What does פֶּרֶא (pere) mean in the Bible?
פֶּרֶא (pere): Wild ass symbolizing untamed freedom and divine power; used metaphorically for human stubbornness and independence from constraint
Hebrew · H6501
פֶּרֶא
The onager
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פֶּרֶא H6501
Pronunciation pere
What does פֶּרֶא (pere) mean in the Bible?
פֶּרֶא (pere): Wild ass symbolizing untamed freedom and divine power; used metaphorically for human stubbornness and independence from constraint
Full entry for פֶּרֶא (H6501) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6501?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a wild donkey (2), [like] wild donkeys (1), Does a wild donkey (1), like a wild donkey (1), of a wild donkey (1).
Where does פֶּרֶא (pere) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 16:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Job (4), Jeremiah (2), Genesis (1), Hosea (1).
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 a wild donkey 2× Genesis 16:12, Jeremiah 2:24
[like] wild donkeys 1× Job 24:5
Does a wild donkey 1× Job 6:5
like a wild donkey 1× Hosea 8:9
of a wild donkey 1× Job 11:12
of wild donkeys 1× Isaiah 32:14
the wild donkey 1× Job 39:5
the wild donkeys 1× Psalms 104:11
Wild donkeys 1× Jeremiah 14:6
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 16:12 פֶּ֣רֶא to a wild donkey Noun - masculine singular construct Job 6:5 פֶּ֥רֶא to Does a wild donkey Noun - masculine singular Job 11:12 פֶּ֝֗רֶא to of a wild donkey Noun - masculine singular Job 24:5 פְּרָאִ֨ים׀ to [like] wild donkeys Noun - masculine plural Job 39:5 פֶּ֣רֶא to the wild donkey Noun - masculine singular Psalms 104:11 פְרָאִ֣ים to the wild donkeys Noun - masculine plural Isaiah 32:14 פְּרָאִ֖ים to of wild donkeys Noun - masculine plural Jeremiah 2:24 פֶּ֣רֶה׀ to a wild donkey Noun - masculine singular Jeremiah 14:6 וּפְרָאִים֙ to Wild donkeys Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural Hosea 8:9 פֶּ֖רֶא to like a wild donkey Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 16:12
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 6
Genesis 1 Job 4 Psalms 1 Isaiah 1 Jeremiah 2 Hosea 1
Source forms
פֶּ֣רֶא 2x pe·re Genesis 16:12, Job 39:5
וּפְרָאִים֙ 1x ū·p̄ə·rā·’îm Jeremiah 14:6
פֶּ֥רֶא 1x pe·re Job 6:5
פֶּ֝֗רֶא 1x pe·re Job 11:12
פֶּ֖רֶא 1x pe·re Hosea 8:9
פְרָאִ֣ים 1x p̄ə·rā·’îm Psalms 104:11
פְּרָאִ֖ים 1x pə·rā·’îm Isaiah 32:14
פְּרָאִ֨ים׀ 1x pə·rā·’îm Job 24:5
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 5x Job 6:5, Job 11:12, Job 39:5, Jeremiah 2:24
Noun - masculine plural 3x Job 24:5, Psalms 104:11, Isaiah 32:14
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural 1x Jeremiah 14:6
Noun - masculine singular construct 1x Genesis 16:12
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Wild ass symbolizing untamed freedom and divine power; used metaphorically for human stubbornness and independence from constraint
Source Gloss
the onager
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Wild ass symbolizing untamed freedom and divine power; used metaphorically for human stubbornness and independence from constraint
the onager BDB: wild ass Usage: wild (ass).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
wild donkey
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
פֶּרֶא is built from this root:
פָּרָא H6500
Why This Word Matters
Symbol of stubborn independence. Hosea 8:8-14
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