8593. taar
Lexical Summary
taar: Razor, knife, sheath

Original Word: תַּעַר
Part of Speech: Noun
Transliteration: ta`ar
Pronunciation: tah-ar
Phonetic Spelling: (tah'-ar)
KJV: (pen-)knife, razor, scabbard, shave, sheath
NASB: sheath, razor, knife
Word Origin: [from H6168 (עָרָה - laid bare)]

1. a knife or razor (as making bare)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
penknife, razor, scabbard, shave, sheath

From arah; a knife or razor (as making bare): also a scabbard (as being bare, i.e. Empty) -- (pen-)knife, razor, scabbard, shave, sheath.

see HEBREW arah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from arah
Definition
a razor, sheath
NASB Translation
knife (1), razor (5), sheath (7).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
תַּ֫עַר noun masculinePsalm 52:4 and (Isaiah 7:20) feminine razor, sheath; —

1. a. razor, absolute ׳יְגַלַּח בְּת Isaiah 7:20 (figurative); subject of לֹא יַעֲבֹר עַלרֿאֹשׁ Numbers 6:5, object of הֶעֱבִיר עַלֿ Numbers 8:7 (P), compare construct הַגַּלָּבִים ׳ת Ezekiel 5:1; absolute מְלֻטָּשׁ ׳כְּת Psalm 52:4 (simile of tongue).

b. construct הַסֹּפֵר ׳ת Jeremiah 36:23 = penknife.

2 sheath, always suffix of sword: בְּתַעְרָהּ 2 Samuel 20:8; of drawing sword, ׳שָׁלַף מִתּ 1 Samuel 17:51, ׳הוֺצִיא מִתּ Ezekiel 21:8; Ezekiel 21:10, ׳תֵּצֵא מִתּ Ezekiel 21:9; of sheathing, הֵאָֽסְפִי אֶלתַּֿרְעֵךְ Jeremiah 47:6; הָשַׁב אֶלתַּֿעְרָהּ Ezekiel 21:35.

Topical Lexicon
Overview

Taʿar appears thirteen times across the Old Testament as the common implement of a razor or knife and, by extension, the sword and its sheath. Its contexts range from ritual purity to battlefield action and prophetic symbolism, giving the word a rich theological resonance that moves from personal consecration to national judgment.

Physical Instrument in Ancient Israel

Bronze and later iron razors were familiar tools in Israelite daily life, used for shaving hair or trimming parchment. Taʿar therefore evokes immediacy and precision; it cuts what is closest to the skin. The same edge that grooms also slays, underscoring the thin line between care and calamity in God’s dealings with His people.

Consecration and Holiness

1. Numbers 6:5 places taʿar at the heart of the Nazirite vow: “No razor shall pass over his head until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete.” Uncut hair became the public sign of wholehearted devotion.
2. Numbers 8:7 uses the razor in the Levites’ cleansing rite, symbolizing the removal of impurity before service. Shaving every hair dramatized total surrender to the Lord’s work.

By prohibiting or prescribing the razor, God marked off His servants as distinct. The physical act mirrored the internal call to holiness (Leviticus 11:44).

Weaponry and Warfare

1 Samuel 17:51 depicts David grasping Goliath’s taʿar—“he took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from its sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with it.” The same term reappears in 2 Samuel 20:8 where Joab’s sword slips from its taʿar (scabbard) and ends Amasa’s life. Thus taʿar functions as both blade and sheath, highlighting readiness for sudden action, whether righteous or treacherous. Jeremiah 47:6 personifies the Lord’s “sword” and begs it to rest, reminding readers that the ultimate wielder of every blade is God Himself.

Prophetic Symbol of Divine Judgment

Isaiah 7:20 employs “the razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria” to shave Israel bare, a humiliating sign of exile. Ezekiel intensifies the metaphor:
Ezekiel 5:1: “Take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard.”
Ezekiel 21:3-5 portrays a drawn sword that “will not return again,” cutting down both righteous and wicked. Verse 30 finally commands, “Return it to its sheath,” but only after the sentence is pronounced.

In each case taʿar embodies God’s surgical justice—precise, unavoidable, and ultimately under His control.

Metaphor for Speech

Psalm 52:2 condemns the deceitful tongue: “Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.” The vivid comparison highlights the lethal power of words. Just as taʿar exposes skin, slander slices reputations. The warning aligns with James 3:6 on the tongue’s destructive fire, reminding believers to wield speech with reverence.

Resistance to the Word

Jeremiah 36:23 recounts King Jehoiakim’s defiance: “Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the fire.” The same instrument used to prepare Scripture rolls now destroys them—yet the Lord simply tells Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll, proving the indestructibility of His word (Jeremiah 36:32).

Literary and Theological Observations

1. Duality: taʿar is both purifier and destroyer. The object itself is morally neutral; its significance lies in the hand that wields it.
2. Reversals: what consecrates the Nazirite becomes the mechanism of national disgrace; what trims parchment in the scribe’s study turns against the divine message.
3. Divine Sovereignty: whether in Nazarite law, prophetic drama, or military clash, the razor ultimately serves God’s redemptive purposes.

Applications for Ministry Today

• Consecration still demands visible distinctiveness. The Nazirite’s uncut hair challenges modern believers to maintain outward testimony to inward devotion.
• God’s Word remains “sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). Like taʿar, it discerns and divides; ministry must trust its precision rather than dull its edge.
• Speech can heal or harm. Pastoral care and personal fellowship require tongues disciplined lest they become razors of destruction.
• Judgment begins with God’s house (1 Peter 4:17). Ezekiel’s symbolic shave warns against presuming upon grace while harboring sin.

