יָפֶה

Genesis 12:11 יְפַת־ beautiful of

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,

Genesis 12:14 יָפָ֥ה [was] beautiful

So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

Genesis 29:17 יְפַת־ וִיפַ֥ת beautiful of, and beautiful of

Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

Genesis 39:6 יְפֵה־ וִיפֵ֥ה handsome of, and handsome of

So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

Genesis 41:2 יְפ֥וֹת good looking of

when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.

Genesis 41:4 יְפֹ֥ת <the> good looking of

And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,

Genesis 41:18 וִיפֹ֣ת and good looking of

when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.

Deuteronomy 21:11 יְפַת־ beautiful of

if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife,

1 Samuel 16:12 יְפֵ֥ה beautiful of

So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.”

Here: 'Beautiful of', the ordinary Hebrew word for good looks in men and women alike. It is used of Rachel, Joseph, Absalom and Tamar.

1 Samuel 17:42 יְפֵ֥ה handsome of

When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.

Here: Good-looking, fine. In Samuel this is the beauty of chosen and royal figures, but Goliath reads it as softness: a pretty boy, not a soldier.

1 Samuel 25:3 וִ֣יפַת and beautiful of

His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

2 Samuel 13:1 יָפָ֖ה a beautiful

After some time, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom.

Here: Physical beauty, mainly of appearance. In these stories a woman's beauty usually signals danger to her, since it draws the eyes of powerful men (Sarah, Rebekah, Bathsheba).

2 Samuel 14:25 יָפֶ֛ה handsome

Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

Here: Visible, physical beauty. It is the same adjective used of Sarah, Rachel, Joseph and David, and two verses earlier (13:1) of Absalom's sister Tamar. 'Handsome' is accurate, but the Hebrew word is the ordinary one for beauty in women and men alike.

2 Samuel 14:27 יְפַ֥ת beautiful of

Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

1 Kings 1:3 יָפָ֔ה beautiful

Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.

Here: Physical beauty, the ordinary word for an attractive appearance. It is the one criterion added to the servants' plan, and verse 4 heightens it: 'beautiful to the utmost.'

1 Kings 1:4 יָפָ֣ה [was] beautiful

The girl was unsurpassed in beauty; she cared for the king and served him, but he had no relations with her.

Esther 2:7 יְפַת־ [was] beautiful of

And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter.

Job 42:15 יָפ֛וֹת beautiful

No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers.

Psalm 48:2 יְפֵ֥ה [it is] beautiful of

Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.

Here: Bound grammatically to the next word: 'beautiful of height', meaning beautiful in how it rises. It is the ordinary word for a handsome person or a fine object, used here of a mountain-city as if it were a beloved figure.

Proverbs 11:22 יָ֝פָ֗ה beautiful

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

Here: Physical beauty, the word used of Sarah, Rachel, Abigail and Esther. Nothing in it is negative. Her beauty is real gold, and it corresponds to the gold ring.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 יָפֶ֣ה beautiful

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.

Here: The basic sense is 'beautiful, well-formed'. In Qohelet it also means 'fitting, appropriate' (5:18 [Heb 5:17]: 'good and fitting'). Here it means that each event is right for its own moment.

Ecclesiastes 5:18 יָפֶ֣ה [is] beautiful

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

Here: Usually "beautiful" (of people, as in Song of Songs), but in Qohelet it also means "fitting, appropriate" (3:11, "everything beautiful in its time"). Here it means fitting and lovely at once.

Song of Songs 1:8 הַיָּפָ֖ה O beautiful [one]

If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds.

Here: 'The beautiful one', used as a form of address. Joined to the next word it makes a superlative: 'the most beautiful'.

Song of Songs 1:15 יָפָה֙ יָפָ֖ה [are] beautiful

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.

Here: The feminine form of the ordinary Hebrew word for a good-looking person or a lovely thing. It is about how she looks, with no hint of skin colour or moral 'fairness'. The Hebrew has no 'are'. The adjective just follows 'look at you', which makes the line sound like an exclamation.

Song of Songs 1:16 יָפֶ֤ה [are] beautiful

How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed.

Song of Songs 2:10 יָפָתִ֖י beautiful [one] my

My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one.

Here: The adjective 'beautiful' carries a possessive ending and becomes a name: 'my Beautiful.' Hebrew rarely builds a word this way, and the Bible has it only here and in the repeated call of 2:13.

Song of Songs 2:13 יָפָתִ֖י beautiful [one] my

The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.”

Song of Songs 4:1 יָפָ֤ה יָפָ֔ה [are] beautiful

How beautiful you are, my darling—how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.

Here: Feminine 'beautiful', the ordinary Hebrew word for good looks (used of Sarah, Rachel, Abigail, Esther). It is physical beauty, plainly meant, not moral goodness.

Song of Songs 4:7 יָפָה֙ [is] beautiful

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw.

Here: Physical beauty, the kind that draws the eye and stirs desire. It repeats the opening words of the poem in 4:1 ('Behold, you are beautiful, my darling'), so the whole description is framed by the same word.

Song of Songs 5:9 הַיָּפָ֖ה O beautiful [one]

How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so?

Here: 'The beautiful one', a feminine adjective with 'the' used to address her. With 'among the women' it means 'most beautiful'. The daughters address her with the same praise used for her in 1:8 and again in 6:1.

Song of Songs 6:1 הַיָּפָ֖ה O beautiful [one]

Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.

Here: 'The beautiful one', used here as a way of addressing her. It is ordinary praise of physical beauty, and it repeats the title the women already gave her in 1:8 and 5:9.

Song of Songs 6:4 יָפָ֨ה [are] beautiful

You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.

Here: The usual Hebrew word for physical beauty, used of women (Sarah, Rachel, Abigail) and of fine animals and places. It comes first for emphasis: 'Beautiful you are!' It repeats his opening line in 4:1 ('How beautiful you are, my companion'), so the man is taking up his praise again after the couple's separation in 5:2–6:3.

Song of Songs 6:10 יָפָ֣ה beautiful

Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?

Here: The Song's standard word for her beauty (1:15; 4:1, 7; 6:4). It means beautiful or lovely, and says nothing about skin colour.

Jeremiah 11:16 יְפֵ֣ה beautiful of

The LORD once called you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. But with a mighty roar He will set it on fire, and its branches will be consumed.

Here: Beautiful to look at. The form links it to the next words: 'beautiful of…'.

Ezekiel 31:3 יְפֵ֥ה beautiful of

Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.

Here: 'Beautiful of…' The word is often used for people's good looks (Joseph, David, Tyre 'perfect in beauty' in Ezek 27–28). In Ezekiel, beauty is the soil pride grows in (28:17; 31:8–10).

Ezekiel 31:9 יָפֶ֣ה beautiful

I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’

Ezekiel 33:32 יְפֵ֥ה [one] beautiful of

Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice.

Amos 8:13 הַיָּפ֛וֹת <the> beautiful

In that day the lovely young women—the young men as well—will faint from thirst.