Hebrew word · H2961
טָרִי
teriyah
fresh
Fresh, moist, raw, not yet dried out or healed. The root idea is moisture and newness of tissue. It is used of a wound or of animal remains, not of manufactured things.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
fresh, new
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 Judges 15:15
- Range of meaning
Fresh, moist, raw, not yet dried out or healed. The root idea is moisture and newness of tissue. It is used of a wound or of animal remains, not of manufactured things.
- Against the English
Modern versions say "fresh". KJV says "new", which today suggests something unused or recently made. Hebrew is not saying the bone was unused. It means the animal had died recently and the bone was still moist.
- How it drifted
In 1611 "new" could still carry the sense of "recent, fresh". The more common modern sense of "brand-new" makes the KJV wording slightly misleading now.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Very rare in the Hebrew Bible. The other occurrence is Isaiah 1:6, "wounds and bruises and raw (teriyyah) sores", meaning open, unhealed wounds. Later Hebrew and Aramaic use the root for fresh or moist things, and an Arabic cognate means "to be moist, fresh" (per BDB/HALOT).
- Range of meaning
Fresh, new, moist, raw.
- Against the English
KJV 'putrifying,' BSB 'festering' (both suggest old, infected, rotting wounds); WEB 'open'; YLT 'fresh.' The Hebrew means 'fresh,' not 'rotting.'
- How it drifted
The 'festering' tradition goes back to the ancient translations. The Greek Septuagint calls it a 'blow that is inflamed' (plēgē phlegmainousa), and the Latin Vulgate a 'swelling wound' (plaga tumens). KJV and then BSB carried this interpretive reading into English.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The only other use is Judges 15:15, Samson's 'fresh jawbone of a donkey,' meaning newly dead and not yet dried out. HALOT and BDB both give 'fresh.'
Where it appears
Judges · 1
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Judges 15:15 טְרִיָּ֑ה fresh
He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
Here: The bone still has moisture and tissue on it: the animal died recently and the bone has not dried out. That makes it heavy, tough and not brittle, with the teeth still firmly set, which is exactly what makes it usable as a club.
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 1:6 טְרִיָּ֑ה fresh
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
Here: 'Fresh.' The only other use is the 'fresh jawbone' of a donkey in Judges 15:15. The blow is new and raw, still open. The beatings keep coming, so the injuries never get a chance to heal.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.