1865. deror
Lexical Summary
deror: release, liberty, flowing

Original Word: דְּרוֹר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: drowr
Pronunciation: deh-rohr'
Phonetic Spelling: (der-ore')
KJV: liberty, pure
NASB: release, liberty, flowing
Word Origin: [from an unused root (meaning to move rapidly)]

1. freedom
2. (hence) spontaneity of outflow, and so clear

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
liberty, pure

From an unused root (meaning to move rapidly); freedom; hence, spontaneity of outflow, and so clear -- liberty, pure.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a flowing, free run, liberty
NASB Translation
flowing (1), liberty (2), release (5).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. דְּרוֺר noun [masculine] a flowing; free run, liberty; —

1 מָרדְּֿרוֺר Exodus 30:23 (P) i.e. myrrh of flowing, fine-flowing myrrh compare מֹר & Di.

2 with קרא proclaim liberty, וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֺר בָּאָרֶץ לְכָליֿשְׁבֶ֑יהָ Leviticus 25:10 (H) in Jubilee year, compare Isaiah 61:1 ("" מְּקַחקֿוֺחַ); Jeremiah 34:8,15,17 all reference to liberty of Sabbatical year; Jeremiah 34:17 (iron.) lo ! I proclaim to you liberty unto the sword, unto pestilence & unto famine, i.e. liberty to be destroyed by sword, pestilence and famine, (a judgment of Yahweh); ׳שְׁנַתהַֿדּ Ezekiel 46:17 i.e. year of Jubilee (cf Leviticus 25:10).

Topical Lexicon
Core Concept and Range of Meaning

דְּרוֹר combines the notions of unrestrained flow and unrestricted release. The term can describe a free-running liquid (Exodus 30:23) or the proclamation of liberty for persons and land (Leviticus 25:10). In every setting it points to something that is no longer confined—whether perfume, property, or people.

Deror in the Worship of Israel (Exodus 30:23)

The first appearance belongs to the recipe for the sacred anointing oil: “Take the finest spices: five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh …” (Exodus 30:23). The “liquid” (deror) myrrh is not a thick resin but a freely flowing sap, fitting for an oil that symbolized the unhindered presence of the Lord among His people. The fluidity of the myrrh anticipates the later, fuller sense of the word—God’s desire that His blessing, like the oil, move without obstruction.

Jubilee: National Reset and Social Mercy (Leviticus 25:10)

The heart of the Old Testament doctrine of liberty is the Jubilee: “Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants” (Leviticus 25:10). By divine decree slaves were released, debts cancelled, and hereditary lands restored. Deror here:

• Restored covenant equality—no Israelite remained permanently enslaved.
• Prevented generational poverty—inheritances reverted to original families.
• Reinforced Sabbath rhythms—Jubilee climaxed seven cycles of sabbatical years, weaving rest and release into the national calendar.

Messianic Fulfilment (Isaiah 61:1)

Isaiah’s Servant announces, “He has sent Me … to proclaim liberty to the captives” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus read this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth and declared, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled” (Luke 4:21). The Jubilee principle thus expands from land and labor to the deepest captivity—bondage to sin and death. Christ, anointed by the Spirit, embodies the flowing myrrh of Exodus and the liberty of Leviticus, bringing both healing fragrance and emancipation.

Covenant Failure and Divine Judgment (Jeremiah 34:8-17)

During the Babylonian siege King Zedekiah covenanted with the people “to proclaim freedom (deror) for them” (Jeremiah 34:8). Initially the slaves were released, but the rulers “changed their minds and took back the men and women they had freed” (34:11). The Lord responds, “You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming liberty, each one to his brother … therefore I now proclaim liberty to you—liberty to the sword, to plague, and to famine” (34:17). The repeated deror in verse 17 underscores irony: despising God-given liberty turns liberty into a sentence of judgment. The episode proves that Jubilee was meant to be practiced, not merely admired.

