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צָרַע

𐤑𐤓𐤏

tsâraʻ

H6879 verb

SILEX Entry

Root צָרַע to be afflicted with a skin disease, to show signs of affliction

Definition

To be afflicted with a specific skin disease characterized by visible lesions, discoloration, or eruptions; intransitively, to develop or exhibit symptoms of this condition; used chiefly of a disease that affects the skin or sometimes objects, resulting in ritual impurity. The verb refers to the onset or presentation of the disease state, not to the infliction or cause by outside agents.

Semantic Range

to become diseased (with tzaraʿat), to show signs of ritual skin affliction, to be rendered ritually impure by an affliction, to exhibit symptoms on skin, objects, or structures

Root / Etymology

Root: צרע. The root core meaning is uncertain, as the word appears only in contexts relating to a specific type of skin disease described in priestly legislation. There is no clear evidence of a related root outside these contexts. The verb derives directly from the root and is primarily used in Niphal (simple passive) and other reflexive stems to indicate entering a diseased or afflicted state.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, צָרַע is used specifically with reference to the skin disease known in biblical legislation as 'tzaraʿat,' often rendered as 'leprosy' in English translations. However, modern scholarship agrees that biblical tzaraʿat does not correspond to Hansen’s disease, the illness now called leprosy. Rather, it was a category of afflictions involving visible skin changes or discolorations and could also apply to mold or mildew on clothing and building materials. The verb’s primary use is in priestly or ritual contexts where being stricken with tzaraʿat results in ritual impurity and exclusion from community or cultic participation until purification. English translations influenced by the KJV render individuals as 'lepers,' but this may mislead as to the actual medical condition described. The verb frequently occurs in the Pentateuch, especially in Leviticus and Numbers, and less frequently in narrative or poetic texts. There is no evidence of the term’s use to describe general illness, scourging, or punitive affliction outside these ritual-legal contexts. In later Hebrew, forms of the root retained similar meaning restricted to ritual skin afflictions.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to scourge, i.e. (intransitive and figurative) to be stricken with leprosy; leper, leprous.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

צרע (ṣ-r-ʿ) — skin affliction, diseased state, ritual skin impurity

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H6871 צְרוּעָה skin-diseased woman
H6880 צִרְעָה the hornet
H6881 צׇרְעָה from Tsorʻâh
H6882 צׇרְעִי the Tsorahite
H6883 צָרַעַת the struck-affliction

Word Forms

9 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6879-04 מְצֹרָֽע metsora HVPsmsa a leper skin-diseased one 7
H6879-05 מְצֹרַ֥עַת metsoraat HVPsfsa leprous skin-diseased 3
H6879-07 צָר֥וּעַ tsarua HVqsmsa is leprous skin-diseased one 3
H6879-01 הַ/מְּצֹרָ֔ע hametsora HTd/VPsmsa of the leper the skin-diseased one 2
H6879-02 הַֽ/מְצֹרָעִ֨ים hametsoraim HTd/VPsmpa the lepers the skin-disease-afflicted ones 1
H6879-03 הַ/צָּרֽוּעַ hatsarua HTd/Vqsmsa the leper the skin-diseased one 1
H6879-08 וּ/מְצֹרָ֞ע umetsora HC/VPsmsa or who is leprous skin-diseased one 1
H6879-06 מְצֹרָעִ֖ים metsoraim HVPsmpa lepers skin-disease–afflicted ones 1
H6879-09 וְ/הַ/צָּר֜וּעַ vehatsarua HC/Td/Vqsmsa and-the-leper the skin-diseased one 1

Occurrences in Scripture

20 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6879-05 Exodus 4:6 מְצֹרַ֥עַת metsoraat HVPsfsa was leprous skin-diseased
H6879-07 Leviticus 13:44 צָר֥וּעַ tsarua HVqsmsa leprous skin-diseased one
H6879-09 Leviticus 13:45 וְ/הַ/צָּר֜וּעַ vehatsarua HC/Td/Vqsmsa and-the-leper the skin-diseased one
H6879-01 Leviticus 14:2 הַ/מְּצֹרָ֔ע hametsora HTd/VPsmsa of the leper the skin-diseased one
H6879-03 Leviticus 14:3 הַ/צָּרֽוּעַ hatsarua HTd/Vqsmsa the leper the skin-diseased one
H6879-07 Leviticus 22:4 צָר֨וּעַ֙ tsarua HVqsmsa is leprous skin-diseased one
H6879-07 Numbers 5:2 צָר֖וּעַ tsarua HVqsmsa leprous one skin-diseased one
H6879-05 Numbers 12:10 מְצֹרַ֣עַת metsoraat HVPsfsa leprous skin-diseased
H6879-05 Numbers 12:10 מְצֹרָֽעַת metsoraat-2 HVPsfsa leprous skin-diseased
H6879-08 2 Samuel 3:29 וּ/מְצֹרָ֞ע umetsora HC/VPsmsa or who is leprous skin-diseased one
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