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עֲרִירִי

𐤏𐤓𐤉𐤓𐤉

ʻărîyrîy

H6185 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root ערר to strip, to lay bare, to make destitute

Definition

Lacking offspring or descendants; childless. The term primarily denotes an individual (male or female) who has no children to succeed them, with the focus both on the absence of progeny and its resulting vulnerability or isolation. It can also extend metaphorically to being bereft or destitute, especially of posterity or hope.

Semantic Range

childless, bereft of offspring, lacking descendants, destitute (especially of children or posterity), left without heirs, existentially bereft

Root / Etymology

The word עֲרִירִי derives from the root עָרַר (ʻ-r-r), meaning 'to strip, make bare, lay waste.' The form עֲרִירִי is an adjective that expresses the state of having been rendered 'bare' of children or heirs. The semantic development reflects a movement from the physical sense ('stripped, made bare') to the existential or familial ('bereft of descendants, childless').

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, עֲרִירִי is a relatively rare term, appearing in texts such as Jeremiah 22:30 and Genesis 15:2. It emphasizes the lack of descendants, typically in contexts of lament or pronouncement of fate, highlighting existential vulnerability or the fear of oblivion due to childlessness—a significant concern in ancient Israelite society. Its nuance differs from related terms like עֲקָרָה‎ (ʻăqārāh, 'barren woman'), which focuses on biological infertility (usually of a woman), whereas עֲרִירִי can refer to men or women who are left without heirs, whether due to infertility, the death of children, or lack of progeny for other reasons. English translations often use 'childless' or 'destitute,' but these sometimes understate the cultural weight of legacy loss implied by the term in its original context. The word does not carry overtly pejorative connotations; rather, it evokes a state of deprivation or social vulnerability in a kinship-based society.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from עָרַר; bare, i.e. destitute (of children); childless.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ערר (ʿ-r-r) — to strip, lay bare, make destitute

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H6176 עֲרוֹעֵר like a barren shrub
H6177 עֲרוֹעֵר Exposed-Region
H6199 עַרעָר the bare desert-shrub
H6209 עָרַר utterly strip bare

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6185-02 עֲרִירִ֥ים aririm HAampa childless stripped-of-sons men 2
H6185-01 עֲרִירִ֑י ariri HAamsa childless stripped-of-heirs 2

Occurrences in Scripture

4 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6185-01 Genesis 15:2 עֲרִירִ֑י ariri HAamsa childless stripped-of-heirs
H6185-02 Leviticus 20:20 עֲרִירִ֥ים aririm HAampa childless stripped-of-sons men
H6185-02 Leviticus 20:21 עֲרִירִ֥ים aririm HAampa childless stripped-of-sons men
H6185-01 Jeremiah 22:30 עֲרִירִ֔י ariri HAamsa childless stripped-of-heirs
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