What does פֶּתַח (petaḥ) mean in the Bible?
H6607 is a Hebrew noun for an opening, entrance, doorway, or gate. It can mark the threshold of a tent, house, city structure, court, sanctuary, or other bounded place.
Hebrew · H6607
פֶּתַח
An opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way
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פֶּתַחH6607
Pronunciationpetaḥ
What does פֶּתַח (petaḥ) mean in the Bible?
H6607 is a Hebrew noun for an opening, entrance, doorway, or gate. It can mark the threshold of a tent, house, city structure, court, sanctuary, or other bounded place.
Reader summary
Full entry for פֶּתַח (H6607) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6607?
The BSB source-word alignment has 164 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include at the entrance (50), the entrance (34), For the entrance (9), . . . (5), entrance (5).
Where does פֶּתַח (petaḥ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 4:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (30), Leviticus (24), Exodus (22), Numbers (17).
What This Word Actually Means
H6607 is a Hebrew noun for an opening, entrance, doorway, or gate. It can mark the threshold of a tent, house, city structure, court, sanctuary, or other bounded place. Genesis 4 places sin at Cain's entrance, Genesis 18 locates Abraham at his tent entrance, Exodus 29 names the Tent of Meeting entrance, and Proverbs 8 pictures a listener waiting at wisdom's doors.
An entrance can become a place of danger, welcome, worship, witness, waiting, exclusion, or decision, but the noun itself does not authorize unrestricted access or supply one stable spiritual symbol. H6607 helps teachers discuss thresholds, hospitality, consent, access, communal worship, vigilance, and wise boundaries. It should not make locked doors faithless, turn hospitality into compulsory access, encourage trespass, or bypass safeguarding, privacy, disability access, and the authority of people responsible for a space.
Passage contextBook contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
H6607 marks physical thresholds across tents, homes, gates, sanctuaries, courts, and visions. Narrative action and social setting determine whether an entrance foregrounds welcome, danger, worship, waiting, judgment, or guarded access.
- Gen.4.7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
Sin is pictured as crouching at the entrance and desiring Cain, a warning that precedes the murder rather than an excuse for it.
- Gen.18.1
Then the Lord appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
Abraham sits at his tent entrance when the Lord appears, locating the encounter within the ordinary threshold of household life.
- Exod.29.42
For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you.
The regular offering stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, where God promises to meet and speak with Israel.
- Prov.8.34
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.
Wisdom blesses the person who listens and waits daily at her doors, portraying sustained attentiveness rather than entitlement to entry.
Book contextPassage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itat the entrance50×Genesis 18:1, Genesis 18:10, Genesis 19:11, Genesis 38:14
the entrance34×Genesis 18:2, Exodus 29:4, Exodus 40:12, Leviticus 1:3
For the entrance9×Exodus 26:36, Exodus 36:37, Exodus 38:30, Exodus 39:38
. . .5×Job 31:34, Proverbs 8:3, Ezekiel 41:11, Ezekiel 42:11
entrance5×Judges 9:52, 1 Kings 6:33, Esther 5:1, Ezekiel 40:11
the door5×Genesis 19:11, Exodus 12:22, Deuteronomy 22:21, 1 Kings 14:6
at the door3×2 Samuel 11:9, 2 Kings 5:9, Proverbs 9:14
at the entrances3×Exodus 33:8, Numbers 11:10, Numbers 16:27
doors3×2 Chronicles 4:22, Psalms 24:7, Psalms 24:9
of the entrance3×Exodus 40:6, Ezekiel 41:2
by the entrance2×1 Kings 22:10, 2 Chronicles 18:9
doorway2×Ezekiel 8:8, Ezekiel 40:13
in the doorway2×Judges 19:27, 2 Kings 4:15
near the entrance2×Exodus 40:29, Jeremiah 19:2
the doorway2×Leviticus 14:38, Nehemiah 3:20
to the entrance2×Judges 9:40, Ezekiel 40:40
[and the walls on each side]1×Ezekiel 41:3
[there] [was] a door1×Ezekiel 42:12
a door1×Genesis 6:16
And corresponding to the doors1×Ezekiel 42:12
and in the doorways1×Ezekiel 33:30
And the gates [of Zion]1×Isaiah 3:26
at the doorway1×Judges 19:26
at the mouth1×1 Kings 19:13
at the opening1×Jeremiah 36:10
at your door1×Genesis 4:7
for the doorway1×Exodus 35:15
from doorway1×Ezekiel 40:13
from the doorway1×Nehemiah 3:21
gate1×1 Kings 17:10
he who builds his gate1×Proverbs 17:19
his door1×Job 31:9
into a gateway1×Hosea 2:15
it at the entrance1×Leviticus 3:2
of my doorway1×Proverbs 8:34
our door1×Song Of Solomon 7:13
outside1×Genesis 19:6
that doorway1×Exodus 12:23
the doors1×Micah 7:5
the doorways1×1 Kings 7:5
the gates1×Isaiah 13:2
the outside of the entrance1×Ezekiel 41:17
Their doors1×Ezekiel 42:4
Then at the entrance1×Numbers 6:18
vvv1×Proverbs 1:21
with a doorway1×Ezekiel 40:38
with the blade drawn1×Micah 5:6
with the door1×Ezekiel 42:2
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 4:7לַפֶּ֖תַחtoat your doorPreposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singularGenesis 6:16וּפֶ֥תַחtoa doorConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular constructGenesis 18:1פֶּֽתַח־toat the entranceNoun - masculine singular constructGenesis 18:2מִפֶּ֣תַחtothe entrancePreposition-m | Noun - masculine singular constructGenesis 18:10פֶּ֥תַחtoat the entranceNoun - masculine singular constructGenesis 19:6הַפֶּ֑תְחָהtooutsideArticle | Noun - masculine singular | third person feminine singularGenesis 19:11פֶּ֣תַחtoat the entranceNoun - masculine singular constructGenesis 19:11הַפָּֽתַח׃tothe doorArticle | Noun - masculine singularGenesis 38:14בְּפֶ֣תַחtoat the entrancePreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular constructGenesis 43:19פֶּ֥תַחtoat the entranceNoun - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 4:7
