6473. paar

Lexical Summary

paar: To open wide, to gape

Original Word: פָעַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: pa`ar
Pronunciation: pah-ahr
Phonetic Spelling: (paw-ar')
KJV: gape, open (wide)
NASB: opened, gaped, opened my wide
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to yawn, i.e. open wide (literally or figuratively)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

gape, open wide

A primitive root; to yawn, i.e. Open wide (literally or figuratively) -- gape, open (wide).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to open wide (the mouth)
NASB Translation
gaped (1), opened (2), opened my wide (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[מָּעַר] verb open wide (the mouth) (Late Hebrew rarely = Biblical Hebrew, usually open bowels, go to stool; compare Jewish-Aramaic מְּעַר; Arabic and Syriac = Biblical Hebrew, chasm); —

Qal Perfect of voracious greed, figurative 3feminine singular וּפָֽעֲרָה מִּיהָ Isaiah 5:14 (of Sheôl), 3 plural מָּֽעֲרוּ עָלַי בְּפִיהֶם (Ges^{§ 119q}) Job 16:10; of eager desire (good sense), מִּיהֶם מָּֽעֲרוּ Job 29:23, מִּיפָֿעַרְתִּי Psalm 119:131.

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 6473 (פָעַר, paʿar) conveys the vivid act of opening wide, most frequently of the mouth. The metaphor of an opened mouth spans positive scenes of eager reception and negative scenes of hostility and judgment, threading a single Hebrew verb through strikingly diverse theological contexts.

Semantic Range and Imagery

1. Eager inhalation – panting, thirsting, or receiving with delight.
2. Aggressive gaping – the hostile, predatory opening of an enemy’s mouth.
3. Eschatological consumption – Sheol personified as an insatiable maw.

All three nuances share the notion of an unrestrained capacity, whether for blessing or for destruction.

Occurrences and Contextual Analysis

Job 16:10 shows paʿar in the language of persecution: “They open their mouths against me…”. The imagery heightens Job’s isolation as the righteous sufferer.

Job 29:23 recalls the golden days of Job’s ministry: his hearers “opened their mouths” for his counsel as parched ground for showers. The verb turns from violence to receptive hunger, illustrating wisdom’s refreshing power.

Psalm 119:131 transposes the same posture into worship: “I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments.” Intense desire for God’s word replaces desire for physical water, highlighting Scripture’s life-giving sufficiency.

Isaiah 5:14 universalizes the verb in cosmic judgment: “Therefore Sheol … opens wide its mouth beyond measure.” In prophetic poetry the grave becomes a monster whose gaping mouth swallows the proud nation. The verb serves as a terrifying counter-image to the psalmist’s holy hunger.

Symbolic Dimensions

1. Thirst for Revelation (Job 29:23; Psalm 119:131) – paʿar depicts souls stretching themselves to receive divine instruction.
2. Corporate Hostility (Job 16:10) – open mouths represent collective contempt toward the righteous, foreshadowing the Messiah’s rejection (compare Matthew 27:39).
3. Irreversible Judgment (Isaiah 5:14) – the grave’s wide mouth signifies the inescapable consequence of sin when repentance is refused.

Theological Themes

• The same human faculty—the mouth—can drink life-giving truth or spew violence. Scripture uses paʿar to reveal the moral polarity of speech and desire (James 3:9-11).
• God graciously satisfies holy longing (Psalm 119:131), yet He also answers obstinate pride with comprehensive judgment (Isaiah 5:14). The verb therefore bridges divine mercy and justice without contradiction.
• Through Job’s experience the verb anticipates the suffering Servant whose oppressors “gaped upon Me with their mouths” (Psalm 22:13, same imagery), pointing forward to Calvary’s climactic fulfillment.

Christological and Eschatological Connections

The open mouth of Sheol in Isaiah anticipates the New Testament’s depiction of “death and Hades” ultimately cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). Christ’s resurrection seals victory over the devouring grave, reversing the action of paʿar and shutting the mouth of death for all who believe (2 Timothy 1:10). Conversely, Pentecost provides a sanctified counterpart: opened mouths now proclaim “the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11), indicating redeemed speech and appetite.

Application for Preaching and Teaching

• Encourage believers to cultivate the psalmist’s posture—mouths wide open for the Word—anticipating the Spirit’s rain.
• Warn against verbal aggression and mockery, which align one with Job’s persecutors rather than with Christ.
• Use Isaiah 5:14 to demonstrate that sin’s appetite for self-gratification ends in being consumed; only Christ satisfies the deepest hunger.
• Highlight the missionary impulse: redeemed mouths once opened in hostility now open in proclamation (Romans 10:14).

Devotional Reflection

Pray that every opening of one’s mouth mirrors Psalm 119:131—urgent, expectant, and directed toward God. When confronted with injustice or opposition, remember Job 16 and entrust vindication to the Lord. Finally, rejoice that the grave which once opened wide has been conquered by the risen Christ, guaranteeing that the mouth of death will finally be shut forever.

Forms and Transliterations

וּפָעֲרָ֥ה ופערה פָ֭עַרְתִּי פָּעֲר֥וּ פָּעֲר֬וּ פערו פערתי Faarti p̄ā‘artî pā‘ărū pā·‘ă·rū p̄ā·‘ar·tî paaRu ū·p̄ā·‘ă·rāh ufaaRah ūp̄ā‘ărāh

Englishman's Concordance

Job 16:10
HEB: פָּעֲר֬וּ עָלַ֨י ׀ בְּפִיהֶ֗ם
NAS: They have gaped at me with their mouth,
KJV: They have gaped upon me with their mouth;
INT: have gaped against their mouth

Job 29:23
HEB: לִ֑י וּ֝פִיהֶ֗ם פָּעֲר֥וּ לְמַלְקֽוֹשׁ׃
NAS: for me as for the rain, And opened their mouth
KJV: for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth
INT: the rain their mouth and opened the spring

Psalm 119:131
HEB: פִּֽי־ פָ֭עַרְתִּי וָאֶשְׁאָ֑פָה כִּ֖י
NAS: I opened my mouth wide
KJV: I opened my mouth, and panted:
INT: my mouth opened and panted for

Isaiah 5:14
HEB: שְּׁאוֹל֙ נַפְשָׁ֔הּ וּפָעֲרָ֥ה פִ֖יהָ לִבְלִי־
NAS: its throat and opened its mouth
KJV: herself, and opened her mouth
INT: Sheol throat and opened mouth without

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6473
4 Occurrences

p̄ā·‘ar·tî — 1 Occ.
pā·‘ă·rū — 2 Occ.
ū·p̄ā·‘ă·rāh — 1 Occ.