◄ 1253. bor ►
Lexicon bor: Purity, cleanness Original Word: בֹּר Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: bor Pronunciation: bohr Phonetic Spelling: (bore) Definition: Purity, cleanness Meaning: vegetable lye, a soap for, washing, a flux for, metals Strong's Exhaustive Concordance never so, purely The same as bor; vegetable lye (from its cleansing); used as a soap for washing, or a flux for metals -- X never so, purely. see HEBREW bor Brown-Driver-Briggs I. בֹּר noun masculine lye, potash, alkali used in smelting metals Isaiah 1:25 **read probably כַּכֻּר as in a furnace (Isa 48:10); there seems no evidence that 'lye' (i.e. water mixed with the burnt ashes of plants containing potash, used formerly for washing) was ever used in refining gold or silver: compare J. NapierAnc. Workers in Metal {1856}, 15, 20, 25 WAM in SmithDB ii. 368; Amer. Rev. Ed. (1871, vol, iii), 1939. (see בֹּרִית). Topical Lexicon Word Origin: Derived from the root בָּרַר (barar), meaning "to purify" or "to cleanse." Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: • Strong's Greek Number 3068: λούω (louō) • to wash, to bathe • Strong's Greek Number 2511: καθαρίζω (katharizō) • to cleanse, to purify These Greek terms similarly convey the concept of washing and purification, aligning with the Hebrew understanding of בֹּר as a cleansing agent. Usage: The word בֹּר appears in the context of cleansing and purification, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. It is used to describe a substance that cleanses or purifies, such as soap or lye. Context: בֹּר is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a cleansing agent. In Jeremiah 2:22, the prophet uses the term metaphorically to illustrate the futility of Israel's attempts to cleanse themselves from sin: "Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me," declares the Lord GOD (BSB). This highlights the insufficiency of physical cleansing agents in addressing spiritual impurity. The use of בֹּר in this context underscores the need for divine intervention for true purification. The term is also associated with the process of refining metals, where it serves as a flux to remove impurities, symbolizing the purification process that believers undergo. Forms and Transliterations בְּבֹ֣ר בבר bə·ḇōr bəḇōr beVor Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts Englishman's Concordance Job 9:30 HEB: ק) וַ֝הֲזִכּ֗וֹתִי בְּבֹ֣ר כַּפָּֽי׃ NAS: And cleanse my hands with lye, INT: waste and cleanse lye my hands 1 Occurrence Strong's Hebrew 1253 1 Occurrence bə·ḇōr — 1 Occ.