H1272 H1272
To flee or run away; in Hifil, to chase away or put to flight; also of a bar that runs through or passes across.
This Hebrew verb captures the urgent motion of escape — Jacob fleeing from Laban (Gen 31:21), Hagar running from Sarah (Gen 16:6), Jonah bolting toward Tarshish to evade God's call (Jon 1:3). The basic Qal sense 'to flee' dominates, while the Hifil causative reverses the direction: someone is driven away or put to flight. A fascinating concrete usage appears in the tabernacle instructions (Exod 26:28; 36:33), where a bar 'runs through' the boards from end to end — the same root, now describing a bolt passing through rather than a person running away. French and German leave these latter occurrences untranslated in brackets, showing translators wrestling with this architectural metaphor.
3. sense 3 — A specialized constructional use where the bar of the tabernacle 'passes through' the boards (Exod 36:33). The infinitive construct with lamed indicates purpose or process — the bar is made to run through the middle of the frames. English 'to run' and Spanish 'para atravesar' ('to pass through') reveal this is not flight but linear traversal, a concrete spatial extension of the root's motion semantics. 1×
AR["لِتَجريَ"]·ben["গলিয়ে-যেতে"]·DE["zu-run"]·EN["to-run"]·FR["à-courir"]·heb["ל-ברוח"]·HI["जाने-को"]·ID["untuk-melintas"]·IT["a-run"]·jav["kanggé-mlampah"]·KO["관통하기-위하여"]·PT["para-atravessar"]·RU["проходить"]·ES["para-atravesar"]·SW["kupitia"]·TR["geçmek-için"]·urd["پہنچنے-کو"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. flee, run away (Qal) — The core Qal meaning: to flee, run away, or escape from danger, pursuit, or hardship. This is by far the most frequent usage (58 of 65 occurrences), spanning patriarchal narratives (Gen 27:43; 31:20-22), prophetic oracles (Isa 48:20), and wisdom literature (Job 9:25; 27:22). All major translations converge — English 'fled,' Spanish 'huyó,' French 'fuit,' German 'floh' — confirming a stable, universally recognized sense of panicked or purposeful flight. 58×
AR["فَ-هَرَبَ","فَهَرَبَ","هَرَبَ","وَ-هَرَبَ"]·ben["আর-পালাল","এবং-পালাল","এবং-পালালেন","এবং-পালিয়ে-গেলেন","ও-পালাল","পালাল","পালালেন","পালিয়ে-গেছেন","পালিয়েছিল","পালিয়েছিলেন","পালিয়েছে","পালিয়েছেন"]·DE["[ברח]","er-floh","floh","geflohen-war","hatte-floh","und-er-floh","und-floh"]·EN["and-fled","and-he-fled","fled","had-fled","he-fled"]·FR["[ברח]","avait-fuit","et-fuit","et-il-fuit","et-s'enfuit","fuit","il-fuit"]·heb["בָּרַח","ברח","ו-ברח","ו-יברח"]·HI["और-भअग","और-भाग-गया","और-भागा","भअग","भाग-गए","भाग-गया","भाग-गया-है","भागा","भागा-था"]·ID["Dan-larilah","Dan-melarikan-diri","dan melarikan diri","dan-melarikan-diri","dan-melarilah","dia-melarikan-diri","melarikan diri","melarikan-diri","telah-melarikan-diri"]·IT["[ברח]","aveva-fuggì","e-egli-fuggì","e-fuggì","egli-fuggì","fuggì"]·jav["Lan-lolos","Lan-mlayu","Lan-piyambakipun-lolos","lan-lolos","lan-mlajar","lan-mlayu","lan-piyambakipun-lolos","lolos","mlajar","mlayu","sampun-lolos"]·KO["그리고-도망쳤다","그리고-도망했다","도망쳤다","도망하였다","도망했다","에서-얼굴에서"]·PT["E-fugiu","e-fugiu","fugiu"]·RU["И-бежал","И-убежал","бежал","и-бежал","и-убежал","убежал"]·ES["Y-huyó","huyó","y-huyó"]·SW["Na-akakimbia","akakimbia","alikimbia","alikimbilia","amekimbia","na-akakimbia","na-akakimbilia","wamekimbia"]·TR["Ve-kaçtı","kaçmıştı","kaçtı","ve-kaçtı"]·urd["اور-بھاگا","بھاگ-گئی","بھاگ-گیا","بھاگا","بھاگا-تھا"]
