Hebrew word · H874

בָּאַר

ba'er

to make plain

In the intensive (Piel) stem: 'make distinct, make clear, set forth plainly; expound'. It occurs only three times: Deut 1:5 (Moses 'began to expound this law'), Deut 27:8 (write the law on the stones 'very plainly', ba'er heteb), and here.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) (Piel)

1a) to make plain, distinct

1b) to make clear

1c) to declare

1d) letters on a tablet

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 Habakkuk 2:2

Range of meaning

In the intensive (Piel) stem: 'make distinct, make clear, set forth plainly; expound'. It occurs only three times: Deut 1:5 (Moses 'began to expound this law'), Deut 27:8 (write the law on the stones 'very plainly', ba'er heteb), and here.

Against the English

'Make it plain' (KJV, WEB) is accurate, but modern ears can hear it as 'simplify the wording'. The nearest parallel, Deut 27:8, is about inscription: clear, legible letters on a public surface. BSB's 'clearly inscribe' brings this out.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 27:8 shows the phrase belongs to public inscription, like royal steles across the ancient Near East, which displayed decrees in carved letters for all to see. The Septuagint uses saphōs, 'clearly'. The Vulgate has explana, 'set it out plainly'.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 1:5 בֵּאֵ֛ר he made clear

    On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:

  2. Deuteronomy 27:8 בַּאֵ֥ר surely clearly

    And you shall write distinctly upon these stones all the words of this law.”

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:2 וּבָאֵ֖ר and make [it] clear

    Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.

    Here: Inscribe it legibly and distinctly. The same verb is used for writing the law on plastered stones 'very plainly' (Deut 27:8). The point is clear, readable lettering, though the verb can also mean 'explain' (Deut 1:5).

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