Hebrew word · H6473

פָּעַר

ufa'arah

to open

To open wide, gape, especially the mouth. It is used of Sheol opening its mouth "without measure" to swallow the dead (Isa 5:14), of a person gasping with longing (Ps 119:131), and of people opening their mouths wide as if for spring rain (Job 29:23).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to open wide, gape

1a) (Qal) to gape

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 Job 16:10

Range of meaning

To open wide, gape, especially the mouth. It is used of Sheol opening its mouth "without measure" to swallow the dead (Isa 5:14), of a person gasping with longing (Ps 119:131), and of people opening their mouths wide as if for spring rain (Job 29:23). The word stresses how wide the opening is, and often hints at swallowing.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV and NASB have "gaped." Today "gape" usually means staring open-mouthed in astonishment, which is passive and almost comic. BSB and NIV say "open their mouths," which is accurate but plain. NLT's "jeer and laugh" keeps the mocking and drops the predator.

How it drifted

English "gape" once meant mainly opening the mouth wide, often to bite or swallow. Its main sense has since moved to staring in wonder, so the older translations now call up the wrong picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 5:14 (Sheol); Ps 119:131; Job 29:23. Laments use the same picture with other verbs for "open": Ps 22:13 (enemies open their mouths like a ravening, roaring lion), Ps 35:21, and Lam 2:16 and 3:46 ("all your enemies have opened their mouths against you"). Psalms of lament used this as a stock image of mocking enemies.

From the study of Psalm 119:131

Range of meaning

To open wide or gape, almost always with "mouth" as the object. It describes mouths open to swallow, devour or drink. The word is rare (only four uses), and every use is vivid and physical.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, NIV and ESV say simply "open my mouth," which sounds like starting to speak. WEB and NASB keep "opened my mouth wide." Without the "wide," the picture of a craving, gaping mouth is lost.

How it drifted

No drift in the English word itself. The loss comes from translations that shorten the gape to an ordinary "open."

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 29:23: people waited for Job's counsel "as for the rain, and opened their mouths wide (pāʿărû) as for the spring rain." Isaiah 5:14: Sheol "opens wide its mouth without measure." Job 16:10: enemies "gape at me with their mouth." Psalm 81:10 expresses the same idea with a different verb: "open your mouth wide and I will fill it."

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 16:10 פָּעֲר֬וּ people have opened wide

    They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.

    Here: To open the mouth or jaws wide. This is not a stare of surprise. It is the open jaw of a predator, or of Sheol (the realm of the dead) swallowing its prey. The perfect tense presents the attack as something already done to Job.

  2. Job 29:23 פָּעֲר֥וּ they opened wide

    They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 119:131 פָ֭עַרְתִּי I opened wide

    I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments.

    Here: "I opened wide." This is no ordinary opening of the mouth. It is a gape: the word for a hungry or thirsty mouth, or for Sheol opening its jaws. The Hebrew past form can also mean "I have opened," a state that still holds.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 5:14 וּפָעֲרָ֥ה and it will open wide

    Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!

    Here: A rare, vivid verb for opening the mouth wide, like an animal about to swallow or a man gasping. It continues the action: 'and she will gape.'

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