Hebrew word · H6546

פֶּ֫רַע

pera'ot

leader

The root p-r-ʿ means 'let loose, let go, leave unbound'. The noun peraʿ is used of hair grown long and left free: the Nazirite 'shall let the locks (peraʿ) of his head grow long' (Num 6:5); priests must not 'let their locks grow long' (Ezek 44:20).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

leader, commander

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 Deuteronomy 32:42

Range of meaning

The root p-r-ʿ means 'let loose, let go, leave unbound'. The noun peraʿ is used of hair grown long and left free: the Nazirite 'shall let the locks (peraʿ) of his head grow long' (Num 6:5); priests must not 'let their locks grow long' (Ezek 44:20). A second sense, 'leader/chieftain', has been proposed only for this verse and Judges 5:2, where both meanings are argued.

Against the English

BSB, NIV, WEB and the Septuagint go with 'leaders'. ESV, NASB, NRSV and JPS go with hair: 'long-haired' or 'wild-haired'. KJV's 'beginning of revenges' follows a third line, linking the word to a Hebrew/Aramaic verb meaning 'to repay, punish'. YLT's 'freemen' comes from the root idea of 'loosed'.

How it drifted

The meaning 'leader' is an inference, probably from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of about the 3rd century BC), which rendered Judges 5:2 and this verse with words for rulers. Later medieval Jewish commentators such as Rashi took it as 'retributions', which gave KJV its 'revenges'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 6:5 and Ezek 44:20 clearly mean 'locks of hair'. Judges 5:2, 'when locks were let loose in Israel', is widely read by modern scholars as warriors leaving their hair unbound under a vow before battle. Psalm 68:21 is a close parallel: 'God will shatter the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilt.' The Septuagint has ἀρχόντων ('rulers'); the Vulgate has 'bare head'. HALOT gives the hair sense; BDB lists 'leader' for this verse.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 32:42 פַּרְע֥וֹת [the] leaders of

    I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”

    Here: Plural of a word that elsewhere means hair left long and unbound (Num 6:5; Ezek 44:20). Here either 'long-haired' or 'wild-haired' warriors, or 'leaders'; see the study and debate below.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 5:2 פְּרָעוֹת֙ heads

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

    Here: A noun from the same root as the verb before it, so the line rings: 'when the par‘-ers par‘-ed'. It means either 'leaders/chiefs' or 'flowing locks of hair'. In the hair reading it pictures warriors who let their hair grow uncut under a vow for the holy war.

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