Lexical Summary
or: Skin, hide, leather
Original Word:עוֹר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:`owr
Pronunciation:ohr
Phonetic Spelling:(ore)
KJV: hide, leather, skin
NASB:skin, leather, skins, hide, body, hides
Word Origin:[fromH5783 (עוּר - made)]
1. skin (as naked)
2. (by implication) hide, leather
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
hide, leather, skin
Fromuwr; skin (as naked); by implication, hide, leather -- hide, leather, skin.
see HEBREWuwr
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originof uncertain derivation
Definitiona skin
NASB Translationbody (1), hide (4), hides (1), leather (15), skin (65), skins (13).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
99Job 7:5 ( Late Hebrew
id.; Phoenician Lzb
346); — absolute
Genesis 3:21 +, construct
Exodus 34:29 +; suffix
Exodus 29:14 +,
Jeremiah 13:23,
Numbers 19:5, etc.; plural construct
Genesis 27:16 +,
Exodus 39:34 suffix
Leviticus 16:27; —
skin: (55 t.),Exodus 22:26 (E),Exodus 34:29,30 compareExodus 34:35 (all P); (dark) skin of CushiteJeremiah 13:23; see alsoEzekiel 37:6,8;Lamentations 3:8;Job 7:5;Job 10:11, +; in hyperboleMicah 3:2,3;Job 19:20bthe skin of my teeth, i.e. gums (si vera lectio); alsoLeviticus 13:2 33t.Leviticus 13 (P), in tests for leprosy (see especiallyLeviticus 13:2;Leviticus 13:2;Leviticus 13:3;Leviticus 13:4;Leviticus 13:11, compareLeviticus 13:3;Leviticus 13:38;Leviticus 13:39;Leviticus 13:43);Job 2:4skin in behalf of, for, skin, apparently proverb. phrase of barter, = everything has its price (on varieties of interpretation see Commentaries).
hide of animals (44 t.), always — exceptJob 40:31 — after skinning:Genesis 27:16 (J); of sacrifice victimsExodus 29:14;Leviticus 4:11 5t. (all P); prepared for use (by some process of tanning, compare NowArchaeology i. 242), sometimes =leather: material of garmentsGenesis 3:21 (J), girdle2 Kings 1:8, any articleLeviticus 11:32;Leviticus 13:48 ffNumbers 31:20 (P); covering of tabernacleExodus 25:5 (twice in verse) + 10 t.Exodus 26;Exodus 35;Exodus 36;Exodus 39, of ark, sacred utensils, etc.,Numbers 4:6 5t. Numbers 4..
Isaiah 30:6 see .
Topical Lexicon
OverviewIn the Hebrew Scriptures עוֹר denotes the external covering that encases flesh—human skin, animal hide, and the tanned leather derived from it. About ninety-nine occurrences trace a line from Eden to Ezekiel, showing how God employs the humble “skin” both literally and theologically: as a provision for fallen humanity, a material for worship, a figure for frailty, and an anticipatory sign of resurrection and redemption.
Edenic Provision and the First Substitution
Genesis 3:21 records the inaugural use: “And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.” The verse forms the seedbed of later sacrificial thought. The animals whose hides became garments almost certainly died, introducing substitutionary death on behalf of sinners. The skins both cover shame and testify that only God’s initiative adequately clothes the guilty (compareIsaiah 61:10).
Skins in the Sacrificial System
1. Flaying and Allocation
•Leviticus 1:6; 1:19 show the worshiper or priest skinning the burnt offering before it ascends in smoke, separating the hide from the portion devoted wholly to God.
•Leviticus 7:8 stipulates that “the priest who presents anyone’s burnt offering shall have for himself the hide of the burnt offering.” The hide becomes priestly provision, illustrating that those who serve at the altar share in its benefits (1 Corinthians 9:13).
2. Disposal in Sin and Guilt Offerings
• In several sin offerings the entire carcass, hide included, is burned outside the camp (Leviticus 4:11-12; 9:11), foreshadowing the Messiah who “suffered outside the city gate” (Hebrews 13:11-12).
Tabernacle and Wilderness Worship
Exodus 25–40 repeatedly lists skins among the tabernacle materials:
• Ram skins dyed red (Exodus 25:5; 26:14; 35:7) formed a weather-resistant, crimson covering—an external testimony to atoning blood.
• “Fine leather” (sometimes translated “porpoise/sea cow skins”;Exodus 26:14;Numbers 4:6-25) provided a second protective layer. When the Levites moved the sanctuary, the most sacred articles were wrapped in these hides (Numbers 4:6-15). Thus skin, once a symbol of fallen nakedness, becomes a holy shield guarding the place where God meets His people.
Skins as Everyday Containers
Though a different noun often denotes wineskins, עוֹר can refer generically to leather pouches or bags. Joshua’s Gibeonite deception relies on “worn-out and patched wineskins” (Joshua 9:4, 13). The image of an old skin stretched to bursting recurs inJob 32:19 and is alluded to inMatthew 9:17’s new-wine-into-fresh-wineskins teaching.
Human Skin: Frailty, Suffering, Identity
1. Vulnerability
• Satan taunts, “Skin for skin! A man will give all he owns in exchange for his life” (Job 2:4).
• The leprosy legislation ofLeviticus 13–14 constantly speaks of “the skin of his body,” demonstrating how sin and impurity manifest in humankind’s outer covering.
2. Affliction and Lament
• “My skin and my flesh cling to my bones” (Job 19:20).
