H1197b H1197b
To be brutish or stupid like an animal; also: to graze, let livestock feed in a field
A denominative verb from be'ir ('beast, cattle'), carrying two quite different semantic profiles. In its primary prophetic usage, it means 'to be brutish, stupid, dull-hearted' -- behaving with the uncomprehending nature of an animal rather than a reasoning human. Isaiah calls Egypt's counselors 'brutish' (Isa 19:11), the psalmist rebukes the senseless among the people (Ps 94:8), and Jeremiah repeatedly condemns those who are 'too stupid to know God' (Jer 10:8, 14, 21). The second sense, attested in the Covenant Code (Exod 22:5), is agricultural: to graze or let one's livestock feed in another's field -- a concrete, legal usage that preserves the etymological connection to cattle.
Senses
1. be brutish, be stupid, be dull-hearted — To be brutish, stupid, or dull-hearted -- behaving like an irrational beast rather than a person capable of moral and spiritual discernment. English glosses include 'stupid' and 'brutish'; Spanish renders 'embrutecido' (made brutish), directly reflecting the denominative origin from be'ir ('beast'). Prophetic literature dominates: Isaiah 19:11 mocks Pharaoh's advisors, Psalm 94:8 rebukes the senseless in Israel, and Jeremiah uses both Qal and Niphal forms to describe people stupefied by idolatry (Jer 10:8, 14, 21; 51:17). The Niphal in Jeremiah 10:14 may carry the nuance 'stupefied' -- stunned into dullness by the spectacle of God's power. 7×
AR["بَلُدَ", "بَلِهَ", "بَلِيدَةٌ", "مُتَوَحِّشِينَ", "يَا-بُلَدَاءَ", "يَبْلَهُونَ"]·ben["পশুতুল্য-হয়", "পশুতুল্য-হয়-তারা", "পশুতুল্য-হয়েছে", "পশুতুল্যদের", "বোকা", "মূর্খ-হয়েছে", "হে-পশুরা"]·DE["[בערים]", "[יבערו]", "[נבער]", "[נבערה]", "[נבערו]", "du-brutish"]·EN["Is-stupid", "are-stupid", "brutish", "is-stupid", "stupid", "they-are-stupid", "you-brutish"]·FR["[יבערו]", "[נבער]", "[נבערה]", "[נבערו]", "dans-consumer", "dans-villes"]·heb["בוערים", "יבערו", "נבער", "נבערה", "נבערו"]·HI["पशु-जैसी", "पशु-जैसे", "पशु-समान-हुए", "पशु-समान-है", "पशु-समान-हैं", "पशुओं-जैसे", "मूर्ख-है"]·ID["bodoh", "brutal", "menjadi-bodoh", "mereka-bodoh", "orang-orang-bodoh"]·IT["[בערים]", "in-citta'", "togliere"]·jav["Bodho", "bodho", "ingkang-bodho", "ingkang-kobong,", "piyambakipun-sami-bodho", "wong-bodho"]·KO["그들이-어리석고", "어리석다", "어리석어진다", "어리석었다", "어리석으니", "어리석은-자-들아", "짐승같은"]·PT["Embruteceu-se", "brutais", "bruto", "embruteceram-se", "são-brutos", "ó-estultos"]·RU["Безумствует", "бессмысленный", "варварских", "неразумные", "обезумели", "оглупел", "становятся-скоты"]·ES["Embrutecido-está", "brutales", "embrutecido", "se-embrutecieron", "son-necios", "torpes"]·SW["Amekuwa-mjinga", "amekuwa-mpumbavu", "ni-wapumbavu", "umekuwa-ujinga", "wajinga", "wakatili", "wamekuwa-wapumbavu"]·TR["ah-maklaşırlar", "ahmaklaştı", "aptallaştı", "hayvanlar", "hayvansi", "vahşi"]·urd["اے-بے-عقلو", "بے-عقل-ہو-گئے", "بے-عقل-ہو-گیا", "بے-عقل-ہیں", "بے-عقل-ہے", "بے-عقلی", "وحشی"]
2. graze, let graze, consume by grazing — To graze, let livestock feed, or consume vegetation by grazing -- Piel and Hiphil forms attested in the Covenant Code (Exod 22:5). The Hiphil yav'er means 'to cause to be grazed over' (i.e., to send one's animals into another's field), while the Piel uvi'er means 'to feed, graze.' English renders 'lets-graze' and 'and-it-grazes'; Spanish uses 'haga-pastar' (let graze). This concrete agricultural sense preserves the word's etymological link to be'ir ('beast') more transparently than the metaphorical 'brutish' sense. 2×
AR["رَعى-", "وَ-رَعَت"]·ben["এবং-চরে", "চরায়-"]·DE["lets-graze", "und-es-grazes"]·EN["and-it-grazes", "lets-graze"]·FR["et-cela-grazes", "lets-graze"]·heb["ו-ביער", "יבעיר-"]·HI["और-चरे", "चराए-"]·ID["dan-ia menggembalakan", "menggembalakan-"]·IT["e-esso-grazes", "lets-graze"]·jav["sarta-ngangon", "tiyang-ngenengaken-angon"]·KO["그리고-먹이면", "먹이면"]·PT["e-pastar", "pastar-"]·RU["и-потравит", "потравит-"]·ES["haga-pastar", "y-pace"]·SW["akilisha", "na-kulisha"]·TR["otlatırsa-", "ve-otlarsa"]·urd["اور-چرے", "چرائے-"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. [בָּעַר] vb.denom. be brutish— Qal Impf. יִבְעֲרוּ Je 10:8 (‖ יכסלו) be stupid, dull-hearted, unreceptive; cf. Pt. pl. בֹּעֲרִים ψ 94:8 (‖ כסילים); of inhuman, cruel, barbarous men Ez 21:36. Niph. Pf. נִבְעַר Je 10:14 = 51:17, נִבְעֲרוּ Je 10:21; Pt. נִבְעָרָ֑ה Is 19:11;—brutish, stupid Is 19:11 (עצה, ‖ אויל); dull-hearted, ignorant of God Je 10:14, 21; 51:17. Niph. Je 10:14 = 51:17 rather…