H1640 H1640
sweep away, carry off (by flood or current)
This verb describes the Kishon torrent sweeping away Sisera's forces in Deborah's song. The root suggests scooping or sweeping away, as floodwaters carry off everything in their path. The Song of Deborah celebrates this natural intervention: the ancient river Kishon became God's ally, its swollen current dragging away Canaanite chariots. The verb captures the irresistible force of waters in flood, turning Sisera's technological advantage into a death trap.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Judges 5:21 proclaims, 'The torrent Kishon swept them away.' The verb's root sense involves sweeping or scooping up and carrying off, perfect for describing a flash flood engulfing an army. The multilingual glosses ('swept away', 'barrió') capture this irresistible current. The Song celebrates how God turned nature against Israel's enemies: their chariots, devastating on dry ground, became anchors in mud as the Kishon rose to sweep away Canaanite forces. The verb embodies divine intervention through creation's forces. 1×
AR["جَرَفَهُمْ"]·ben["বহিয়ে-নিল-তাদের"]·DE["swept-ihnen-weg"]·EN["swept-them-away"]·FR["swept-eux-au-loin"]·heb["גרפם"]·HI["बहा-ले-गई-उन्हें"]·ID["menyapunya"]·IT["swept-loro-via"]·jav["nyeret-piyambakipun"]·KO["쓸어버렸다-그들을"]·PT["os-varreu"]·RU["унёс-их"]·ES["los-barrió"]·SW["uliwasomba"]·TR["sürükleyip-götürdü-onları"]·urd["بہا-لے-گیا-اُنہیں"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [גָּרַף] vb. sweep away (orig. shovel or scoop up, away, cf. NH id., Arabic جَرَفَ; Aramaic גְּרַף ܓܪܰܦ, Ethiopic in deriv.)— Qal pf. 3 ms. sf. גְּרָפָם (נַחַל קִישׁוֹן) Ju 5:21.