Lexical Summary
qir: Wall
Original Word:קִיר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:qiyr
Pronunciation:keer
Phonetic Spelling:(keer)
KJV: + mason, side, town, X very, wall
NASB:wall, walls, sides, side, ceiling, city, Oh
Word Origin:[fromH6979 (קוּר - dug)]
1. a wall (as built in a trench)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
mason, side, town, very, wall
Or qir (Isa. 22:5) {keer}; or (feminine) qiyrah {kee-raw'}; fromquwr; a wall (as built in a trench) -- + mason, side, town, X very, wall.
see HEBREWquwr
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originof uncertain derivation
Definitiona wall
NASB Translationceiling (1), ceiling* (1), city (1), male* (6), masons* (1), Oh (1), side (2), sides (3), surface (1), wall (41), walled (1), walls (13).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I.
Psalm 62:4 (√ unknown); — absolute
Numbers 22:25 +,
Isaiah 22:5; construct
1 Kings 6:5 +; plural
1 Kings 6:16 +, construct
id.,
1 Kings 6:5 +; suffix
Exodus 30:3 +, etc.; —
wall, especially as flat surface:
,Amos 5:19;1 Samuel 18:11 9t., + (of temple)1 Kings 6:15 a +1 Kings 6:15 b (but read beams, with The Kit Benz),1 Kings 6:16;1 Kings 6:27;1 Kings 6:27 6t.
,2 Kings 9:33;Ezekiel 33:30;Isaiah 59:10 (in simile); soIsaiah 25:4 (but Lo Kn Gr Di Du CheHpt and others read ; JP PetersJBL xi (1892), 46 proposes [asIsaiah 28:2]); of temple1 Kings 6:5 (twice in verse);1 Kings 6:6, compareEzekiel 41:6 (twice in verse).
Ezekiel 41:17;Ezekiel 41:20;Ezekiel 41:25.
,Ezekiel 12:5,7,12;Ezekiel 23:14.
,Ezekiel 41:5,9,12,13 (of Ezekiel's temple).
,2 Kings 4:10 (of , q. v.); as separatingEzekiel 43:8.
wall of (temple-)courtEzekiel 8:7,8 (twice in verse) (in vision); of vineyardNumbers 22:25 (twice in verse) (J), of cityNumbers 35:4 (P), compareJoshua 2:15 (JE)the (inner)surface of the wall.
more Generally,1 Kings 5:13, and (in phrase )1 Samuel 25:22,34;1 Kings 14:10;1 Kings 16:11;1 Kings 21:21;2 Kings 9:8; in figureEzekiel 13:12,14 (apparently feminine, but city Jerusalem probably in mind, compare AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 85 Köff. 2, 175),Ezekiel 13:15;Ezekiel 13:15 (""Ezekiel 13:10,Psalm 62:4;2 Samuel 5:11 =1 Chronicles 14:1, compareHabakkuk 2:11 (figurative);Ezekiel 4:3 (symbolic). —Isaiah 22:5 is dubious: usuallywall (so even Du CheHpt Marti), but reference not clear; Ew Checomm.. III. Klo Brd WklAlttest. Unters. 177 , so WMMHast. DB KIR, but see Drib.KOA.
Ezekiel 41:22;Exodus 30:3;Exodus 37:26;Leviticus 1:15;Leviticus 5:9 (all P).
Jeremiah 4:19walls of my heart (as seat of pain).
Topical Lexicon
General Scope of the TermThe noun appears about seventy-four times and denotes any vertical wall—interior, exterior, domestic, civic, or sacred. Usage spans narrative, poetic, and prophetic texts, moving easily from literal architecture to powerful metaphor.
Representative Literal Uses
•Joshua 2:15 – Rahab’s house “was built into the wall of the city.”
•1 Samuel 19:10 – Saul’s spear “struck the wall.”
•1 Kings 6:5 – Solomon “built side rooms against the walls of the temple.”
•Daniel 5:5 – “The fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall.”
City Fortifications
Walls symbolize both pride and protection. Jericho’s fell (Joshua 6:5), Jerusalem’s were hastily strengthened (Isaiah 22:10), Tyre’s teemed with soldiers (Ezekiel 27:11), and No-Amon relied on water “for her wall” (Nahum 3:8). Every stronghold yields to the LORD’s decree.
Domestic and Palace Walls
Daily life unfolds beside these walls: Saul sits “by the wall” at table (1 Samuel 20:25); Hezekiah turns his face to one in prayer (2 Kings 20:2); Jezebel’s blood spatters one at her death (2 Kings 9:33). Ecclesiastes warns, “He who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake” (Ecclesiastes 10:8).
Temple Architecture
Detailed accounts of Solomon’s temple highlight cedar-lined, gold-overlaid walls (1 Kings 6:15-29). Ezekiel’s vision (chapters 40–41) records precise wall measurements, portraying holiness, order, and the restored presence of God.
