Hebrew word · H6525

פֶּ֫רַח

ferach

flower

A bud, blossom or flower, from the verb parach, 'to sprout, bloom, break out'. In craft contexts it means a flower-shaped ornament or cup. It can also be used figuratively for flourishing or for something 'breaking out'.

Appears 17 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

bud, sprout

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 1 Kings 7:49

Range of meaning

A bud, blossom or flower, from the verb parach, 'to sprout, bloom, break out'. In craft contexts it means a flower-shaped ornament or cup. It can also be used figuratively for flourishing or for something 'breaking out'.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT and ESV 'the flowers'. NIV 'floral work', NLT 'flower decorations'. These two make clear that the flowers are ornaments.

How it drifted

Listed bare, 'the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold' can sound like a separate item, such as vases or arrangements of real flowers. The Hebrew points to metalwork belonging to the lampstands.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 25:31, 33–34 and 37:17–20: the tabernacle lampstand had cups 'shaped like almond blossoms, with knob and flower (perach)'. 1 Kings 7:26: the rim of the bronze Sea 'like the flower (perach) of a lily'. Numbers 17:8 (17:23 in Hebrew): Aaron's staff 'put forth buds, produced blossoms (perach), and bore ripe almonds'. Isaiah 5:24; Nahum 1:4.

From the study of Numbers 8:4

Range of meaning

Bud, blossom or flower, from parach, 'to sprout, bud, bloom'. Used for flower ornaments on the menorah (Exod 25:31–34), on the temple's bronze sea (1 Kgs 7:26) and on lampstands (2 Chr 4:21). Also for the real blossoms on Aaron's staff (Num 17:23 [Eng 17:8]).

Against the English

'Blossoms' (BSB) and 'flowers' (KJV, WEB, ESV) are both accurate. The singular-looking 'its blossom' may refer collectively to the floral ornaments or to the topmost flower.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 25:33–34 describes cups shaped like almond blossoms (meshuqqadim), each with a knob and a flower. The almond is the first tree in the region to bloom in late winter. In Jer 1:11–12 the almond (shaqed) is a play on 'watching' (shoqed). In Num 17:23 Aaron's staff 'sprouted, put forth blossoms (perach), and bore almonds', using the same vocabulary as the menorah.

Where it appears

Exodus · 8
  1. Exodus 25:31 וּפְרָחֶ֖יהָ and blossoms its

    Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.

    Here: From the verb 'to sprout, bloom'. Open flowers or petals. Together, cup, knob and blossom describe one stylized almond flower repeated along the stand.

  2. Exodus 25:33 וָפֶרַח֒ וָפָ֑רַח and a blossom

    There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extend from the lampstand.

  3. Exodus 25:34 וּפְרָחֶֽיהָ׃ and blossoms its

    And on the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals.

  4. Exodus 37:17 וּפְרָחֶ֖יהָ and blossoms its

    Then he made the lampstand out of pure hammered gold, all of one piece: its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.

    Here: From the verb 'to sprout, bloom'. The open flower or petals of each unit, which completes the picture of a branch in bloom.

  5. Exodus 37:19 וָפֶרַח֒ וָפָ֑רַח and a blossom

    There were three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extended from the lampstand.

  6. Exodus 37:20 וּפְרָחֶֽיהָ׃ and blossoms its

    And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals.

Numbers · 2
  1. Numbers 8:4 פִּרְחָ֖הּ blossom its

    This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.

    Here: 'Its blossom(s)'. The flower-shaped ornaments on the branches, part of the almond-blossom design in Exod 25:33–34. It is the top end, the most delicate detail. Base to blossom means the whole thing.

  2. Numbers 17:8 פֶ֙רַח֙ bud[s]

    The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds.

    Here: The noun from the same root as parach: it 'sprouted, and brought out sprouts'. Repeating the root stresses the growth. The same word names the flower-shaped ornaments on the lampstand (Exod 25:31-34).

1 Kings · 2
  1. 1 Kings 7:26 פֶּ֣רַח [the] blossom of

    It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.

    Here: 'A blossom of': a flower that is opening. It stands beside the cup image as a second comparison, so the rim flared like an opening flower. The word can also mean a carved floral ornament, which is why KJV reads it as decoration.

  2. 1 Kings 7:49 וְהַפֶּ֧רַח and the blossom

    the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

    Here: Singular in form but probably meaning all of them: the gold flower ornaments of the lampstands. These are like the almond-blossom cups on Moses' lampstand (Exod 25:33). They are worked metal, not real flowers.

2 Chronicles · 2
  1. 2 Chronicles 4:5 פֶּ֖רַח [the] blossom of

    It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold three thousand baths.

  2. 2 Chronicles 4:21 וְהַפֶּ֧רַח and the blossom

    the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold—of purest gold;

Isaiah · 2
  1. Isaiah 5:24 וּפִרְחָ֖ם and blossom their

    Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

    Here: 'And their blossom', the visible top of the plant and its promise of fruit. Paired with 'root', it means the whole plant from bottom to top.

  2. Isaiah 18:5 פֶּ֔רַח bud[s]

    For before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, He will cut off the shoots with a pruning knife and remove and discard the branches.

    Here: The vine's flowers. Their season has run its course and fruit is starting to form.

Nahum · 1
  1. Nahum 1:4 וּפֶ֥רַח and [the] blossom of

    He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

    Here: "And the blossom of": the bloom or fresh growth. It stands for Lebanon's whole flourishing vegetation, not a single flower.

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