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# אֵפֶר

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H665

**ashes** — used 22 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

ashes [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/665/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

אֵ֫פֶר: ashes [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/665/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** n.\[m.\] ashes (as light, flying?)—א׳ abs. Gn 18:27 +; cstr. Nu 19:9, 10—ashes of red heifer, used in purifications Nu 19:9, 10; on head, as sign of humiliation 2 S 13:19; contrition Dn 9:3 (‖ צוֹם, שַׂק), Jon 3:6 (‖ שַׂק) cf. Jb 42:6 (עָפָר וא׳), Is 58:5 (‖ שַׂק); mourning Est 4:1, 3 (‖ שַׂק) cf. Jb 2:8 (ישׁב בתוך הא׳), Je 6:26 (‖ שַׂק), Ez 27:30 (‖ עפר); in sim. scattereth hoarfrost כָּא׳ ψ 147:16; but also as filthy, loathsome כעפר וא׳ Jb 30:19 (Di sim. of mourning, grief), as worthless, מִשְׁלֵי א׳ Jb 13:12 proverbs of ashes; fig. of worthlessness Is 44:20; insignificance עפר וא׳ Gn 18:27; ignominy Ez 28:18 Mal 3:21; distress & sorrow א׳ כַּלֶּחֶם אָכָ֑לְתִּי ψ 102:10 (so Assyrian cf. ZimBP 42) cf. La 3:16 Is 61:3 (פְּאֵר תַּחַת אֵפֶר).

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 22 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (5 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (3 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: ash\[es\] (19); the ash\[es\] (2); of ash\[es\] (1).

## In the verses

[Job 13:12](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.13.12/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.13.12/#tree)

זִֽ֭כְרֹנֵיכֶם מִשְׁלֵי־אֵ֑פֶר לְגַבֵּי־חֹ֝֗מֶר גַּבֵּיכֶֽם׃

*Word for word:* memorials your \[are\].proverbs of.ash\[es\] \[are\].(to) defenses of.clay defenses your

*JPS 1917:* Your memorials shall be like unto ashes, your eminences to eminences of clay.

[Job 42:6](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.42.6/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.42.6/#tree)

עַל־כֵּ֭ן אֶמְאַ֣ס וְנִחַ֑מְתִּי עַל־עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃פ

*Word for word:* therefore I.reject and I.repent on dust and ash\[es\]

*JPS 1917:* Wherefore I abhor my words, and repent, seeing I am dust and ashes.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/665.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/665/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).