H2222a H2222a
drip, irrigate; verb possibly meaning to cause rain or moisture to fall
This rare verb appears only in a textual variant for Psalm 72, where scholars propose reading it instead of another rare word. The suggested meaning involves dripping or irrigating, fitting the psalm's agricultural imagery of righteous rule bringing blessing like rain on mown grass. The root possibly relates to either Arabic 'shed tears' or Aramaic 'heavy rain.' Such emendations reflect scholarly attempts to resolve difficult texts by proposing alternative Hebrew words with more transparent meanings. Whether the original text contained this verb remains uncertain.
Senses
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [זָרַף] vb. prob. drip (cf. either Arabic ذَرَفَ shed tears, or Aramaic ܙܳܪܺܝܦܬܳܐ imber vehemens)— Hiph. יַזְרִיף read in ψ 72:6 by Hup Bi Che (for זַרְזִיף) sq. אָ֑רֶץ cause to drip, irrigate.