Prophetic Imagery: Whitewashed Walls
False prophets “whitewash” a flimsy wall (Ezekiel 13:10–15; 22:28); God’s storm exposes and destroys their deceit. The metaphor reappears when Paul denounces a hypocritical high priest (Acts 23:3).
Leaning, Breached, Falling Walls
Psalm 62:3 calls the wicked “a leaning wall.”Isaiah 30:13 pictures sin “like a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse comes suddenly.” Such texts remind hearers that ungodly security is doomed.
The Writing on the Wall
Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel 5) makes the wall a canvas for divine judgment. The king learns the fate of every kingdom that disregards the Most High.
Judgment Formula: “Those Who Urinate Against a Wall”
Six times (1 Samuel 25:22, 25:34;1 Kings 14:10; 16:11; 21:21;2 Kings 9:8) this blunt idiom forecasts the total eradication of a male line—covenant curses vividly painted on a wall.
Blood on the Wall
Jezebel’s violent end (2 Kings 9:33) andHabakkuk 2:11 (“the stones will cry out from the wall”) show walls bearing silent testimony to human wickedness and the certainty of divine recompense.
Prayer Facing a Wall
Hezekiah’s posture (2 Kings 20:2;Isaiah 38:2) models earnest, undistracted petition, confessing that deliverance rests not in fortifications but in the LORD.
Theological Themes
1. Sovereignty: God collapses or raises walls at will.
2. Integrity: Superficial “whitewash” cannot hide structural or moral decay.
3. Witness: Inanimate walls record sin and proclaim judgment.
4. Refuge: Physical barriers are weak compared to divine salvation—“We have a strong city; He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts” (Isaiah 26:1).
Ministry Applications
• Preachers warn against false confidence in outward appearances.
• Counselors encourage wall-turning prayer in crises.
• Church builders emulate the temple’s ordered beauty.
• Evangelists invoke the writing on the wall to press the urgency of repentance.
From Jericho’s collapse to Ezekiel’s visionary sanctuary, קִיר reminds readers that every wall ultimately points beyond itself—to the God who tears down and who also, in Christ, “has broken down the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).
Forms and Transliterations
בְּקִ֑יר בְּקִ֔יר בְּקִ֣יר בְּקִ֥יר בְּקִֽיר׃ בְּקִֽירוֹת־ בְּקִירֹ֣ת בְּקִירֹ֥ת בַּקִּ֑יר בַּקִּ֔יר בַּקִּ֣יר בַּקִּ֥יר בַּקִּ֨יר בַּקִּֽיר׃ בַקִּ֑יר בַקִּ֖יר בקיר בקיר׃ בקירות־ בקירת הַקִּ֑יר הַקִּ֔יר הַקִּ֖יר הַקִּ֛יר הַקִּ֧יר הַקִּ֨יר הַקִּֽיר׃ הַקִּיר֑וֹת הַקִּיר֔וֹת הַקִּירֽוֹת׃ הקיר הקיר׃ הקירות הקירות׃ וְהַקִּ֖יר וְקִ֖יר וְקִ֣ירוֹתֶ֔יהָ וְקִ֧יר וְקִֽירֹתָ֖יו וְקִֽירוֹתָ֥יו וּבַקִּ֑יר וּבַקִּ֔יר ובקיר והקיר וקיר וקירותיה וקירותיו וקירתיו כְּקִ֥יר כקיר לְקִ֣יר לַקִּיר֑וֹת לקיר לקירות מִקִּ֣יר מִקִּ֤יר מקיר קִ֑יר קִ֔יר קִ֖ר קִ֣יר קִ֥יר קִ֨יר קִֽיר־ קִֽיר׃ קִיר֙ קִיר֣וֹת קִיר֤וֹת קִיר֥וֹת קִיר֨וֹת קִירֹתָ֛יו קיר קיר־ קיר׃ קירות קירתיו קר bakKir baq·qîr ḇaq·qîr baqqîr ḇaqqîr bə·qî·rō·wṯ- bə·qî·rōṯ bə·qîr beKir bekiRot bəqîr bəqîrōṯ bəqîrōwṯ- hakKir hakkiRot haq·qî·rō·wṯ haq·qîr haqqîr haqqîrōwṯ kə·qîr keKir kəqîr kir kiRot kiroTav lakkiRot laq·qî·rō·wṯ laqqîrōwṯ lə·qîr leKir ləqîr mikKir miq·qîr miqqîr qî·rō·ṯāw qî·rō·wṯ qir qîr qîr- qîrōṯāw qîrōwṯ ū·ḇaq·qîr ūḇaqqîr uvakKir vakKir vehakKir veKir vekiroTav veKiroTeiha wə·haq·qîr wə·qî·rō·ṯāw wə·qî·rō·w·ṯāw wə·qî·rō·w·ṯe·hā wə·qîr wəhaqqîr wəqîr wəqîrōṯāw wəqîrōwṯāw wəqîrōwṯehā
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