the rebels'); Ecclesiastes 3:18. Hiphil (the causative form, as here): Jeremiah 51:11. The form here is a causative infinitive, 'to make clean'.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 22:27 נָבָ֖ר תִּתָּבָ֑ר [one who] purifies himself, you show yourself pure

    to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 7:40 בְּרוּרִים֙ chosen

    All these were the descendants of Asher—heads of their families, choice and mighty men of valor, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men fit for battle, recorded in their genealogies, was 26,000.

    Here: A passive form: 'sifted, picked out'. These are the pick of the tribe, men selected and approved as the best, the way grain is sifted from chaff.

  2. 1 Chronicles 9:22 הַבְּרוּרִים֙ who had been chosen

    The number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust.

  3. 1 Chronicles 16:41 הַבְּרוּרִ֔ים those [who] had been chosen

    With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, for “His loving devotion endures forever.”

    Here: A passive form meaning "those who had been picked out", sorted from the rest the way grain is sifted. Chronicles uses the same word for choice warriors (7:40) and for the selected gatekeepers (9:22). The meaning is selection for a duty, not a statement about salvation.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 5:18 בְּרֻר֤וֹת chosen

    Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

Job · 1

  1. Job 33:3 בָּר֥וּר purified

    My words are from an upright heart, and my lips speak sincerely what I know.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 18:26 נָבָ֥ר תִּתְבָּרָ֑ר [one who] purifies himself, you show yourself pure

    to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

    Here: This is a passive or reflexive participle (a verb used as a description): 'one who has been cleansed' or 'one who keeps himself clean'. The root pictures grain sifted clean of chaff, so the person is unmixed and without hidden dirt or double motives. The word is about sincerity and integrity, not sexual purity in particular.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 3:18 לְבָרָ֖ם to test them

    I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.”

    Here: 'For sifting them' or 'to sort them out', the way grain is winnowed or metal refined so that what it really is becomes clear. Here it means God puts humans through a test that exposes what they are.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 49:2 בָּר֔וּר polished

    He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

    Here: "Polished" or "chosen." The word describes something cleaned, sorted out and made bright, so it can mean a smooth, gleaming arrow or a hand-picked one. The Greek Old Testament read it as "chosen." Both ideas fit here.

  2. Isaiah 52:11 הִבָּ֕רוּ purify yourselves

    Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

    Here: A command meaning 'be clean / keep yourselves clean / make yourselves pure'. The root means to sift, cleanse or polish, so that what is left is clean and unmixed. Here it is ritual readiness to handle holy things.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 4:11 לְהָבַֽר׃ to cleanse

    At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A searing wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward the daughter of My people, but not to winnow or to sift;

    Here: 'To clean (the grain).' After winnowing, the grain was sifted and cleaned. The verb is related to bar, 'clean grain'. The wind will not leave anything clean to collect.

  2. Jeremiah 51:11 הָבֵ֣רוּ sharpen

    Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.

    Here: A plural command: 'Polish!' The root means to make clean or bright. Used of weapons, it means burnishing and sharpening arrowheads until they gleam and cut. It is a war cry to troops getting ready.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 20:38 וּבָרוֹתִ֣י and I will purge

    And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

    Here: To separate the clean from the unclean, as grain is sifted from chaff, or to pick out and set apart. The verb form continues the chain of future promises from verses 33–37 ('I will bring… I will enter into judgment… I will make you pass under the rod… and I will sift out'). Its sound echoes bərît, 'covenant', the word just before it at the end of verse 37.

Daniel · 2

  1. Daniel 11:35 וּלְבָרֵ֥ר and to purge [them]

    Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

    Here: The word covers sifting, picking out and making clean or bright. Isaiah 49:2 uses it for a 'polished arrow' and 1 Chronicles 7:40 for 'picked' men. Here it pictures separating what is genuine from what is not. That fits v. 34, which says many joined the faithful insincerely.

  2. Daniel 12:10 יִ֠תְבָּֽרֲרוּ they will purge themselves

    Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

    Here: The root pictures sorting grain from chaff or separating out what is clean. The verb form usually means 'purify themselves' but can also be passive ('be purified'). It opens the verse, so the process of purification comes first and the people it happens to ('many') are only named after three verbs.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 3:9 בְרוּרָ֑ה purified

    For then I will restore pure lips to the peoples, that all may call upon the name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

    Here: A passive form, 'purified' or 'made clean': something that has had the dross or chaff sifted out, or has been polished bright. The lips are pure because they have been cleansed, not because they were always so.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.