Hebrew word · H6536

פָּרַס

faros

to divide

To break or split something into pieces, especially bread (a flat loaf torn by hand). It also describes a hoof that is 'divided' (Lev 11, Deut 14). With bread it is the everyday act of portioning food out to others.

Appears 14 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to divide, break in two

1a) (Qal) to break, break up

1b) (Hiphil) to be divided (of hoofs)

Aramaic equivalent: pe.ras (פְּרַס "to divide" H6537A)

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 58:7

Range of meaning

To break or split something into pieces, especially bread (a flat loaf torn by hand). It also describes a hoof that is 'divided' (Lev 11, Deut 14). With bread it is the everyday act of portioning food out to others.

Against the English

KJV 'deal' (in the old sense of handing out portions), WEB 'distribute' and BSB/NIV 'share' all get the idea of giving out. They lose the physical picture of tearing your own loaf in two.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 16:7 uses the same verb for breaking bread for mourners: no one will 'break [bread]' for them. Lam 4:4 has the closely related spelling with a different s-letter: children ask for bread and 'no one breaks it for them.' The Greek Septuagint renders it diathrypte, 'break in pieces'; the Latin Vulgate has frange, 'break.'

From the study of Leviticus 11:3

Range of meaning

The root p-r-s means 'divide, break in two'. It is used of breaking bread for the hungry (Isa 58:7, 'break your bread'), and its Aramaic relative appears in 'Peres: your kingdom is divided' (Dan 5:28). The noun parsah is 'hoof', the hard foot of a hoofed animal (Exod 10:26; Mic 4:13 'hoofs of bronze'; Ezek 32:13). The causative verb used here (hiphil) appears only with parsah, in the food laws and in Ps 69:31 ('a bull with horns and hoofs', literally 'horning and hoofing'). That psalm suggests the verb can mean simply 'to grow hoofs' or 'to be hoofed'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and the ESV-type wording 'parteth the hoof' treat it as division. NIV and BSB merge it with the next clause into a single 'split hoof'. The psalm usage and verse 26 suggest it may mean 'has a true hoof', with the next clause supplying the full split.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX translates dichēloun hoplēn, 'dividing the hoof'. Lev 11:26 separates the two features: animals that are mafreset parsah but have no full cleft are unclean. This shows the phrase alone did not mean 'fully cloven' to the writer. Mishnah Hullin 3:6 treats the marks of clean beasts as given by the Torah itself.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 7

  1. Leviticus 11:3 מַפְרֶ֣סֶת [one which] divides in two

    You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.

    Here: A feminine participle ('one dividing') agreeing with the unstated 'animal' (behemah, a feminine noun). It describes a permanent trait of the body, not an action. The verb comes from the same root as the noun that follows, so it reads almost like 'hoofing a hoof': the animal carries a true, parted hoof.

  2. Leviticus 11:4 וּמִמַּפְרִיסֵ֖י מַפְרִ֔יס and from [those which] divide in two, [is] dividing in two

    But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

  3. Leviticus 11:5 יַפְרִ֑יס it divides in two

    The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

  4. Leviticus 11:6 הִפְרִ֑יסָה it divides in two

    The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

  5. Leviticus 11:7 מַפְרִ֨יס [is] dividing in two

    And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

  6. Leviticus 11:26 מַפְרֶ֨סֶת [is] dividing in two

    Every animal with hooves not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean.

    Here: Literally 'making a parsah', i.e. hoof-bearing. Scholars disagree whether it means 'has a split hoof' or simply 'has hooves' (see debates). Either way, the animal has a hoof of some kind.

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 14:6 מַפְרֶ֣סֶת [which] divides

    You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.

  2. Deuteronomy 14:7 וּמִמַּפְרִיסֵ֥י הִפְרִ֔יסוּ and [any] of those dividing, they divide

    But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: the camel, the rabbit, or the rock badger. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you,

  3. Deuteronomy 14:8 מַפְרִ֨יס [is] dividing

    as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 69:31 מַפְרִֽיס׃ having hooves

    And this will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with horns and hooves.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 58:7 פָרֹ֤ס [is it] to break

    Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

    Here: Literally 'breaking' a flat loaf into pieces to hand out. The form is an infinitive, a verb used like a noun ('breaking…'), so it names the act that makes up the fast. The picture is not sending money somewhere else. It is tearing your own loaf and handing over a piece.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 16:7 יִפְרְס֥וּ people will break

    No food will be offered to comfort those who mourn the dead; not even a cup of consolation will be given for the loss of a father or mother.

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