Hebrew word · H6530

פָּרִיץ

paritz

violent

The word comes from pāraṣ, 'to break through, break out'. It describes someone who breaks in or acts violently: a robber, a thug, a ruthless man.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) violent one, breaker

1a) robber, murderer

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 Isaiah 35:9

Range of meaning

The word comes from pāraṣ, 'to break through, break out'. It describes someone who breaks in or acts violently: a robber, a thug, a ruthless man. Examples: 'a den of robbers' (Jer 7:11), 'robbers will enter it and defile it' (Ezek 7:22), 'a violent son who sheds blood' (Ezek 18:10), 'the paths of the violent' (Ps 17:4), 'the violent among your people' (Dan 11:14).

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say 'ravenous beast'; BSB and NASB say 'vicious beast'. These capture the danger, but the Hebrew word is more vivid. It means a 'breaker', a marauder that breaks in on its victims, and it is normally used of human violence.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 35:9 is the only place where pārîṣ describes an animal; everywhere else it is used of people. Psalm 17:4 uses it in a road setting: 'I have kept myself from the paths of the violent'.

From the study of Jeremiah 7:11

Range of meaning

A violent person, a breaker-in, a brigand. It comes from parats, 'to break through, burst out'. Examples: a violent son who sheds blood (Ezek 18:10); 'robbers' who break into and profane God's sanctuary (Ezek 7:22); 'the paths of the violent' (Ps 17:4); used of a ravenous beast (Isa 35:9); 'the violent men of your people' (Dan 11:14).

Against the English

'Robbers' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is good. YLT's 'burglars' brings out the 'breaking in' root. 'Thieves' (NLT, and KJV in Matthew 21:13) is weaker, because to a modern reader it suggests quiet theft or fraud. The Hebrew word carries violence and bloodshed.

How it drifted

English 'thief' has narrowed toward stealth and dishonesty, while the Hebrew word, and the Greek lēstēs that renders it, mean armed, violent bandits.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders it here with lēstēs, 'bandit', the word Josephus uses for armed brigands and rebel fighters. It is the same word used of the men crucified with Jesus and of Barabbas (John 18:40).

From the study of Psalm 17:4

Range of meaning

From the root p-r-ṣ, 'to break through, make a breach, burst out' (used of breaching walls, of bursting out in growth, of God 'breaking out' against people). The noun pārîṣ means one who breaks in or breaks out: a robber, a housebreaker, a violent person who will not stay inside boundaries. It is used once of a ravenous wild beast (Isaiah 35:9).

Against the English

BSB, WEB and most modern versions have 'the violent'. KJV has 'the destroyer'. YLT also has 'a destroyer'. 'Violent' is broadly right but loses the picture of breaking through, which is the image of a burglar coming through a wall or a raider through a fence. 'Destroyer' points modern readers the wrong way (see drift).

How it drifted

KJV's 'destroyer' follows older renderings. To modern ears, especially readers who know Exodus 12:23, it can suggest a supernatural destroying agent, which this word never denotes.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 7:11, 'a den of robbers' (məʿārat pārīṣîm), the line Jesus quotes in the temple (Mark 11:17; the Greek has lēstōn, 'bandits'). Ezekiel 7:22: robbers (pārîṣîm) enter and profane God's treasured place. Ezekiel 18:10: a 'violent son' who sheds blood. Daniel 11:14: 'the violent ones among your people'. Isaiah 35:9: 'ravenous beast' (pərîṣ ḥayyôt). The Septuagint here reads 'hard' (sklēras), apparently taking the word differently.

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 17:4 פָּרִֽיץ׃ violent person[s]

    As for the deeds of men—by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

    Here: From a root meaning 'to break through, burst out': a person who breaks through walls and limits, such as a burglar, a bandit or a thug. The noun is singular, a type ('the violent man'), and points ahead to the predatory enemies of verses 9–12.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 35:9 וּפְרִ֤יץ and a violent one of

    No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.

    Here: 'And the violent one'. The word comes from a verb meaning 'to break through' and elsewhere almost always describes violent men or robbers (Jer 7:11, 'den of robbers'). Only here is it used of an animal: a predator that breaks in on people.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 7:11 פָּרִצִ֗ים robbers

    Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.

    Here: From a root meaning 'to break through'. These are violent men: house-breakers, brigands, men who shed blood. They are not sneak-thieves or swindlers. Together with the first word it pictures a bandits' lair.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 7:22 פָּרִיצִ֖ים robbers

    I will turn My face away from them, and they will defile My treasured place. Violent men will enter it, and they will defile it.

  2. Ezekiel 18:10 פָּרִ֖יץ violent

    Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things,

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 11:14 פָּרִיצֵ֣י [the] violent ones of

    In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.

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