Lexical Summary
paras: To spread, stretch out, extend
Original Word:פָרַשׂ
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:paras
Pronunciation:pah-ras
Phonetic Spelling:(paw-ras')
KJV: break, chop in pieces, lay open, scatter, spread (abroad, forth, selves, out), stretch (forth, out)
NASB:spread, spreading, extended, scattered, spreads, stretched, stretching
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to break apart, disperse, etc
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
break, chop in pieces, lay open, scatter, spread abroad, forth, selves, out,
A primitive root; to break apart, disperse, etc. -- break, chop in pieces, lay open, scatter, spread (abroad, forth, selves, out), stretch (forth, out).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto spread out, spread
NASB Translationchop (1), dispersed (1), displays (1), extended (2), extends (1), scattered (2), spread (47), spreading (3), spreads (2), stretch (1), stretched (2), stretches (1), stretching (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id.; Arabic
(rare), Syriac
; compare Assyrian
parašu,
fly (derived species; properly
spread [wings]); see also Nö
ZA i. 417); —
Perfect3masculine singularLamentations 1:10 +; 2 masculine singularJob 11:13;Ruth 3:9, etc.;Imperfect3masculine singularDeuteronomy 32:11 +; 3 feminine singular2 Samuel 17:19, etc.;Participle activeProverbs 29:5 etc.;passiveJoel 2:2; feminine singularHosea 5:1 plural1 Kings 8:54; —
spread out a garment ()Judges 8:25, + personDeuteronomy 22:17; — wingsDeuteronomy 32:11;1 Kings 6:27 (read Sta Kmp Kit Benz), +Jeremiah 49:22 (fig), +Jeremiah 48:40;1 Kings 8:7 2Chronicles 5:3 (), +Job 39:26,Exodus 25:20;Exodus 37:9; wings omitted1 Chronicles 28:18 and perhaps 2 Chronicles 3:13 (strike out Be); of ,Job 36:30;spread out writing, Pers.2 Kings 19:14 =Isaiah 37:14;Ezekiel 2:10; sailIsaiah 33:23; fishingnet,Isaiah 19:8 ( location); net () as snare, figurativeHosea 5:1 ( location),Psalm 140:6,Lamentations 1:13, with personHosea 7:12 (of ,Ezekiel 12:13 =Ezekiel 17:20;Ezekiel 19:8;Ezekiel 32:3,Proverbs 29:5; in prayer, +Exodus 9:29,33 (J),1 Kings 8:38 2Chronicles 6:29;Ezra 9:5;Job 11:13, +,Psalm 44:21, +,1 Kings 8:22 2Chronicles 6:13 (),1 Kings 8:54, no complem. 2Chronicles 6:12; of almsgiving,Proverbs 31:20; , with of thing,Lamentations 1:10 of enemy's greed (si vera lectio, see Bu);spread out = displayProverbs 13:16.
spread covering over2 Samuel 17:19 ( + of thing), over () face of another2 Kings 8:15,skirt, personRuth 3:9;Ezekiel 16:8 (figurative of ); with of thingNumbers 4:7,8 :Numbers 4:11,13 with v6; with of thingNumbers 4:14; , withExodus 40:19;Joel 2:2; ofPsalm 105:39. —Micah 3:3;Lamentations 4:4 see .
Imperfect3masculine pluralEzekiel 17:21they shall be scattered ;Ezekiel 34:12 read probablyParticiple for -, Hä Krae; on emendation of context see especially Toy Krae).
Perfect3masculine singular consecutiveIsaiah 25:11 etc.Imperfect3masculine singular v11, 3feminine singularJeremiah 4:31;Infinitive cstrPsalm 68:15, suffixIsaiah 1:15; —
spread out:
with accusative in prayerIsaiah 1:15;Jeremiah 4:31 so withPsalm 143:6 (), and of entreating peopleIsaiah 65:2 ();Lamentations 1:17.
spread out hands as in swimmingIsaiah 25:11, and ( omitted)Isaiah 25:11.
=scatter, (?) subject , with accusative of personZechariah 2:10 ( We Now , yet see GASm);Psalm 68:15, in doubtful connection.
Topical Lexicon
Semantic ScopeThe verb פָרַשׂ occurs about sixty-seven times and circles around two big ideas:
1. To spread, stretch or lay something open.
2. To separate, distinguish or declare something clearly.
Scripture moves fluidly between these senses, allowing the same root to speak both of physical actions (unfolding wings, cloths, or hands) and spiritual actions (unfolding God’s word or separating His people to Himself).
