בָּעַר
𐤁𐤏𐤓
bâʻar
H1197 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To burn, consume by fire, kindle; by extension, to destroy by burning or make waste through fire. In certain contexts, to behave in a dull, uncomprehending, or brutish manner (as an unrelated denominative sense).
Semantic Range
to burn, to consume (by fire), to kindle (a fire), to destroy or waste (by burning), to devour (by fire or by eating), to remove by burning; to act in a dull, brute, or uncomprehending manner (rare, denominative)
Root / Etymology
From the root בער (ב-ע-ר), which at its base means 'to burn' or 'to consume' (by fire). The denominative sense meaning 'to act brutishly' likely derives by folk etymology or semantic development, possibly by association with the noun בַּעַר (baʻar, 'brute' or 'beast').
Historical & Contextual Notes
In early biblical Hebrew, בער most often refers to the literal act of burning—whether burning sacrifices, consuming objects with fire, or purging through fire (as in the removal of leaven during the Festival of Unleavened Bread, Exod 12:15). It can also refer, less literally, to consuming by eating (notably by cattle or fire, with context marking the difference). The verb can appear in contexts relating to destruction through fire (such as cities or idols), and by extension to general acts of wasting or removing. The denominative sense 'to act brutishly' occurs in poetic or wisdom contexts (e.g., Ps 73:22; Ps 49:11), expressing dull-mindedness or ignorance, often with a moral or intellectual connotation. English translations sometimes capture the burning sense but may not always communicate the nuances of waste, devouring, or the rarely used sense of brutish behavior, which is context-specific. Over time, the physical 'burn/consume' sense remains primary in most biblical texts, while the 'brutish' sense is limited to wisdom/poetic genres and may be influenced by or conflated with neighboring lexemes.
Translation Consistency
'Burn' is the most natural and frequent rendering for H1197 and covers the primary senses (to burn, consume by fire, kindle, destroy/waste by fire, devour). It matches the majority of attested English renderings (burn/burned/burning) and can be inflected to express tense/voice. The rare denominative sense 'brutish' is exceptional and should be handled per-context rather than as the core verb.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; also as denominative from בַּעַר; to kindle, i.e. consume (by fire or by eating); to be(-come) brutish; be brutish, bring (put, take) away, burn, (cause to) eat (up), feed, heat, kindle, set (on fire), waste.
Bantu Hebrew
| Language | Bantu Word | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bemba | pya | to be burnt/cooked | |
| Swahili | pya | to be burnt/cooked |
Root Family
בער (b-ʿ-r) — to burn, to consume, to destroy, to act brutishly
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1160 | בְּעוֹר | Beor |
| H1165 | בְּעִיר | their grazing-animal |
| H1198 | בַּעַר | beast-like senseless |
| H1199 | בָּעֲרָא | Baʿarah |
| H1200 | בְּעֵרָה | the blazing |
Word Forms
46 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1197-30 |
וּ/בִֽעַרְתָּ֥ | uviareta | HC/Vpq2ms |
you shall purge | and you burned away | and you shall purge | 10 |
H1197-11 |
בֹּעֵ֣ר | boer | HVqrmsa |
was burning | burning | burning | 6 |
H1197-16 |
לְ/בָ֣עֵֽר | levaer | HR/Vpc |
to-burn | to burn up | to burn up | 6 |
H1197-26 |
תִבְעַר | tivear | HVqi3fs |
will burn | she will burn | it will burn | 5 |
H1197-35 |
וַ/תִּבְעַר | vativear | HC/Vqw3fs |
and burned | and she burned | and it burned | 5 |
H1197-02 |
בָּעֲר֣וּ | baaru | HVqp3cp |
burned | they burned | they burned | 4 |
H1197-28 |
וּ/בָעֲרָ֗ה | uvaarah | HC/Vqq3fs |
and burn | and she burned | and it will burn | 4 |
H1197-45 |
יִבְעַ֥ר | yivear | HVqi3ms |
burn up | he burns | he burns | 3 |
H1197-36 |
וַ/יַּבְעֶר | vayaveer | HC/Vhw3ms |
and he burned | and he set ablaze | and he set ablaze | 3 |
H1197-31 |
וּ/בִעַרְתִּ֥י | uviareti | HC/Vpq1cs |
and destroy | and I burned up | and I burned up | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
94 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1197-11 |
Exodus 3:2 | בֹּעֵ֣ר | boer | HVqrmsa |
was burning | burning | burning |
H1197-45 |
Exodus 3:3 | יִבְעַ֥ר | yivear | HVqi3ms |
burn up | he burns | he burns |
H1197-42 |
Exodus 22:4 | יַבְעֶר | yaveer | HVhi3ms |
he grazes | he will cause to burn | he grazes |
H1197-33 |
Exodus 22:4 | וּ/בִעֵ֖ר | uvier | HC/Vpq3ms |
and it grazes | and he burned up | and it grazes |
H1197-14 |
Exodus 22:5 | הַ/מַּבְעִ֖ר | hamaveir | HTd/Vhrmsa |
the one who starts | the one who kindles | the one who kindles |
H1197-24 |
Exodus 35:3 | תְבַעֲר֣וּ | tevaaru | HVpi2mp |
kindle | you will burn up | you shall kindle |
H1197-33 |
Leviticus 6:5 | וּ/בִעֵ֨ר | uvier | HC/Vpq3ms |
and-he-shall-burn | and he burned up | and he shall burn |
H1197-35 |
Numbers 11:1 | וַ/תִּבְעַר | vativear | HC/Vqw3fs |
and it burned | and she burned | and it burned |
H1197-34 |
Numbers 11:3 | בָעֲרָ֥ה | vaarah | HVqp3fs |
it burned | she burned | she burned |
H1197-16 |
Numbers 24:22 | לְ/בָ֣עֵֽר | levaer | HR/Vpc |
for-burning | to burn up | to burn up |