Lexical Summary
tereph: Prey, food, plunder
Original Word:טֶרֶף
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:tereph
Pronunciation:TEH-ref
Phonetic Spelling:(teh'-ref)
KJV: leaf, meat, prey, spoil
NASB:prey, food, leaves, torn
Word Origin:[fromH2963 (טָּרַף - tear)]
1. something torn, i.e. a fragment, e.g. a fresh leaf, prey, food
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
leaf, meat, prey, spoil
Fromtaraph; something torn, i.e. A fragment, e.g. A fresh leaf, prey, food -- leaf, meat, prey, spoil.
see HEBREWtaraph
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
taraphDefinitionprey, food, a leaf
NASB Translationfood (4), leaves (1), prey (17), torn (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Nahum 3:1 ; —
Genesis 49:9 +;
Job 4:11 +; suffix
Nahum 2:14;
Isaiah 31:4; plural construct
Ezekiel 17:9; —
prey of lionAmos 3:4;Job 4:11;Job 38:39;Psalm 104:21; metaphor of Judah's conquestsGenesis 49:9, Israel like lionNumbers 23:24 (both poems in J E); of AssyriansIsaiah 5:29; of Nineveh and its kingNahum 2:13;Nahum 2:14;Nahum 3:1; Israel's princes (as young lion)Ezekiel 19:3,6; simile of false prophet (like lion)Ezekiel 22:25; of princes of JudahEzekiel 22:27; simile of 's descending to battle, like lionIsaiah 31:4; comparePsalm 76:5 coming down frommountains of prey (the lion's lair), but read perhaps , compare Bi Checritical note.; figurative of spoil of wickedJob 29:17, comparePsalm 124:6.
food, of outcasts, under figure of wild assJob 24:5; of human food (late): for those who fear GodPsalm 111:5; for householdProverbs 31:15; in s houseMalachi 3:10.
leaf, (compareGenesis 8:11)Ezekiel 17:9 metaphor of Judah.
Topical Lexicon
Core Conceptטֶרֶף (terep) pictures prey torn by a beast and, by extension, any food or provision obtained. Scripture uses the word both literally—lions seizing prey, households receiving daily bread—and metaphorically—rulers devouring people, nations ravaging one another, or God supplying His own. The range moves along a moral axis: predation versus provision.
Spectrum of Usage
1. Wild animals taking prey
Genesis 49:9;Numbers 23:24;Job 4:11;Job 38:39;Psalm 104:21;Isaiah 5:29;Isaiah 31:4;Amos 3:4;Nahum 2:12–13.
2. Hungry people gathering food
Job 24:5;Proverbs 31:15;Psalm 111:5;Malachi 3:10.
3. Oppressors tearing the vulnerable
Ezekiel 19:3, 6;Ezekiel 22:25, 27;Nahum 3:1.
4. Divine judgment on illegitimate prey-taking
Psalm 124:6;Ezekiel 17:9;Nahum 2:13.
Animal Predation and the Order of Creation
Job 38:39 gives the divine perspective: “Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions?”. God, not chance, regulates the predator’s meal.Psalm 104:21 echoes, “The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.” Predation is real, yet bounded by divine sovereignty. The same hand that feeds the lion restrains it (Psalm 104:29).
Human Violence Mirrored in Nature
Prophets apply the predator image to human tyrants. Ezekiel depicts Judah’s princes as young lions that “devoured men” and “laid waste cities” (Ezekiel 19:3, 6).Ezekiel 22:27 indicts officials who are “like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood and destroying lives for dishonest gain.” Nahum declares Nineveh “full of lies and plunder, never without prey” (Nahum 3:1). The metaphor exposes exploitation as moral bestiality.
Divine Provision and Covenant Faithfulness
While wicked rulers seize terep, the righteous receive it. “He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever” (Psalm 111:5). The industrious woman ofProverbs 31 “rises while it is still night to provide food for her household” (verse 15), reflecting God’s own care.Malachi 3:10 frames obedience in tithes as the path to overflowing provision: “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.” In contrast to predatory gain, covenant faith brings abundant, legitimate food.
Messianic and Eschatological Hints
Jacob’s blessing over Judah foretells a lion victorious over prey: “From the prey, my son, you have gone up” (Genesis 49:9). The tribe of Judah ultimately produces the Messiah, the Lion who conquers not by devouring but by laying down His life.Revelation 5:5 recalls this image, suggesting a reversal of terep—Christ becomes the Lamb slain so that His people are spared from being prey.
Historical and Cultural Background
Lions roamed the land from the Negev to Bashan until the Iron Age. Shepherds, like David, faced real danger of flocks becoming terep (1 Samuel 17:34–37). Ancient cities lacked refrigeration; daily bread was “prey” wrested from nature. Consequently, the term easily crossed into metaphor for political and economic power.
Ministry Application
1. Trustful Provision. Believers rely on the Father who feeds lions and sparrows; anxiety over sustenance misreads the Creator’s pattern (Matthew 6:26 echoesPsalm 104:21–28).
2. Ethical Leadership. Pastors, parents, and public servants must guard against becoming “wolves tearing prey.” Peter warns shepherd-leaders to serve “not for shameful gain” (1 Peter 5:2).
3. Social Justice. Ezekiel’s condemnation of predatory officials obligates the church to defend the oppressed and resist systems that generate human terep.
4. Gospel Witness. Proclaiming Christ as the Lion of Judah who ended the cycle of devouring by His sacrificial death offers the world a vision beyond both scarcity and violence.
Intertextual Threads
• Prey imagery ties Genesis to Revelation, showing the Bible’s narrative coherence.
• Lion metaphors inform Christology (Genesis 49:9;Numbers 23:24 →Revelation 5:5).
• Provision verses form a thematic bridge between Old Covenant manna and New Covenant “daily bread” (Psalm 111:5 →Matthew 6:11).
Conclusion
טֶרֶף traces a moral line through Scripture: what begins as legitimate beastly sustenance becomes a metaphor for human sin, then a foil for divine generosity. The term calls readers to reject predatory gain, rest in God’s provision, and anticipate the day when “they will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:9), when terep, as torn prey, is no more and provision flows without violence.
Forms and Transliterations
וְטֶ֖רֶף וטרף טֶ֔רֶף טֶ֖רֶף טֶ֙רֶף֙ טֶ֝֗רֶף טֶ֣רֶף טֶ֭רֶף טַרְפֵּ֔ךְ טַרְפֵּ֤י טַרְפּ֗וֹ טָ֑רֶף טָֽרֶף׃ טרף טרף׃ טרפו טרפי טרפך לַטָּ֑רֶף לטרף מִטֶּ֖רֶף מטרף laṭ·ṭā·rep̄ latTaref laṭṭārep̄ miṭ·ṭe·rep̄ mitTeref miṭṭerep̄ ṭā·rep̄ ṭar·pê ṭar·pêḵ ṭar·pōw Taref ṭārep̄ ṭarpê tarPech tarPei ṭarpêḵ tarPo ṭarpōw ṭe·rep̄ Teref ṭerep̄ veTeref wə·ṭe·rep̄ wəṭerep̄
Links
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Englishman's Greek Concordance •
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