Ezekiel’s Year of Liberty (Ezekiel 46:17)

Under the future prince, property given to servants is theirs “until the year of liberty, then it shall revert to the prince” (Ezekiel 46:17). The prophetic vision preserves Jubilee structures for the restored worship of the millennial age, confirming that God’s principles of ownership and release remain integral to His kingdom order.

Theological Trajectory

1. Redemption: Deror ties physical emancipation to the greater exodus accomplished by Christ (John 8:36).
2. Rest: Jubilee restates Sabbath ideals, prefiguring the believer’s rest in the finished work of Jesus (Hebrews 4:9-10).
3. Restoration: Liberty brings people and land back to their ordained purposes, mirroring the new creation where everything is reconciled in Christ (Colossians 1:20).

Ministry Applications

• Proclaim freedom from sin’s debt through the gospel, reflecting Isaiah 61.
• Model economic and relational mercy—release others from obligations we hold.
• Cultivate Sabbath disciplines that embody trust in God’s provision.
• Advocate for justice that honors the image of God in every person, avoiding Jeremiah’s sin of retracting liberty once granted.
• Offer lives of “free-flowing” worship, unhindered by self-interest, like the deror myrrh poured out in the sanctuary.

Summary

Deror threads through Scripture as a liturgical fragrance, a social safeguard, a prophetic promise, a warning for covenant breakers, and finally a Christ-fulfilled reality. Wherever it appears, it calls God’s people to experience and extend true freedom—liberty that flows from the holy presence of the Lord and culminates in the eternal Jubilee of the redeemed.

Forms and Transliterations
דְּר֔וֹר דְּר֛וֹר דְּר֜וֹר דְּרֽוֹר׃ דְּרוֹר֙ דְר֔וֹר דְר֖וֹר דרור דרור׃ הַדְּר֔וֹר הדרור də·rō·wr ḏə·rō·wr derOr dərōwr ḏərōwr had·də·rō·wr haddeRor haddərōwr
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 30:23
HEB: רֹאשׁ֒ מָר־ דְּרוֹר֙ חֲמֵ֣שׁ מֵא֔וֹת
NAS: of spices: of flowing myrrh
KJV: spices, of pure myrrh
INT: the finest myrrh of flowing five hundred

Leviticus 25:10
HEB: שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכָל־
NAS: and proclaim a release through the land
KJV: and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land
INT: year and proclaim A release the land to all

Isaiah 61:1
HEB: לִקְרֹ֤א לִשְׁבוּיִם֙ דְּר֔וֹר וְלַאֲסוּרִ֖ים פְּקַח־
NAS: To proclaim liberty to captives
KJV: to proclaim liberty to the captives,
INT: to proclaim to captives liberty to prisoners and freedom

Jeremiah 34:8
HEB: לִקְרֹ֥א לָהֶ֖ם דְּרֽוֹר׃
NAS: to proclaim release to them:
KJV: to proclaim liberty unto them;
INT: to proclaim like release

Jeremiah 34:15
HEB: בְּעֵינַ֔י לִקְרֹ֥א דְר֖וֹר אִ֣ישׁ לְרֵעֵ֑הוּ
NAS: proclaiming release to his neighbor,
KJV: in proclaiming liberty every man
INT: my sight proclaiming release each to his neighbor

Jeremiah 34:17
HEB: אֵלַ֔י לִקְרֹ֣א דְר֔וֹר אִ֥ישׁ לְאָחִ֖יו
NAS: Me in proclaiming release each
KJV: unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one
INT: about proclaiming release each to his brother

Jeremiah 34:17
HEB: קֹרֵא֩ לָכֶ֨ם דְּר֜וֹר נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֗ה
NAS: I am proclaiming a release to you,' declares
KJV: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith
INT: behold I am proclaiming A release declares the LORD

Ezekiel 46:17
HEB: עַד־ שְׁנַ֣ת הַדְּר֔וֹר וְשָׁבַ֖ת לַנָּשִׂ֑יא
NAS: the year of liberty; then it shall return
KJV: then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return
INT: shall be his until the year of liberty shall return to the prince

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1865
8 Occurrences


də·rō·wr — 7 Occ.
had·də·rō·wr — 1 Occ.

1864
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