Hebrew word · H6315

פּוּחַ

veyafiach

to breathe

The verb puaḥ means 'to breathe, blow, puff' (Song 2:17; 4:16; Ezekiel 21:31), and in the causative form 'to breathe out, utter' (Proverbs 6:19, 'one who breathes out lies'). A related noun yafeaḥ/yafiaḥ, 'witness', is now widely recognized.

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to breathe, blow

1a) (Qal) to breathe

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to cause to exhale or breathe

1b2) to puff, snort

1b3) to excite, inflame

1b4) to puff, pant for it

1b5) to breathe out, utter

1b6) to blow, blast

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 2:3

Range of meaning

The verb puaḥ means 'to breathe, blow, puff' (Song 2:17; 4:16; Ezekiel 21:31), and in the causative form 'to breathe out, utter' (Proverbs 6:19, 'one who breathes out lies'). A related noun yafeaḥ/yafiaḥ, 'witness', is now widely recognized. It appears in Ugaritic texts (ypḥ, 'witness') and in Hebrew in Psalm 27:12 and Proverbs 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9.

Against the English

KJV: 'it shall speak'. YLT: 'it breatheth'. WEB: 'it hurries', and ESV/NASB similarly 'hastens'. BSB and NIV: 'it testifies / speaks of'. The 'hurry' renderings take the breathing as panting, like a runner. The 'testify' renderings take the witness sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 14:5 is the decisive parallel: 'A faithful witness (ʿed) does not lie (lo yekhazzev), but a false witness (ʿed sheqer) breathes out (yafiaḥ) lies (kezavim).' Habakkuk 2:3 has the same pairing of yafeaḥ with 'not lie' (lo yekhazzev). Pardee (Vetus Testamentum 1978) argued for the noun 'witness' from Ugaritic. The Septuagint guessed 'it will rise up' (anatelei), and Qumran read it as hastening.

From the study of Proverbs 19:5

Range of meaning

From pûaḥ, "to blow, breathe" (Song 2:17; 4:16, of a breeze). The causative form here usually means "breathe out, puff out, utter". In Proverbs it almost always takes "lies" or "truth" as its object (6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9). Since 1978 several scholars have argued that in these verses yāpîaḥ is a noun, "witness", matching Ugaritic ypḥ "witness".

Against the English

KJV "speaketh" and NASB "tells" flatten the picture. ESV/YLT "breathes out" and WEB/NIV "pours out" keep the sense of something that flows out easily and in quantity. If the noun reading is right, the line means "a witness of lies", an exact echo of the first line.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 6:19: "a false witness who breathes out lies" (yāpîaḥ kəzābîm ʿēd šāqer), one of the seven things the LORD hates. Proverbs 14:5 sets a faithful witness against one who "breathes out lies". Ugaritic texts use ypḥ for a witness to a legal transaction (D. Pardee, Vetus Testamentum 28, 1978). See also Psalm 27:12 (wîpēaḥ ḥāmās) and possibly Habakkuk 2:3.

From the study of Proverbs 6:19

Range of meaning

The verb puach means 'to blow, breathe, puff'. It is used of the day 'breathing' at evening (Song 2:17; 4:6), of wind blowing on a garden (Song 4:16), of puffing contemptuously at enemies (Psalm 10:5), and of fanning a fire. 'Scoffers set a city aflame' in Proverbs 29:8 uses this verb, literally 'fan a city into flame'. A second proposal, widely accepted since the 1970s, sees a separate noun yāpîaḥ, 'witness', in some Proverbs passages.

Against the English

KJV 'speaketh', WEB 'utters' and BSB 'gives… testimony' keep the meaning but lose the picture. YLT and ESV 'breathe out' keep the breath image. NIV and NLT 'pours out' give the sense of a flow but swap the image for liquid.

Used elsewhere in the period

The whole phrase yāpîaḥ kəzābîm ʿēd šāqer comes back word for word in Proverbs 14:5, and yāpîaḥ kəzābîm also appears in 19:5 and 19:9. Proverbs 12:17 has yāpîaḥ ʾĕmûnâ, 'one who breathes out truth' or 'a truthful witness'. Psalm 27:12 has wîpēaḥ ḥāmās, 'and one breathing out violence', alongside 'false witnesses'. Ugaritic has a word yp̄ḥ that apparently means 'witness' (Pardee 1978).

Where it appears

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 10:5 יָפִ֥יחַ he breathes out

    He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.

    Here: 'He puffs / snorts.' He blows air at them, a gesture of contempt like a scornful snort. It shows he does not take them seriously.

  2. Psalm 12:5 יָפִ֥יחַֽ [one who] he pants

    “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

    Here: This is the verse's hardest word. It can mean "he pants [for it]" (longing), "he puffs/snorts [at him]" (contempt, as in Ps 10:5), or, read as a noun yapiaḥ, "a witness" in court. Each reading changes the end of the oracle; see Debates.

Proverbs · 7

  1. Proverbs 6:19 יָפִ֣יחַ [who] he breathes out

    a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.

    Here: Literally 'he blows / puffs out'. Lies come out of him as easily and constantly as breath. Some scholars read this word as a noun meaning 'witness' (see debates), which would give 'a witness of lies'. Either way it opens the line with the person's speech.

  2. Proverbs 12:17 יָפִ֣יחַ he breathes out

    He who speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.

    Here: Literally "he breathes out": a picture of speech as breath leaving the mouth. In Proverbs this form is used again and again for giving testimony (6:19; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9), so it means "the one who speaks out" or, as many scholars hold, simply "the witness" (see debates).

  3. Proverbs 14:5 וְיָפִ֥יחַ and he may breathe out

    An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours forth lies.

  4. Proverbs 14:25 וְיָפִ֖חַ so he may breathe out

    A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful.

  5. Proverbs 19:5 וְיָפִ֥יחַ and he may breathe out

    A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.

    Here: "And he who puffs out": a picture of lies coming out as easily as breath. It is a fixed phrase in Proverbs for a lying witness (6:19; 14:5, 25; 19:9). Some scholars read the word as a noun meaning "witness" (see debates).

  6. Proverbs 19:9 וְיָפִ֖יחַ and he may breathe out

    A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

    Here: Usually read as a verb, 'and [whoever] breathes out', a picture of lies puffed out as easily as breath. Many scholars read the same letters as a noun meaning 'witness' or 'testifier', which makes an exact match with the first line (see debates).

  7. Proverbs 29:8 יָפִ֣יחוּ they inflame

    Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger.

    Here: "They blow on" a town, as someone blows on coals to make them flare up. Their words are the breath that turns smouldering grievance into open fire. The verb form describes what scoffers typically do, not one event.

Song of Songs · 3

  1. Song of Songs 2:17 שֶׁיָּפ֙וּחַ֙ that <it> will breathe

    Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

  2. Song of Songs 4:6 שֶׁיָּפ֙וּחַ֙ that <it> will breathe

    Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.

  3. Song of Songs 4:16 הָפִ֥יחִי make breathe

    Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Breathe on my garden and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choicest fruits.

    Here: 'Blow on' or 'make breathe out'. The form is causative, so it can mean 'blow upon my garden' or 'cause my garden to exhale.' Either way the garden ends up breathing out its scent.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 21:31 אָפִ֣יחַ I will blow

    I will pour out My anger upon you; I will breathe the fire of My fury against you; I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled in destruction.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:3 וְיָפֵ֥חַ and it will pant

    For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

    Here: Read as a verb, it is 'and it pants', like a runner straining toward the finish. Read as the related noun yafeaḥ, 'witness', it is 'and it is a witness to the end'. Both readings say the vision is headed toward its fulfilment.

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