Hebrew word · H3422

יְרַקְרַק

yerakrak

greenish

Greenish or yellowish, a pale tint. The doubled form means '-ish' or 'somewhat'. It describes spreading mould on garments and walls (Lev 13:49; 14:37), from the same root as yereq, green plants.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

greenish, pale green, greenish-yellow

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 Psalm 68:13

Range of meaning

Greenish or yellowish, a pale tint. The doubled form means '-ish' or 'somewhat'. It describes spreading mould on garments and walls (Lev 13:49; 14:37), from the same root as yereq, green plants.

Against the English

KJV 'yellow', BSB 'shimmering', WEB 'shining'. None conveys the faintly green-gold tint the Hebrew names.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders it 'in the greenness (chlōrotēs) of gold', and the Vulgate 'in the paleness (pallore) of gold'. Both keep the colour sense.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 13:49 יְרַקְרַ֣ק׀ greenish

    and if the mark in the fabric, leather, weave, knit, or leather article is green or red, then it is contaminated with mildew and must be shown to the priest.

  2. Leviticus 14:37 יְרַקְרַקֹּ֔ת greenish

    He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 68:13 בִּֽירַקְרַ֥ק with greenish of

    Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver, and her feathers with shimmering gold.”

    Here: 'With the yellow-green sheen of.' The doubled form softens the colour ('-ish'). Elsewhere it describes greenish mould in a house or a garment (Lev 13:49; 14:37). Here it gives the pale, shimmering glint of gold, much like the green-gold sheen on a dove's neck in sunlight.

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