Lexical Summary para: To bear fruit, be fruitful, increase Original Word: פָרָא Strong's Exhaustive Concordance be fruitful A primitive root; to bear fruit -- be fruitful. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originthe same as parah, q.v. Brown-Driver-Briggs I. פרא see Hiph`il Imperfect יַפְרִיא below פרה. II. פרא (√ of foll.; JenCosmol. 110 compare Talmud פרא run; Arabic Topical Lexicon Occurrence and Literary Setting The term appears once, in Hosea 13:15. The prophet addresses Ephraim—representative of the Northern Kingdom—at the brink of Assyrian exile. The single verb pictures Ephraim “flourishing among his brothers,” yet the very next breath announces the arrival of “an east wind … the wind of the LORD rising from the desert,” which will shrivel every sign of life. Fruitfulness Versus False Security Hosea uses the image of fruit-bearing to expose the difference between covenant blessing and mere outward prosperity. Israel had enjoyed material increase (Hosea 10:1) but had severed that abundance from its Giver. In Hosea 13:15 the verb’s positive sense (“flourishes”) is immediately undercut: the harvest is real enough, yet it will not survive the scorching wind of judgment. Scripture thus warns that productivity detached from obedience is fleeting (compare Deuteronomy 28:40; Psalm 1:3-4). Judgment Imagery: The East Wind The “east wind” (qādîm) evokes the hot, dry sirocco that crosses the Jordan valley, blasting crops and wells alike. In prophetic literature it frequently symbolizes God-commissioned armies (Isaiah 27:8; Jeremiah 18:17). Hosea 13:15 blends agricultural devastation with military plunder: “Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—the wind of the LORD rising from the desert—Then his spring will fail and his well will run dry. The enemy will plunder the treasury of every precious article.” (Berean Standard Bible) Historical Backdrop Eighth-century Israel enjoyed economic expansion under Jeroboam II, yet idolatry, political intrigue, and social injustice eroded the nation’s foundation. Hosea’s contemporaries mistook prosperity for divine approval. The lone occurrence of this verb stands as a prophetic snapshot: Israel at its peak, moments before collapse. Covenant Echoes 1. Edenic mandate: humanity was commissioned to “be fruitful” (Genesis 1:28). Israel’s calling was to display that blessed fruitfulness within a redeemed society. Christological Reflection The prophets’ exposure of fruitless Israel anticipates the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ as the true and lasting source of fruitfulness: “I am the vine; you are the branches … apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Where Israel failed, Christ fulfills; where judgment dried the wells, living water now flows (John 4:14). Practical Ministry Application • Discernment: External growth—whether numerical, financial, or tactical—must be weighed against genuine covenant faithfulness. Related Biblical Themes Fruitfulness and barrenness – Genesis 1:28; Psalm 128:3; Luke 13:6-9 The east wind of judgment – Exodus 10:13; Jonah 4:8 Covenant blessings and curses – Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28 True versus false prosperity – Jeremiah 12:1-2; Revelation 3:17-18 Forms and Transliterations יַפְרִ֑יא יפריא yafRi yap̄·rî yap̄rîLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Hosea 13:15 HEB: בֵּ֥ן אַחִ֖ים יַפְרִ֑יא יָב֣וֹא קָדִים֩ KJV: Though he be fruitful among [his] brethren, INT: among among brethren he be fruitful will come an east 1 Occurrence |
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wild ass, HomNS 123; Assyrian parû, mule (wild ass is purîmu)).