2. drive away, put to flight (Hifil) — The Hifil (causative) stem: to make someone flee, to drive away or put to flight. In 1 Chronicles 8:13 the men of Gath are routed, and in Proverbs 19:26 a shameful son 'chases away' his mother. Spanish 'hicieron huir' ('they made flee') and German 'fliehen' transparently mark the causative force, while French often resorts to bracketed Hebrew forms, suggesting the nuance is harder to capture in a single French word. 5×
AR["طَرَدُوا","فَطَرَدْتُهُ","مُطارِدُ","وَطَرَدُوا","يُهَرِّبُهُ"]·ben["আর-তাড়িয়ে-দিলাম-তাকে","এবং-তারা-তাড়িয়ে-দিলেন","তাকে-পালাতে-পারে","তাড়িয়ে-দিয়েছিল","তাড়িয়ে-দেয়"]·DE["[הבריחו]","[ויבריחו]","fliehen","und-fliehen"]·EN["and-I-chased-him","and-put-to-flight","can-make-him-flee","drives-away","drove-out"]·FR["[הבריחו]","[ואבריחהו]","[ויבריחו]","fuir"]·heb["הבריחו","ו-אבריחהו-ו","ו-יבריחו","יבריח","יבריחנו"]·HI["इसलिए-मैंने-उसे-भगा-दिया","उसे-भगाएगा","और-भगाया","भगाए","भगानेवाला"]·ID["dan-aku-mengusir-dia","dan-mengusir","melarikannya","mengusir"]·IT["[הבריחו]","[ואבריחהו]","[ויבריחו]","fuggire"]·jav["lan-kula-ngusir","lan-ndhesèk","ngusir","saged-ngusir-piyambakipun"]·KO["그-와-쫓아냈다","그리고-쫓아냈다-내가-그를","도망치게-하리라-그것을","쪳아내고","쫓아냈다"]·PT["e-afugentaram","e-expulsei-o","faz-fugir","fizeram-fugir","o-fará-fugir"]·RU["и-обратили-в-бегство","и-прогнал-я-его","обратили-в-бегство","обращает-в-бегство-его","прогоняющий"]·ES["e-hicieron-huir","hace-huir","hicieron-huir","lo-hace-huir","y-lo-ahuyenté"]·SW["itamfanya-akimbie","na-kumfukuza","na-nikamfukuza","na-wakawafukuza","waliwafukuza"]·TR["kaçırır-onu","kovalayan","sürdüler","ve-kaçırdılar","ve-kovdum-onu"]·urd["اور-بھگایا-انہوں-نے","اور-بھگایا-میں-نے-اُسے","اُسے-بھگاتا","بھگانے-والا","بھگایا"]
4. sense 4 — The participial form describing a bar 'running' or 'passing across' the tabernacle structure (Exod 26:28). Closely related to sense 3 but syntactically distinct as an active participle. English 'running' and Spanish 'atravesando' ('crossing through') confirm the ongoing, spatial character of this architectural description — the middle bar continuously spans the full length of the frame. 1×
AR["عابِرَةٌ"]·ben["পার-করানো"]·DE["laufend"]·EN["running"]·FR["courant"]·heb["מבריח"]·HI["जाने-वाला"]·ID["melintang"]·IT["running"]·jav["nyambung"]·KO["관통하는"]·PT["atravessando"]·RU["проходящий"]·ES["atravesando"]·SW["likipitia"]·TR["geçen"]·urd["گزرتا-ہوا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† בָּרַח vb. go through, flee (cf. Germ. durchgehen) (Arabic بَرِحَ go away, withdraw, flee)— Qal Pf. בָּרַח Gn 31:22 + 9 times, בָּֽרְחוּ Jb 9:25, בָּרָ֑חוּ Is 22:3; Impf. יִבְרַח Jb 20:24, יִבְרָ֑ח Jb 27:22 Ne 6:11 וַיִּבְרַח Gn 31:21 + 13 times; 3 fs. וַתִּבְרַח Gn 16:6, אֶבְרָ֑ח ψ 139:7, יִבְרְחוּ Je 52:7, וַיִּבְרְחוּ 2 S 4:3 + 4 times, נִבְרָ֑חָה 2 S 15:14; Imv. בְּרַח Gn 27:43 + 3 times,…