Hebrew word · H1623
גָּרַד
lehitgared
to scrape
To scrape or scratch. This is the only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. Its meaning comes from later Hebrew and Aramaic, where the root is used for scraping (hides, vessels, skin). The reflexive form means 'to scrape oneself'.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to scrape, scratch
1a) (Hithpael) to scrape oneself
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
- Range of meaning
To scrape or scratch. This is the only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. Its meaning comes from later Hebrew and Aramaic, where the root is used for scraping (hides, vessels, skin). The reflexive form means 'to scrape oneself'.
- Against the English
English versions all say 'scrape himself', which is accurate. 'Scratch' would also fit. The ancient translators read it more specifically, as scraping off discharge from the sores (LXX ichōr, Vulgate saniem, 'pus').
- Used elsewhere in the period
Hebrew Bible: only here. LXX: xyō ('scrape') with ichōr ('serum, discharge'). Vulgate: saniem radebat ('he scraped away the pus'). The rabbinic and Aramaic use of the root for scraping confirms the basic sense (HALOT s.v.).
Where it appears
Job · 1
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Job 2:8 לְהִתְגָּרֵ֖ד to scrape himself
And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
Here: This verb occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. Later Hebrew and Aramaic usage shows it means to scrape or scratch. The form is reflexive, 'scrape himself'. He is scraping his own skin, either to relieve the itching or to clear off crusted scabs and discharge.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.