Hebrew word · H2966

טְרֵפָה

terefah

torn animal

Prey. An animal torn or killed by a wild beast, the predator's kill. It comes from the verb טָרַף (taraf), "to tear or rend", used of lions, wolves and leopards. Related words are טֶרֶף (teref, prey or food torn off) and טָרוּף ("torn").

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

that which is torn, animal torn (by beasts)

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 Exodus 22:31

Range of meaning

Prey. An animal torn or killed by a wild beast, the predator's kill. It comes from the verb טָרַף (taraf), "to tear or rend", used of lions, wolves and leopards. Related words are טֶרֶף (teref, prey or food torn off) and טָרוּף ("torn").

Against the English

"Torn of beasts" (KJV), "torn by beasts" (ESV), "mauled animal" (BSB) and "torn by wild animals" (NLT) are all accurate. None of them signals the later rabbinic technical sense.

How it drifted

In later Jewish law (Mishnah Ḥullin 3), terefah grew into a technical category: an animal with a fatal defect or injury, even one slaughtered correctly. In Yiddish, טרייף (treyf) came to mean any non-kosher food at all, and from there entered English slang as "trayf" or "treif". That is a post-biblical widening. In Exodus the word means a predator's kill.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jacob cries טָרֹף טֹרַף יוֹסֵף, "Joseph is surely torn to pieces" (Genesis 37:33; also 44:28). Jacob says he never brought Laban the טְרֵפָה but bore the loss himself (Genesis 31:39), and Exodus 22:13 lets a herdsman show the torn carcass as evidence. Leviticus 7:24, 17:15 and 22:8, and Ezekiel 4:14 and 44:31, pair terefah with נְבֵלָה (nevelah, an animal that died on its own). The Greek Septuagint renders it θηριάλωτον, "caught by wild beasts".

From the study of Ezekiel 4:14

Range of meaning

Prey; an animal torn by a wild beast. From the verb taraf, 'to tear'.

Against the English

'Torn in pieces' (KJV); 'mauled by wild beasts' (BSB). Both are accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 22:31 ('you shall not eat flesh torn in the field; throw it to the dogs'); Leviticus 7:24; 17:15; 22:8; Ezekiel 44:31. In later Judaism terefah (Yiddish treif) widened to mean any non-kosher food. That is a later development. Here it still means an animal killed by a predator.

From the study of Leviticus 17:15

Range of meaning

'Torn thing, prey': an animal mangled or killed by a predator. It comes from ṭ-r-f, 'to tear (as a beast tears prey)'. Later rabbinic usage widened it to mean any meat unfit to eat (Yiddish 'treif').

Against the English

English versions agree on 'torn by beasts / mauled'. A modern reader may know 'treif' as 'non-kosher' in general. In this verse it is the narrow, concrete case of a kill made by a wild animal.

How it drifted

The word's later meaning in Judaism, 'any non-kosher food', comes from rabbinic legal development. It should not be read back into Leviticus.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 22:31 (MT 22:30): 'you shall be holy people to me; you shall not eat flesh torn in the field; throw it to the dogs.' Gen 31:39 and Exod 22:13: a shepherd brings the torn animal as proof that a predator took it. Lev 7:24 and 22:8; Ezek 44:31.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 31:39 טְרֵפָה֙ a torn animal

    I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 22:13 הַטְּרֵפָ֖ה the torn animal

    If the animal was torn to pieces, he shall bring it as evidence; he need not make restitution for the torn carcass.

  2. Exodus 22:31 טְרֵפָה֙ a torn animal

    You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.

    Here: An animal torn or killed by a predator such as a lion, wolf or bear. It stands next to "flesh" to describe it: flesh that is a predator's kill.

Leviticus · 3

  1. Leviticus 7:24 טְרֵפָ֔ה a torn animal

    The fat of an animal found dead or mauled by wild beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.

  2. Leviticus 17:15 וּטְרֵפָ֔ה and a torn animal

    And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.

    Here: An animal killed or mangled by a predator, found torn in the field. The 'and' works as 'or': either kind of meat sets off the rule.

  3. Leviticus 22:8 וּטְרֵפָ֛ה and a torn animal

    He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 4:14 וּטְרֵפָ֤ה and a torn animal

    “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”

    Here: An animal killed and torn by a predator. In the Torah it is paired with 'carcass' as forbidden food, and it is to be 'thrown to the dogs' (Exod 22:31).

  2. Ezekiel 44:31 וּטְרֵפָ֔ה and torn flesh

    The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 2:12 טְרֵפָֽה׃ torn flesh

    The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.

    Here: 'Torn flesh', the third ṭ-r-p word, closing the verse. In the Torah this exact word names an animal mauled by beasts, which Israelites were forbidden to eat. So the dens are stocked with carcasses, flesh that is unclean as well as plunder.

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