Taʿar, though a small tool, cuts a broad theological path—calling the faithful to purity, sobriety, and confidence in a Lord whose blade never misses its mark and whose mercy gladly restores all who heed His voice.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּתַ֣עַר בְּתַ֨עַר בְּתַעְרָ֔הּ בתער בתערה כְּתַ֥עַר כתער מִתַּעְרָ֑הּ מִתַּעְרָ֛הּ מִתַּעְרָהּ֙ מתערה תַ֙עַר֙ תַּ֖עַר תַּ֤עַר תַּעְרֵ֔ךְ תַּעְרָ֑הּ תער תערה תערך bə·ṯa‘·rāh bə·ṯa·‘ar bəṯa‘ar bəṯa‘rāh beTaar betaRah kə·ṯa·‘ar kəṯa‘ar keTaar mit·ta‘·rāh mitta‘rāh mittaRah ta‘·rāh ta‘·rêḵ ta‘ar ṯa‘ar ta‘rāh ta‘rêḵ ta·‘ar ṯa·‘ar Taar taRah taRech
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Numbers 6:5
HEB: נֶ֣דֶר נִזְר֔וֹ תַּ֖עַר לֹא־ יַעֲבֹ֣ר
NAS: of separation no razor shall pass over
KJV: of his separation there shall no razor come
INT: of his vow of separation razor no shall pass

Numbers 8:7
HEB: חַטָּ֑את וְהֶעֱבִ֤ירוּ תַ֙עַר֙ עַל־ כָּל־
NAS: on them, and let them use a razor over
INT: of purifying use A razor over their whole

1 Samuel 17:51
HEB: חַ֠רְבּוֹ וַֽיִּשְׁלְפָ֤הּ מִתַּעְרָהּ֙ וַיְמֹ֣תְתֵ֔הוּ וַיִּכְרָת־
NAS: and drew it out of its sheath and killed
KJV: and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew
INT: his sword and drew sheath and killed and cut

2 Samuel 20:8
HEB: עַל־ מָתְנָיו֙ בְּתַעְרָ֔הּ וְה֥וּא יָצָ֖א
NAS: with a sword in its sheath fastened
KJV: upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth
INT: and over his waist sheath he went

Psalm 52:2
HEB: תַּחְשֹׁ֣ב לְשׁוֹנֶ֑ךָ כְּתַ֥עַר מְ֝לֻטָּ֗שׁ עֹשֵׂ֥ה
NAS: Like a sharp razor, O worker
KJV: like a sharp razor, working
INT: devises your tongue razor A sharp worker

Isaiah 7:20
HEB: יְגַלַּ֣ח אֲדֹנָי֩ בְּתַ֨עַר הַשְּׂכִירָ֜ה בְּעֶבְרֵ֤י
NAS: will shave with a razor, hired
KJV: shave with a razor that is hired,
INT: will shave the Lord A razor hired regions

Jeremiah 36:23
HEB: וְאַרְבָּעָה֒ יִֽקְרָעֶ֙הָ֙ בְּתַ֣עַר הַסֹּפֵ֔ר וְהַשְׁלֵ֕ךְ
NAS: it with a scribe's knife and threw
INT: four cut knife commune and threw

Jeremiah 47:6
HEB: הֵאָֽסְפִי֙ אַל־ תַּעְרֵ֔ךְ הֵרָגְעִ֖י וָדֹֽמִּי׃
NAS: Withdraw into your sheath; Be at rest
KJV: put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest,
INT: up into your sheath rest and stay

Ezekiel 5:1
HEB: חֶ֣רֶב חַדָּ֗ה תַּ֤עַר הַגַּלָּבִים֙ תִּקָּחֶ֣נָּה
NAS: it [as] a barber's razor on your head
KJV: thee a barber's razor, and cause [it] to pass
INT: sword A sharp razor it a barber's take

Ezekiel 21:3
HEB: וְהוֹצֵאתִ֥י חַרְבִּ֖י מִתַּעְרָ֑הּ וְהִכְרַתִּ֥י מִמֵּ֖ךְ
NAS: My sword out of its sheath and cut off
KJV: my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off
INT: will draw my sword sheath and cut at

Ezekiel 21:4
HEB: תֵּצֵ֨א חַרְבִּ֧י מִתַּעְרָ֛הּ אֶל־ כָּל־
NAS: will go forth from its sheath against
KJV: go forth out of his sheath against all flesh
INT: will go my sword sheath against all

Ezekiel 21:5
HEB: הוֹצֵ֥אתִי חַרְבִּ֖י מִתַּעְרָ֑הּ לֹ֥א תָשׁ֖וּב
NAS: My sword out of its sheath. It will not return
KJV: my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return
INT: have drawn my sword sheath It will not return

Ezekiel 21:30
HEB: הָשַׁ֖ב אֶל־ תַּעְרָ֑הּ בִּמְק֧וֹם אֲשֶׁר־
NAS: Return [it] to its sheath. In the place
KJV: Shall I cause [it] to return into his sheath? I will judge
INT: Return to sheath the place where

13 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8593
13 Occurrences


bə·ṯa·‘ar — 2 Occ.
bə·ṯa‘·rāh — 1 Occ.
kə·ṯa·‘ar — 1 Occ.
mit·ta‘·rāh — 4 Occ.
ta·‘ar — 3 Occ.
ta‘·rāh — 1 Occ.
ta‘·rêḵ — 1 Occ.

8592
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