פָּרַשׂ

From the study of Proverbs 31:20

Range of meaning

To spread out or spread wide: a net (Hos 5:1), wings (Deut 32:11), a garment or cloth (Num 4:6–13), a tent (Exod 40:19), hands (in prayer or appeal). The core idea is opening something fully, leaving nothing folded back.

Against the English

"Opens" (BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV), "stretcheth out" (KJV), "extends" (NASB), "spread forth" (YLT). All are acceptable. "Spread" best keeps the sense of a hand opened wide.

Used elsewhere in the period

With kap it most often describes a person praying, palms open toward heaven (1 Kgs 8:22, 38, 54; Isa 1:15; Jer 4:31; Lam 1:17, where Zion spreads her hands for help). Lam 1:10 uses it of an enemy spreading his hand over Jerusalem's treasures. Deut 15:8, 11 commands Israel to "open wide your hand" (pātaḥ yād) to "your poor and your needy". That uses a different verb with the same picture and the same pair of nouns.

From the study of Isaiah 1:15

Range of meaning

Paras means to spread out or stretch out: wings, a cloth, a net, hands. Kaf is the palm or hollow of the hand. It also names cupped things, such as the sole of the foot and the small dishes used in the sanctuary (Num 7:14). Together, 'spreading the palms' is the fixed Hebrew phrase for the posture of prayer.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT keep 'spread forth/out your hands'. BSB and NIV add 'in prayer' to explain the gesture. NLT has 'lift up your hands', which changes the picture slightly: from palms opened outward to arms raised upward. The original stresses the open palms, which matters because the verse ends with what fills them.

Used elsewhere in the period

Solomon 'spread out his palms toward heaven' at the Temple dedication (1 Kgs 8:22, 38, 54). Moses spreads his palms to the LORD (Exod 9:29, 33). Ezra kneels and spreads his palms (Ezra 9:5). See also Ps 44:20; Job 11:13. Ancient Near Eastern art shows worshippers standing with open, raised palms, as studied by Othmar Keel. The Septuagint renders the phrase 'when you stretch out your hands to me'.

From the study of 1 Kings 6:27

Range of meaning

To spread out or stretch out. It is used of wings (Exod 25:20; Deut 32:11; Job 39:26), of hands lifted in prayer (1 Kgs 8:22, 38, 54; Exod 9:29), of a cloth or covering spread over something (Num 4:6–13; Ruth 3:9 with kānāp), and of a net spread to trap (Hos 5:1).

Against the English

'Spread out' (BSB, WEB) and 'stretched forth' (KJV) are accurate. Translations differ on the unnamed 'they': KJV keeps 'they stretched forth', while most modern versions make it passive ('were spread out').

Used elsewhere in the period

The same verb describes the cherubim on the ark cover, 'spreading out their wings above, screening the cover with their wings' (Exod 25:20). That passage is the model this verse expands to architectural scale. Solomon himself 'spreads out his hands' toward heaven in this same temple (1 Kgs 8:22).