עָרַר
𐤏𐤓𐤓
ʻârar
H6209 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To strip bare, to make exposed, to remove covering (whether literal clothing, vegetation, or security); in extended use, to lay waste, devastate, or expose to vulnerability. In figurative or poetic contexts, often refers to the act of making something defenseless, ruined, or desolate.
Semantic Range
to make bare, to strip naked, to expose (land, person, tree), to lay waste, to devastate, to make defenseless, to uncover
Root / Etymology
From the root ערר, which denotes the sense of bareness or exposure. The verb עָרַר directly derives from this root, expressing the causative idea of causing to be bare or making exposed.
Historical & Contextual Notes
עָרַר appears primarily in poetic and prophetic texts to describe the removal of covering, protection, or fertility. This can refer to literal bareness (e.g., unclothing, stripping a tree of leaves or fruit, exposing ground) or metaphorical devastation (e.g., laying a city or land open to destruction). In later periods, such as post-exilic literature, its usage is more rare and tends to overlap with themes of judgment or curse. The root is distinct from similar-sounding roots such as ערה (to empty or pour out), though both share conceptual links in terms of removal or exposure. English translations sometimes conflate עָרַר (to lay bare) with 'raze' (meaning to tear down), especially in the KJV and some other traditions, but 'raze' more properly comes from another root (רָזַז or רָזָה), and the correspondence in Strong's is likely due to confusion at the time. Later translation tradition, particularly during the medieval and Reformation periods, often struggles to render the nuance of making 'bare' versus 'destroyed.' Its use in curses (e.g., arur, 'cursed is…') is derived from a different, though related, root.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to bare; figuratively, to demolish; make bare, break, raise up (perhaps by clerical error for raze), [idiom] utterly.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
ערר (Aroer) — to bare, strip, make destitute
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H6176 | עֲרוֹעֵר | like a barren shrub |
| H6177 | עֲרוֹעֵר | Exposed-Region |
| H6185 | עֲרִירִי | stripped-of-heirs |
| H6199 | עַרעָר | the bare desert-shrub |
Word Forms
4 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6209-01 |
עַרְעֵ֣ר | areer | HVla |
utterly overthrown | utterly strip bare | utterly strip bare | 1 |
H6209-02 |
עֹרְרוּ֙ | oreru | HVmp3cp |
they-stripped | they stripped bare | they stripped bare | 1 |
H6209-03 |
תִּתְעַרְעָ֔ר | titearear | HVfi3fs |
shall be overthrown | she will lay herself bare | it will lay itself bare | 1 |
H6209-04 |
וְ/עֹ֔רָה | veorah | HC/Vqv2fp |
and make yourselves bare | and strip bare | and strip bare | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
4 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6209-02 |
Isaiah 23:13 | עֹרְרוּ֙ | oreru | HVmp3cp |
they-stripped | they stripped bare | they stripped bare |
H6209-04 |
Isaiah 32:11 | וְ/עֹ֔רָה | veorah | HC/Vqv2fp |
and make yourselves bare | and strip bare | and strip bare |
H6209-01 |
Jeremiah 51:58 | עַרְעֵ֣ר | areer | HVla |
utterly overthrown | utterly strip bare | utterly strip bare |
H6209-03 |
Jeremiah 51:58 | תִּתְעַרְעָ֔ר | titearear | HVfi3fs |
shall be overthrown | she will lay herself bare | it will lay itself bare |