Spreading Wings and Coverings
• Tabernacle and Temple. The word repeatedly describes the cherubim “spreading” their wings over the ark, a vivid picture of divine protection and atonement (Exodus 25:20; 37:9;1 Kings 6:27; 8:7;2 Chronicles 3:11-13; 5:8). “For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles” (1 Kings 8:7).
• Domestic protection.2 Samuel 17:19 shows a wife hiding messengers: “Then his wife took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well.” Likewise in2 Kings 8:15 Hazael “spread” a wet cloth to murder Ben-hadad. The same motion shelters or suffocates, illustrating that outward forms can serve either life or death depending on the heart behind them.
• Redemptive echo. The Messiah later speaks of longing to “gather” Jerusalem’s children as a hen spreads her wings (Matthew 23:37), an image rooted in this Old Testament vocabulary of protective spreading.
Spreading Hands in Intercession
• Moses. Twice during the plague of hail he promises Pharaoh, “As soon as I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD” (Exodus 9:29, 33).
• Solomon. Although1 Kings 8:22 uses a different verb, the chronic parallel idea reflects the same posture: leadership prays with hands spread toward the heavens.
• Ezra. In a post-exilic crisis: “I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God” (Ezra 9:5).
• Prophetic rebuke. Isaiah exposes empty ritual: “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you” (Isaiah 1:15). A holy posture without a holy life avails nothing.
Pastoral application: genuine intercession still stretches out empty hands, confessing utter dependence on the covenant LORD.
Clarifying the Word
Nehemiah 8:8 employs a Piel participle derived from פָרַשׂ: “They read from the Book of the Law of God, translating it and giving the sense so that the people understood the reading.” Here the root deals not with physical space but with mental space—unfolding Scripture so that its meaning lies open before the people. Expositors today trace their calling to this moment: to “spread out” the text so God’s voice is unmistakable.
Separating unto Holiness
• Ezra’s reform. “Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from your foreign wives” (Ezra 10:11; cf. 10:16-17). Obedience required painful but necessary division to preserve covenant purity.
• National repentance. “The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins” (Nehemiah 9:2). Later, after hearing the Law read clearly, “they separated from all of mixed ancestry” (Nehemiah 13:3).
The same verb that describes opening wings now describes opening a moral gap between the LORD’s people and polluting influences. Separation is never an end in itself; it exists so that Israel might be wholly devoted to God’s mission.
Prophetic Signs and Judgments
InEzekiel 30:21-22 the LORD vows to “break the arms of Pharaoh,” then “cause his sword to fall from his hand and scatter” (פָרַשׂ) his forces. Here the root takes on the nuance of dispersal—God spreads the enemy troops in chaotic defeat, the mirror image of His wings spread in protective order.
Christological Trajectory
• On the cross the true King “spread out” His hands (imagery drawn from Psalms and Isaiah) to bear sin and to form a new, holy people. Every Old Testament instance of פָרַשׂ that shelters, separates, or clarifies points forward to this climactic act.
• By commissioning the church to make disciples of all nations, the risen Christ reverses the negative scattering of judgment and creates a sanctified scattering of witness (Acts 8:4). What was once a curse becomes a means of global blessing.
Contemporary Ministry Implications
1. Worship. Corporate prayer should embody humble openness—hands spread without hypocrisy, lives spread in honest repentance.
2. Preaching. Faithful exposition continually “spreads out” the text, ensuring God’s people grasp both meaning and application.
3. Holiness. Biblical separation is not retreat but realignment—spreading ourselves away from sin so we may be spread abroad as salt and light.
4. Mission. Under Christ’s outstretched arms, the church now spreads the gospel to every tribe and tongue, echoing the cherubim who spread their wings over the place where atonement was made.
Thus פָרַשׂ, woven through narrative, law, poetry, and prophecy, summons God’s people to a life that is open before Him, distinct for Him, and widely extended in His service.
