H1262 H1262
To eat, take food; also to choose or select — a rare Hebrew verb for eating (distinct from common akal), with one instance meaning 'choose.'
Barah is a relatively rare verb whose primary sense is 'to eat' or 'to take food,' appearing almost exclusively in the David narratives of 2 Samuel. It functions across multiple stems: Qal 'to eat' (2 Sam 12:17; 13:6, 10), Hiphil 'to cause to eat, to feed' (2 Sam 3:35; 13:5), and Piel 'for devouring' (Lam 4:10). A single occurrence in 1 Sam 17:8 carries the entirely different meaning 'choose' — Goliath's challenge beru lakem ish ('choose for yourselves a man') — which some scholars attribute to a separate root or a scribal variation. The Spanish translations helpfully distinguish 'comió' (ate) from 'elegid' (choose), reflecting this semantic split.
Senses
1. eat, take food — To eat, take food, or cause to eat (feed). Used across Qal, Hiphil, and Piel stems in contexts of nourishment and sustenance. In 2 Sam 12:17, David's servants cannot persuade him to eat bread (barah) during his child's illness. In the Tamar narrative (2 Sam 13:5-10), Amnon manipulates the verb's Hiphil form — 'let her feed me' (tabreni) — to lure his sister. The Hiphil infinitive lehabrot in 2 Sam 3:35 describes attempts to make David eat during mourning. Spanish 'comió' and 'para-hacer-comer' capture the Qal and Hiphil distinction well. 6×
AR["طَعَامَهُنَّ","فَآكُلَ","لِ-يُأْكِلُوا","وَتُطعِمَني-","يَأكُل"]·ben["এবং-খাওয়াক-আমাকে","এবং-খাব","খাওয়াতে","খাবার","খেলেন"]·DE["[לברות]","er-ass","und-ich-wird-iss","und-lass-ihr-feed-mich","zu-cause-zu-iss"]·EN["and-I-will-eat","and-let-her-feed-me","food","he-ate","to-cause-to-eat"]·FR["[לברות]","et-je-fera-mange","et-que-sa-nourris-moi","il-mangea","à-cause-à-mange"]·heb["ברא","ו-אברה","ו-תבר-ני","ל-ברות","ל-הברות"]·HI["और-खिलाए-मुझे","और-मैं-खाऊँ","खाई","खिलाने-को","भोजन"]·ID["dan-aku-makan","dan-beri-aku-makan","makan","makanan","untuk-memberi-makan"]·IT["[לברות]","a-causa-a-mangia","e-io-vorrà-mangia","e-lascia-lei-feed-me","egli-mangiò"]·jav["dhahar","kangge-ndamel-dhahar","lan-kula-dhahar","lan-nyukani-kula-dhahar","tedha"]·KO["그리고-먹여주게-나에게","그리고-먹으리라-내가","먹이려고","먹지","음식-으로"]·PT["comeu","e-comerei","e-dê-me-de-comer","para-comida","para-fazer-comer"]·RU["ел","и-накормит-меня","и-поем-я","накормить","пищей"]·ES["comió","para-hacer-comer","por-comida","y-comeré","y-me-alimente"]·SW["chakula-chao","kula","kumfariji","na-anilishe","na-nile"]·TR["ve-yedirsin-bana","ve-yiyeyim","yedi","yedirmek","yiyecek-olarak"]·urd["اور-کھاؤں","اور-کھلائے-مجھے","کھانا","کھایا","کھلانے-کے-لیے"]
2. choose, select — To choose, select. Attested only in 1 Sam 17:8, where Goliath issues his famous challenge: beru lakem ish, 'choose for yourselves a man.' Spanish 'elegid' and French 'choisis' render this imperative clearly. Many scholars consider this a distinct root (barah II) rather than a semantic extension of 'eat,' and BDB itself notes the possibility of scribal confusion with bahar ('to choose'). Regardless of etymology, the context is unmistakable: selection of a champion for single combat. 1×
AR["اخْتَارُوا-"]·ben["বেছে-নাও"]·DE["erwaehle"]·EN["choose"]·FR["choisis"]·heb["ברו"]·HI["चुनो-"]·ID["pilihlah"]·IT["scegli"]·jav["milih-"]·KO["택하라-"]·PT["escolhei-"]·RU["выберите-"]·ES["elegid-"]·SW["chagueni"]·TR["seçin-"]·urd["چُنو"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)H1818 1. blood (physical substance) (327×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H1320 1. body, physical being (207×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. בָּרָה vb. eat (Assyrian barû & deriv. ZimBP 31) Qal Pf. 2 S 12:17 בָּרָה; Impf. אֶבְרֶה 2 S 13:6, 10 eat bread (בְּרוּ־לָכֶם 1 S 17:8 scribal error for בחדו לכם 1 K 18:25 DrSm 107). Pi. Inf. לְבָרוֹת La 4:10 for devouring. Hiph. Impf. תַּבְרֵנִי 2 S 13:5; Inf. לְהַבְרוֹת 2 S 3:35 cause to eat bread.