• Lamentations pictures starvation: “Their skin has become as dry as a stick” (Lamentations 4:8) and “Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from starvation” (Lamentations 5:10).
3. Beauty and Identity
• Dark but lovely bride: “Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me” (Song of Solomon 1:6).
•Isaiah 3:24 contrasts perfume with “a stench,” well-set hair with “baldness,” and fine clothing with “a girding of sackcloth,” ending with “branding instead of beauty,” reminding Israel that outward skin can mirror inward spiritual condition.
Prophetic and Eschatological Hope
Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones climaxes with skin: “I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin” (Ezekiel 37:6, 8). The same God who once clothed the fallen couple will one day re-clothe an entire nation with resurrected bodies. Job personalizes the hope: “Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:26).
Christological Trajectory
The theme of skin reaches fulfillment in the Incarnation: “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). The Creator wraps Himself in human skin, then yields His back to scourging and His side to the spear so that, by faith, believers may one day be “clothed with immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). The Edenic skins prefigure His righteous robe (Revelation 19:8) supplied to the redeemed.
Practical Ministry Reflections
• Covering: Pastorally, the Lord still provides garments for repentant sinners (cf.Luke 15:22).
• Stewardship: As priests once received hides, modern servants of the gospel rightly share material support from those they serve (Galatians 6:6).
• Compassion: The skin narratives that emphasize poverty, disease, and shame call the church to tangible mercy ministries (Isaiah 58:7).
• Resurrection Hope: Funeral services often draw fromJob 19:26 andEzekiel 37, anchoring comfort in the promise that God will re-fashion bodies now subject to decay.
Representative Occurrences by Category
Creation and Fall:Genesis 3:21
Patriarchal Age:Genesis 27:16; 30:37
Tabernacle and Wilderness:Exodus 25:5; 26:14;Numbers 4:25
Levitical Regulations:Leviticus 1:6; 7:8; 13:2
Historical Narratives:Judges 4:19;1 Samuel 19:13;2 Samuel 21:10
Wisdom Literature:Job 2:4; 19:26;Proverbs 31:22
Psalms:Psalm 119:83
Prophetic Books:Isaiah 3:24;Jeremiah 13:23;Ezekiel 37:6
Exilic and Post-exilic Lament:Lamentations 4:8; 5:10
Summary
From the coats God made in Eden to the leather shields of the tabernacle and the prophetic vision of resurrected Israel, עוֹר tells a redemptive story. Skins hide shame, house holy vessels, portray human frailty, and anticipate glorified bodies—each use woven into the unfolding revelation that God Himself provides the only sufficient covering for sin and the ultimate renewal of the flesh.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּע֣וֹר בְּעֽוֹר־ בְּעוֹרִ֣י בְע֔וֹר בְעֹר֖וֹ בְעוֹר־ בָּע֑וֹר בָּע֔וֹר בָּע֖וֹר בָע֔וֹר בָע֜וֹר בָעוֹר֙ בעור בעור־ בעורי בערו הָע֑וֹר הָע֔וֹר הָע֖וֹר הָעֽוֹר׃ הָעוֹר֙ העור העור׃ וְעֹרֹ֥ת וְעֹרֹ֨ת וְעוֹרִ֔י וְעוֹרָם֙ ועורי ועורם וערת לְעֹר֑וֹ לערו מֵע֣וֹר מעור ע֑וֹר ע֔וֹר ע֖וֹר ע֗וֹר ע֛וֹר ע֣וֹר ע֤וֹר ע֥וֹר ע֭וֹרִֽי ע֭וֹרִי עֹר֣וֹ עֹרָ֤הּ עֹרֹ֣ת עֹרֹ֥ת עֹרֹת֙ עֹרֹתָ֥ם עֹרוֹ֙ עֽוֹר׃ עוֹר֑וֹ עוֹר֔וֹ עוֹר֙ עוֹרִ֥י עוֹרֵ֙נוּ֙ עוֹרָם֙ עוֹרֹ֤ת עור עור׃ עורו עורי עורם עורנו עורת ערה ערו ערת ערתם ‘ō·rāh ‘ō·rō·ṯām ‘ō·rōṯ ‘ō·rōw ‘ō·w·rām ‘ō·w·rê·nū ‘ō·w·rî ‘ō·w·rōṯ ‘ō·w·rōw ‘ō·wr ‘ōrāh ‘ōrōṯ ‘ōrōṯām ‘ōrōw ‘ōwr ‘ōwrām ‘ōwrênū ‘ōwrî ‘ōwrōṯ ‘ōwrōw bā‘ōwr ḇā‘ōwr bā·‘ō·wr ḇā·‘ō·wr baor ḇə‘ōrōw bə‘ōwr ḇə‘ōwr bə‘ōwr- ḇə‘ōwr- bə‘ōwrî ḇə·‘ō·rōw bə·‘ō·w·rî bə·‘ō·wr ḇə·‘ō·wr bə·‘ō·wr- ḇə·‘ō·wr- beor beoRi hā‘ōwr hā·‘ō·wr haOr lə‘ōrōw lə·‘ō·rōw leoRo mê‘ōwr mê·‘ō·wr meor or oRah oRam oRenu oRi oRo oRot oroTam vaOr veor veoRam veoRi veoRo veoRot wə‘ōrōṯ wə‘ōwrām wə‘ōwrî wə·‘ō·rōṯ wə·‘ō·w·rām wə·‘ō·w·rî
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