Aligned rows164
Books represented24
Genesis10Exodus22Leviticus24Numbers17Deuteronomy2Joshua3Judges91 Samuel12 Samuel31 Kings92 Kings51 Chronicles22 Chronicles3Nehemiah2Esther1Job2Psalms2Proverbs6Song Of Solomon1Isaiah2Jeremiah5Ezekiel30Hosea1Micah2
Source forms
פֶּ֖תַח40xpe·ṯaḥExodus 29:4, Exodus 29:11, Exodus 29:32, Exodus 38:8
פֶּ֣תַח23xpe·ṯaḥGenesis 19:11, Exodus 33:8, Exodus 33:9, Exodus 33:10
פֶּ֥תַח16xpe·ṯaḥGenesis 18:10, Genesis 43:19, Exodus 29:42, Exodus 33:10
הַפֶּ֖תַח5xhap·pe·ṯaḥExodus 35:15, Exodus 40:5, Exodus 40:28, Ezekiel 41:3
לְפֶ֣תַח5xlə·p̄e·ṯaḥExodus 26:36, Exodus 36:37, Numbers 11:10, Proverbs 9:14
פֶּ֚תַח5xpe·ṯaḥExodus 38:30, Numbers 16:27, Joshua 20:4, 2 Samuel 11:9
פֶּ֙תַח֙5xpe·ṯaḥLeviticus 15:14, Numbers 20:6, Joshua 8:29, Nehemiah 3:20
פֶּ֛תַח4xpe·ṯaḥLeviticus 4:4, Leviticus 17:5, Numbers 6:18, Numbers 16:18
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct102xGenesis 18:1, Genesis 18:10, Genesis 19:11, Genesis 43:19
Article | Noun - masculine singular11xGenesis 19:11, Exodus 12:23, Exodus 35:15, Exodus 40:5
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct8xExodus 26:36, Exodus 35:15, Exodus 36:37, Numbers 11:10
Noun - masculine singular7x1 Chronicles 9:21, Job 31:34, Ezekiel 8:8, Ezekiel 40:13
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct4xGenesis 6:16, Leviticus 8:35, 2 Chronicles 4:22, Ezekiel 41:11
Noun - masculine plural construct4xPsalms 24:7, Psalms 24:9, Isaiah 13:2, Micah 7:5
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct4xGenesis 38:14, Jeremiah 26:10, Jeremiah 43:9, Ezekiel 11:1
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct3xGenesis 18:2, Exodus 12:22, Nehemiah 3:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Design access policies with safeguarding, disability inclusion, privacy, emergency response, and clear accountability.
- Make hospitality concrete through trained welcome, transportation help, language access, safe referral, and respect for a guest's freedom to decline.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H6607 gives spiritual leaders a right to unrestricted access to people or spaces.
- Do not claim that every closed entrance reveals unbelief or that every open entrance signals God's approval.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Physical threshold marking transition between spaces; metaphorically frames covenant access and divine encounter points.
Source Gloss
an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Physical threshold marking transition between spaces; metaphorically frames covenant access and divine encounter points.
an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way BDB: opening Usage: door, entering (in), entrance (-ry), gate, opening, place.
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.
Biblical Witnesses
entrance to the tent of meeting where offerings are presented
Showing 1 selected witness from 164 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
פֶּתַח is built from this root:
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
H6607 makes a threshold visible as a morally significant place without assigning it one automatic meaning. Cain receives warning at an entrance, Abraham encounters visitors at his tent, worshipers approach the Tent of Meeting, and wisdom's learner waits attentively at a doorway. These scenes can inform hospitality and spiritual attentiveness, but they do not erase consent or the need for guarded space.
A home, counseling room, shelter, nursery, office, and sanctuary have different access responsibilities. Churches should welcome strangers while using trained teams, accessible design, child protection, confidential processes, clear hours, and lawful emergency procedures. Leaders do not gain unrestricted entry to members' homes, devices, bodies, finances, or private histories by appealing to hospitality or spiritual authority.
Nor should locked doors become an excuse for inaccessible worship or indifference to people outside. Faithful threshold practice asks who is vulnerable, who holds the key, what notice and consent are required, and how welcome can be made real without sacrificing safety. H6607 helps a congregation become both hospitable and trustworthy: open where love calls for access, bounded where protection requires it, and attentive to wisdom before crossing.
Anchor passage
Gen.4.7
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 4 places moral warning at the threshold before violence occurs.
- Abraham's tent entrance becomes a setting for encounter and hospitality.
- Torah locates ordered worship at entrances with defined roles and boundaries.
- Wisdom's doorway pictures disciplined listening and patient attention.
- Prophets use gates and entrances as public places of justice, testimony, danger, and accountability.
- The gospel joins welcome to strangers with truth, discernment, protection, and accountable community.
H6607 is a masculine Hebrew noun for an opening or entrance and commonly refers to doorways, tent openings, gate approaches, and sanctuary entrances. It names the threshold itself rather than every object translated door or gate.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament entrances structure household life, worship, civic action, danger, wisdom, and prophetic vision. New Testament doorway and access imagery can echo these themes, but each text retains its own vocabulary, audience, and boundary logic.
Canonical parallelPastoral application