Hebrew word · H6544

פָּרַע

farua'

to neglect

Basic sense: to let loose, let go, leave unbound. It is used for letting the hair hang loose (Leviticus 10:6; 13:45; Numbers 5:18). In a moral sense it means letting things run wild or throwing off restraint (Exodus 32:25).

Appears 16 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to let go, let loose, ignore, let alone

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to let go, let loose

1a2) to let alone, avoid, neglect

1a3) to loosen

1b) (Niphal) to be let loose, be loosened of restraint

1c) (Hiphil)

1c1) to cause to refrain

1c2) to show lack of restraint

1c3) to let loose restraints

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 29:18

Range of meaning

Basic sense: to let loose, let go, leave unbound. It is used for letting the hair hang loose (Leviticus 10:6; 13:45; Numbers 5:18). In a moral sense it means letting things run wild or throwing off restraint (Exodus 32:25). In Proverbs it often means ignoring or brushing aside instruction (1:25; 4:15; 8:33; 13:18; 15:32). Here it is in the passive-reflexive form (Niphal): 'is let loose', 'becomes unrestrained'.

Against the English

KJV 'perish' changes the image from moral chaos to death or destruction. Modern versions ('cast off restraint', 'are unrestrained', 'run wild') keep the picture of loosening. YLT 'made naked' takes the hair/uncovering sense too literally.

How it drifted

KJV's 'perish' seems to follow an earlier interpretive tradition, close to the Vulgate's dissipabitur ('will be scattered') and the Geneva Bible's 'decay', rather than the precise meaning of the Hebrew verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 32:25 is the clearest parallel: 'Moses saw that the people had broken loose (pāruaʿ), for Aaron had let them loose (pᵉrāʿōh)'. Israel's wild behaviour around the golden calf came while the mediator of God's word was away on the mountain.

From the study of Proverbs 8:33

Range of meaning

Basic sense: 'let loose, let go, leave unrestrained.' It is used of loosening or unbinding the hair (Lev 10:6; 13:45; Num 5:18). It describes letting a people run wild (Exod 32:25, 'Aaron had let them loose'). Pharaoh uses it for letting people off work (Exod 5:4). It describes a people who 'cast off restraint' without prophetic vision (Prov 29:18). In wisdom texts it means letting advice or discipline go and leaving it unheeded (Prov 1:25, 'you let all my counsel go'; 13:18; 15:32, 'whoever lets discipline go despises himself').

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'refuse', BSB 'ignore', ESV/NASB 'neglect', YLT 'slight'. 'Refuse' suggests a deliberate, active 'no'. The Hebrew picture is looser: slackening your grip and letting something slip away or go untended. 'Neglect' and 'let go' come closest. Proverbs treats that drift as fatal (8:36), even when it is not open defiance.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) group the wisdom uses under 'let go, leave unattended, neglect.' Some lexicons treat Judges 5:2 ('when locks/leaders were let loose') as a separate root, which is why the supplied data marks this entry H6544B.

From the study of Leviticus 10:6

Range of meaning

The root's basic idea is 'let go, let loose, leave unrestrained'. With hair it means to unbind it and let it hang loose and unkempt (HALOT; BDB 'let go, let alone'). The root can also mean leaving people 'unrestrained' (Exod 32:25) and leaving advice 'neglected' (Prov 1:25; 13:18). The related noun pera' means 'long, loose locks' (Num 6:5; Judg 5:2; Deut 32:42).

Against the English

KJV 'uncover not your heads' and the Vulgate's 'nudare' (to bare) make it about taking off a head covering. Most modern versions (ESV, BSB, WEB, NIV) make it about the hair: let it hang loose, become disheveled or unkempt. The Hebrew can support either picture, but neither is about a hat-etiquette rule.

How it drifted

KJV-era 'uncover the head' followed the Vulgate and some Jewish tradition. Later readers, influenced by 1 Corinthians 11 and Western customs about hats, can hear it as a rule about head coverings in worship. The verse is about the gestures of mourning.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same pair of gestures, letting the head go loose and tearing the clothes, appears in Lev 13:45 for the person with a skin disease, who must look like a mourner, and in Lev 21:10, where the high priest is permanently forbidden to do them. Num 5:18 has the priest 'loosen' the hair of a woman suspected of adultery. The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) renders it 'do not take off your headdress' (ἀποκιδαρώσετε, from kidaris, the turban). Rabbinic tradition (b. Mo'ed Qatan 14b; b. Sanhedrin 22b) read it as 'let the hair grow uncut', the way mourners went untrimmed. Ezek 24:17 and 44:20 show that a priest's hair and headgear were tied to his public role.

