Hebrew word · H2890

טְהוֹר

tehor

pureness

Clean or pure: ritually clean (Leviticus 10:10; 11:47), so fit to come near God's holy presence. Also physically pure, as with refined gold (Exodus 25:11). By extension, morally clean (Psalm 12:6; 51:10, 'a clean heart').

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

1) pureness, cleanness, clean, pure

1a) clean (ceremonially-of animals)

1b) pure (physically)

1c) pure, clean (morally, ethically)

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 Habakkuk 1:13

Range of meaning: Clean or pure: ritually clean (Leviticus 10:10; 11:47), so fit to come near God's holy presence. Also physically pure, as with refined gold (Exodus 25:11). By extension, morally clean (Psalm 12:6; 51:10, 'a clean heart').
Against the English: Every English version has 'pure', which is accurate. English 'pure' can sound merely like innocence. The Hebrew word comes from the world of the sanctuary and of refined metal: something with nothing mixed into it.
Used elsewhere in the period: Very common in Leviticus for the clean/unclean system. 'Pure of eyes' is unique to this verse. Psalm 12:6 calls God's words 'pure words… silver refined in a furnace'.

Where it appears

Habakkuk · 1

Habakkuk 1:13 טְה֤וֹר [you are too] pure of

Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

Here: The adjective of ritual and physical cleanness: what is fit to come near the holy, or metal refined of all impurity. Here it describes God's eyes. The phrase 'pure of eyes' appears only here in the Hebrew Bible.

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