יָעוֹר
𐤉𐤏𐤅𐤓
yâʻôwr
H3264
SILEX Entry
Definition
A tract of woodland featuring dense growth of trees and underbrush; a forested area. The term designates a natural forest or thicket, often implying wildness or untamed land, and can include both large wooded regions and smaller groves. In some contexts it may overlap with the idea of a wooded habitat, but the primary sense remains that of an extensive forest.
Semantic Range
forest, wooded area, thicket, grove; wild, uncultivated woodland
Root / Etymology
From the root עוּר (ʿ-w-r), meaning 'to be awake, aroused, stirred'. The noun form here is uncertainly derived, possibly originally connoting a 'thicket' as a place where wild animals are stirred up. Note: The word appears to be a variant or regional form of the more common יַעַר (ya'ar), 'forest, woodland'.
Historical & Contextual Notes
יָעוֹר occurs infrequently and only in certain textual traditions, possibly reflecting dialectal usage or scribal variation when compared to the dominant יַעַר for 'forest'. In biblical contexts, forests or wooded tracts are typically associated with wildness, uncultivated land, and sometimes with danger or the presence of wild animals. In ancient Israelite geography, dense forests such as those of Lebanon were distinct from settled, agricultural regions. Later Hebrew uses יער almost exclusively for 'forest', making יָעוֹר an archaic or rare form. Unlike some English translations that render multiple words relating to trees/woods with 'forest', biblical Hebrew distinguishes between more open woodland (חָרְשָׁה, ḥorshah) and dense forest (יַעַר, יָעוֹר).
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a variation of יַעֲרֶשְׁיָה; a forest; wood.
Bantu Hebrew
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Occurrences in Scripture
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