Forms and Transliterations
אֶפְר֤וֹשׂ אֶפְרֹ֥שׂ אפרוש אפרש בְּפָ֘רֵ֤שׂ בפרש וְיִפְרֹ֥שׂ וַֽיִּפְרְשׂ֥וּ וַֽיִּפְרְשׂוּ֙ וַֽיִּפְרְשׂוּ֮ וַיִּפְרְשֵׂ֥הוּ וַיִּפְרֹ֖שׂ וַיִּפְרֹ֤שׂ וַיִּפְרֹ֥שׂ וַנִּפְרֹ֥שׂ וַתִּפְרֹ֤שׂ וָאֶפְרְשָׂ֥ה וָאֶפְרֹ֤שׂ וּבְפָרִשְׂכֶ֣ם וּפֵרַ֤שׂ וּפָֽרְשׂוּ֙ וּפָרְשׂ֣וּ וּפָרְשׂ֧וּ וּפָרְשׂוּ֙ וּפָרַ֥שׂ וּפָרַשְׂתִּ֤י וּפָרַשְׂתָּ֖ וּפָרַשְׂתָּ֤ וּפֹרְשֵׂ֥י ואפרש ואפרשה ובפרשכם ויפרש ויפרשהו ויפרשו ונפרש ופרש ופרשו ופרשי ופרשת ופרשתי ותפרש יְפָרֵ֥שׂ יִפְרְשׂוּ֙ יִפְרְשׂוּ֮ יִפְרֹ֖שׂ יִפְרֹ֤שׂ יִפְרֹ֥שׂ יִפָּרֵ֑שׂוּ יפרש יפרשו לְפֹ֣רְשִׂ֔ים לפרשים פְּרֻשׂ֥וֹת פְּרוּשָׂ֥ה פֵּֽרְשָׂ֨ה פֵּרַ֣שְׂתִּי פֵּרַ֥שְׂתִּי פֵּרַ֧שְׂתִּי פָּ֣רְשׂוּ פָּ֣רַשׂ פָּרְשָׂ֣ה פָּרַ֣שׂ פָּרַ֨שׂ פָּרֻ֣שׂ פֹּֽרְשִׂ֖ים פֹּרְשִׂ֣ים פֹּרְשֵׂ֨י פֹּרֵ֖שׂ פּוֹרֵ֥שׂ פורש פרושה פרש פרשה פרשו פרשות פרשי פרשים פרשתי תְּפָרֵ֣שׂ תפרש ’ep̄·rō·wś ’ep̄·rōś ’ep̄rōś ’ep̄rōwś bə·p̄ā·rêś beFaRes bəp̄ārêś efRos lə·p̄ō·rə·śîm leForeSim ləp̄ōrəśîm pā·raś pā·rə·śāh pā·rə·śū pā·ruś paRas pāraś pareSah pārəśāh Paresu pārəśū paRus pāruś pê·raś·tî pê·rə·śāh pə·rū·śāh pə·ru·śō·wṯ peRasti pêraśtî pereSah pêrəśāh peruSah pərūśāh peruSot pəruśōwṯ pō·rə·śê pō·rə·śîm pō·rêś pō·w·rêś poRes pōrêś pōrəśê poreSei poreSim pōrəśîm pōwrêś tə·p̄ā·rêś tefaRes təp̄ārêś ū·ḇə·p̄ā·riś·ḵem ū·p̄ā·raś ū·p̄ā·raś·tā ū·p̄ā·raś·tî ū·p̄ā·rə·śū ū·p̄ê·raś ū·p̄ō·rə·śê ūḇəp̄āriśḵem ufaRas ufarasTa ufarasTi ufareSu ufeRas uforeSei ūp̄āraś ūp̄āraśtā ūp̄āraśtî ūp̄ārəśū ūp̄êraś ūp̄ōrəśê uvefarisChem vaefreSah vaefRos vaiyifreSehu vaiyifreSu vaiyifRos vannifRos vattifRos veyifRos wā’ep̄rəśāh wā’ep̄rōś wā·’ep̄·rə·śāh wā·’ep̄·rōś wan·nip̄·rōś wannip̄rōś wat·tip̄·rōś wattip̄rōś way·yip̄·rə·śê·hū way·yip̄·rə·śū way·yip̄·rōś wayyip̄rəśêhū wayyip̄rəśū wayyip̄rōś wə·yip̄·rōś wəyip̄rōś yə·p̄ā·rêś yefaRes yəp̄ārêś yifreSu yifRos yip·pā·rê·śū yip̄·rə·śū yip̄·rōś yippaResu yippārêśū yip̄rəśū yip̄rōś
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