What does טָרַף (taraph) mean in the Bible?
טָרַף (taraph): To tear or rend; causatively, to provide food—often describing God's sustenance of creation.
Hebrew · H2963
טָרַף
To pluck off or pull to pieces ; causatively to supply with food (as in morsels)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
טָרַף H2963
Pronunciation taraph
What does טָרַף (taraph) mean in the Bible?
טָרַף (taraph): To tear or rend; causatively, to provide food—often describing God's sustenance of creation.
Full entry for טָרַף (H2963) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2963?
The BSB source-word alignment has 25 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (4), tearing (2), to tear (2), [the animal] was torn to pieces (1), and maul (1).
Where does טָרַף (taraph) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 37:33. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (5), Ezekiel (4), Psalms (4), Exodus (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It . . . 4× Genesis 37:33, Genesis 44:28, Genesis 49:27, Exodus 22:13
tearing 2× Ezekiel 22:25, Ezekiel 22:27
to tear 2× Ezekiel 19:3, Ezekiel 19:6
[the animal] was torn to pieces 1× Exodus 22:13
and maul 1× Psalms 22:13
and tears 1× Micah 5:8
and tears off 1× Deuteronomy 33:20
feed me 1× Proverbs 30:8
for prey 1× Psalms 17:12
has surely been torn to pieces 1× Genesis 37:33
has torn me 1× Job 16:9
has torn us to pieces 1× Hosea 6:1
he has been torn to pieces 1× Genesis 44:28
I tear you to pieces 1× Psalms 50:22
mauled 1× Nahum 2:12
raged 1× Amos 1:11
they will shred 1× Psalms 7:2
will be torn to pieces 1× Jeremiah 5:6
will tear them to pieces 1× Hosea 5:14
You who tear 1× Job 18:4
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 37:33 טָרֹ֥ף to has surely been torn to pieces Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Genesis 37:33 טֹרַ֖ף to . . . Verb - QalPass - Perfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 44:28 טָרֹ֣ף to he has been torn to pieces Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Genesis 44:28 טֹרָ֑ף to . . . Verb - QalPass - Perfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 49:27 יִטְרָ֔ף to . . . Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Exodus 22:13 טָרֹ֥ף to [the animal] was torn to pieces Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Exodus 22:13 יִטָּרֵ֖ף to . . . Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Deuteronomy 33:20 וְטָרַ֥ף to and tears off Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Job 16:9 טָרַ֨ף׀ to has torn me Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Job 18:4 טֹֽרֵ֥ף to You who tear Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 37:33
Aligned rows 25
Books represented 12
Genesis 5 Exodus 2 Deuteronomy 1 Job 2 Psalms 4 Proverbs 1 Jeremiah 1 Ezekiel 4 Hosea 2 Amos 1 Micah 1 Nahum 1
Source forms
טָרֹ֥ף 2x ṭā·rōp̄ Genesis 37:33, Exodus 22:13
לִטְרָף־ 2x liṭ·rāp̄- Ezekiel 19:3, Ezekiel 19:6
אֶ֝טְרֹ֗ף 1x ’eṭ·rōp̄ Psalms 50:22
אֶטְרֹף֙ 1x ’eṭ·rōp̄ Hosea 5:14
הַ֝טְרִיפֵ֗נִי 1x haṭ·rî·p̄ê·nî Proverbs 30:8
וְטָרַ֥ף 1x wə·ṭā·rap̄ Deuteronomy 33:20
וְטָרַ֖ף 1x wə·ṭā·rap̄ Micah 5:8
וַיִּטְרֹ֤ף 1x way·yiṭ·rōp̄ Amos 1:11
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular 4x Job 18:4, Psalms 22:13, Ezekiel 22:25, Nahum 2:12
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct 3x Psalms 17:12, Ezekiel 19:3, Ezekiel 19:6
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute 3x Genesis 37:33, Genesis 44:28, Exodus 22:13
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 2x Deuteronomy 33:20, Micah 5:8
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Exodus 22:13, Jeremiah 5:6
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular 2x Psalms 50:22, Hosea 5:14
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Genesis 49:27, Psalms 7:2
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 2x Job 16:9, Hosea 6:1
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. To tear or rend; causatively, to provide food—often describing God's sustenance of creation.
Strong's H2963
Lexical occurrences 25 verses Word forms 4 forms 18 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Hosea 6:1-3 Source Gloss
to pluck off or pull to pieces ; causatively to supply with food (as in morsels)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
To tear or rend; causatively, to provide food—often describing God's sustenance of creation.
to pluck off or pull to pieces; causatively to supply with food (as in morsels) BDB: tear Usage: catch, × without doubt, feed, ravin, rend in pieces, × surely, tear (in pieces).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 18
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 14×
Participle active Ezek 22:25 · Ezek 22:27 · Job 18:4 · Nah 2:13 · Ps 22:14 5×
Imperfect Gen 49:27 · Ps 7:3 · Hos 5:14 · Ps 50:22 4×
Infinitive absolute Exod 22:12 · Gen 37:33 · Gen 44:28 3×
Perfect Hos 6:1 · Job 16:9 2×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 2×
Imperfect Exod 22:12 · Jer 5:6 2×
Pual intensive passive — intensive action received by the subject 1×
Perfect Gen 37:33 1×
Qal passive 1×
Perfect Gen 44:28 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
to tear
Tearing, rending, or seizing prey; used of a wild beast’s action
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 25 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
טָרַף is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Links to lion imagery of divine judgment. Hosea 6:1-3
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain