Hebrew word · H6362

פָּטַר

fatar

to separate

To let loose, set free, open a way out, slip away, dismiss. The related noun peṭer means 'that which opens', especially the firstborn that 'opens the womb' (Exod 13:2, 12).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

1) to separate, set free, remove, open, escape, burst through

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to remove (oneself), escape

1a2) to set free, let out

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 Proverbs 17:14

Range of meaning: To let loose, set free, open a way out, slip away, dismiss. The related noun peṭer means 'that which opens', especially the firstborn that 'opens the womb' (Exod 13:2, 12).
Against the English: KJV and YLT: 'letteth out / letting out'. ESV and NASB: 'letting out water'. NIV and WEB: 'breaching a dam'. NLT: 'opening a floodgate'. BSB: 'release a flood'. The dam and floodgate versions add the scale of the disaster. 'Letting out' keeps the smallness of the first act, which is the point of the proverb.
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Sam 19:10 (David 'slipped away'); 2 Chr 23:8 (the priest 'did not dismiss' the divisions); 1 Kgs 6:18, 29 (carved flowers 'opened', i.e. in bloom). Later Hebrew uses it for releasing or dismissing someone (and in time for divorce and dismissal formulas).

From the study of Psalm 22:7

Range of meaning: The root p-ṭ-r means to split open, separate, or let go. 'Open flowers' carved in the temple are p'ṭure ṣiṣṣim (1 Kings 6:18). The firstborn is peṭer reḥem, 'what opens the womb' (Exodus 13:2). Strife begins like 'letting out water' (Proverbs 17:14). The verb is also used for being released from duty (1 Chronicles 9:33; 2 Chronicles 23:8) and for slipping away (1 Samuel 19:10). The causative form found here seems to occur only in this verse. 'Make an opening with the lip' most naturally means pulling the lips apart: gaping, curling the lip, making a face.
Against the English: KJV has 'shoot out the lip', which a modern reader may picture as pouting. ESV has 'make mouths at me', NASB 'separate with the lip', BSB and NLT 'sneer', NIV 'hurl insults', WEB 'insult me with their lips', and YLT 'make free with the lip'. These fall into two groups: versions that keep a facial gesture (KJV, ESV, NASB, BSB) and versions that turn it into words (NIV, WEB, and the Greek translation's 'they spoke with lips').
How it drifted: KJV's 'shoot out the lip' was a vivid gesture in 1611. Today 'sticking out your lip' suggests sulking, which is the opposite of the scorn intended.
Used elsewhere in the period: Similar mouth-gestures of hostility: 'they open wide their mouth against me; they say, Aha, aha!' (Psalm 35:21); 'they have gaped at me with their mouth' (Job 16:10); and in this psalm, 'they open wide their mouths at me' like lions (Psalm 22:13). The Septuagint renders it 'they spoke with lips', and Jerome's Latin follows that line.

From the study of 1 Kings 6:18

Range of meaning: Patar means to split open, let loose, set free (1 Sam 19:10, 'slipped away'; Prov 17:14, water 'released'). Its passive participle here means 'burst open'. Tsits is a blossom or flower (Isa 40:7–8, 'the flower fades'). It is also the name of the gold 'flower' plate on the high priest's turban (Exod 28:36), and in Num 17:8 Aaron's staff 'blossomed blossoms' (vayyatsets tsits).
Against the English: 'Open flowers' is accurate. The Hebrew phrase is more vivid: 'opened-ones of blossoms', meaning flowers caught at the moment of bursting open.
Used elsewhere in the period: The phrase recurs for the walls and doors in 1 Kgs 6:29, 32 and 35. Flowering decoration also appears on the tabernacle lampstand (Exod 25:31–34, perach) and on Aaron's budding staff (Num 17:8).

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

1 Samuel 19:10 וַיִּפְטַר֙ and he escaped

Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him and the spear struck the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

Here: "And he slipped away." The root means separating or getting free, as of water let out (Prov 17:14). Here it pictures David pulling clear of the strike in the instant it comes.

1 Kings · 4

1 Kings 6:18 וּפְטוּרֵ֖י and spread out [things] of

The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

Here: A passive form of patar, 'to split open, to set free'. The picture is of blossoms that have burst open: 'flowers in full bloom'.
1 Kings 6:29 וּפְטוּרֵ֖י and spread out [things] of

Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

Here: A participle, 'opened-out ones of': flowers shown in full bloom, probably drawn flat from above as rosettes or open lotus blossoms.
1 Kings 6:32 וּפְטוּרֵ֥י and spread out [things] of

The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.
1 Kings 6:35 וּפְטֻרֵ֖י and spread out [things] of

He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 9:33 פְּטוּרִ֑ים set free

Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.

2 Chronicles · 1

2 Chronicles 23:8 פָטַ֛ר he dismissed

So the Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions.

Psalms · 1

Psalm 22:7 יַפְטִ֥ירוּ they make a separation

All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:

Here: In this causative form it means 'they make an opening' or 'they part'. With 'lip' it describes a gesture: pulling the lips apart, gaping or curling them in a sneer. Some take it as 'they let loose' with the lip, meaning they blurt out insults (see debates).

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 17:14 פּ֣וֹטֵֽר [is one who] lets out

To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

Here: A participle, 'one who lets loose'. The root is about opening a way out: the firstborn is the one that 'opens' the womb (peṭer reḥem), and David 'slipped away' from Saul. Here it pictures someone who opens a gap and lets water escape.

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