Lexical Summary riphah: Healing, cure, remedy Original Word: רִיפָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance ground corn, wheat Or riphah {ree-faw'}; from ruwph; (only plural), grits (as pounded) -- ground corn, wheat. see HEBREW ruwph NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof uncertain derivation Definition perhaps grain NASB Translation crushed grain (1), grain (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [רִיפָה] noun [feminine] dubious; some grain or fruit (such as was spread out to dry (2 Samuel), and also pounded (Proverbs); ᵑ92Samuel as if drying barley groats, ᵐ5L παλάθας cakes of preserved fruit, compare preparation of 'apricot-cheese' WetzstZPV xiv. 2 NesMarg.18, who cites also AlmkvistKl. Beltr. zur Lexicogr. des Vulgar Arabic Actes. 419); — plural absolute רִפוֺת 2 Samuel 17:19, רִיפוֺת Proverbs 27:22. Topical Lexicon Scriptural Occurrences 2 Samuel 17:19; Proverbs 27:22 Historical Context and Narrative Function In 2 Samuel 17:19 the word designates the ground grain that a woman spreads over a covering laid across the mouth of a courtyard well. Her quick thinking provides a clever camouflage for Jonathan and Ahimaaz as they flee with critical intelligence for David during Absalom’s revolt. The ordinary substance of daily sustenance becomes an instrument of divine preservation, reminding readers that God often employs the commonplace to accomplish His purposes (compare Judges 4:21; John 6:9). Illustration in Wisdom Literature Proverbs 27:22 employs the same term within a proverb of contrast: “Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him”. The imagery works on two levels. First, it highlights the stubbornness of folly—external pressure cannot transform an unregenerate heart. Second, by placing the fool in the same vessel as the grain, the text reinforces the intimate link between character and outcome: as grain becomes usable through grinding, so wisdom is meant to be embraced through discipline. The fool, however, resists that process and remains unchanged (see Proverbs 1:7; Isaiah 48:10). Thematic Connections • Refinement and Testing: The crushing of grain parallels God’s refining work in His people (Psalm 66:10; Malachi 3:3). Where the wise submit and are purified, the fool hardens (Proverbs 29:1). Ministry Significance 1. Spiritual Formation: Effective discipleship reaches deeper than external conformity. Prolonged “grinding” through trials or instruction cannot by itself impart wisdom; regeneration and a submissive spirit are essential (John 3:3; Romans 12:2). Canonical Reflection The dynamic of protection through ordinary means in 2 Samuel prefigures God’s ultimate safeguarding of His anointed Son (Matthew 2:13-15). The futility of external force to change a fool in Proverbs anticipates the New Covenant promise of an internal heart change wrought by the Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Thus, the two brief appearances of this word converge on a single truth: only God can turn the mundane into a vessel of salvation and the stubborn heart into fertile ground for wisdom. Forms and Transliterations הָ֭רִיפוֹת הָֽרִפ֑וֹת הריפות הרפות hā·ri·p̄ō·wṯ hā·rî·p̄ō·wṯ hariFot hārip̄ōwṯ hārîp̄ōwṯLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance 2 Samuel 17:19 HEB: וַתִּשְׁטַ֥ח עָלָ֖יו הָֽרִפ֑וֹת וְלֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖ע NAS: and scattered grain on it, so that nothing KJV: and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing INT: and scattered over grain not was known Proverbs 27:22 2 Occurrences |
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