Where it appears

Exodus · 3

  1. Exodus 5:4 תַּפְרִ֥יעוּ are you causing to refrain

    But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”

  2. Exodus 32:25 פָרֻ֖עַ פְרָעֹ֣ה [was] running wild, had let [it] run wild he

    Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.

Leviticus · 3

  1. Leviticus 10:6 תִּפְרָ֣עוּ׀ you let loose

    Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.

    Here: To let the hair hang loose and untended, a standard sign of mourning. Ancient translators also read it as 'bare the head' or 'let the hair grow long' (see studies). Either way it is a visible public sign of grief.

  2. Leviticus 13:45 פָר֔וּעַ let loose

    A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

    Here: Unbound, left loose and uncared for, or (as the Greek takes it) uncovered. This is another mourning gesture forbidden to priests (Lev 10:6; 21:10). The word sounds like tsarua‘ at the start of the verse (farua‘ / tsarua‘), an audible echo.

  3. Leviticus 21:10 יִפְרָ֔ע he will let loose

    The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose or tear his garments.

    Here: To let the hair go loose and unkempt, one of the standard outward signs of mourning (compare Lev 10:6; 13:45). The ancient Greek translation and the KJV take it as 'uncover' (take off the headdress).

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 5:18 וּפָרַע֙ and he will let loose

    After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 5:2 בִּפְרֹ֤עַ when acted as leaders

    “When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the LORD.

    Here: 'When there was a para‘-ing': the preposition 'in/when' plus a verb form that names the action without saying who does it or when. The root elsewhere means 'to let loose, let hang free' (especially hair); the data supplied takes it as a rare second sense, 'to lead'. Either way it opens the song on the moment Israel's fighters got moving.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:19 הִפְרִ֙יעַ֙ he had allowed lack of restraint

    For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.

Proverbs · 6

  1. Proverbs 1:25 וַתִּפְרְע֥וּ and you ignored

    because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,

    Here: "And you let go of / you shook off." The verb's basic picture is loosening something: letting hair hang loose, letting a people run without restraint. Here it means treating Wisdom's counsel as something you can drop. The verb form continues the "because" clause that began in v. 24, so this is the next charge on the list.

  2. Proverbs 4:15 פְּרָעֵ֥הוּ avoid it

    Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.

  3. Proverbs 8:33 תִּפְרָֽעוּ׃ you neglect [it]

    Listen to instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.

    Here: The basic picture is letting something go loose or slip out of your hand, as with unbound hair or a crowd running out of control. Here it means 'don't let it slip, don't let go of it, don't leave it unattended.' Hebrew states no object. English supplies 'it', which most naturally refers to the discipline.

  4. Proverbs 13:18 פּוֹרֵ֣עַ [one who] ignores

    Poverty and shame come to him who ignores discipline, but whoever heeds correction is honored.

    Here: A participle (a verb form used as a description, 'the one who keeps letting go'), so it describes a settled habit. The root means to let something loose or hang free, as with unbound hair. Here the person lets discipline slip and treats it as something not worth holding onto.

  5. Proverbs 15:32 פּוֹרֵ֣עַ [one who] ignores

    He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.

    Here: A participle, so it describes a habit or type of person: 'the one who lets go of' discipline. The verb pictures loosening or letting something slip, here shrugging off correction rather than taking hold of it.

  6. Proverbs 29:18 יִפָּ֣רַֽע it is let loose

    Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law.

    Here: The verb means 'is let loose' or 'runs wild'. The root is used for letting hair hang loose and for the people 'running wild' at the golden calf (Exodus 32:25). The picture is a people without restraint, not a people dying.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 24:14 אֶפְרַ֥ע I will refrain

    I, the LORD, have spoken; the time is coming, and I will act. I will not refrain or show pity, nor will I relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

    Here: 'I will not let it go' or 'I will not leave it alone'. God will not loosen his grip on the matter or let it drop unfinished. The first refusal is about not backing off.

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