H3293a H3293a
Forest, wood, thicket; once as a place name (Yaar) associated with Kiriath-jearim
Denotes a wooded area, forest, or dense thicket — the wild, untamed terrain that contrasts with cultivated land in the Hebrew imagination. Named forests like the 'forest of Lebanon' (1 Kgs 7:2), the 'forest of Hereth' (1 Sam 22:5), and the 'forest of Ephraim' (2 Sam 18:6) serve as settings for pivotal biblical events. Joshua 17:15–18 uses it practically: if the hill country is too narrow, go up to the forest and clear it. In Ps 132:6, the term appears to function as a place name (Yaar) linked to the Ark's sojourn at Kiriath-jearim, 'city of forests.' Translations across languages consistently render 'forest/bosque/forêt/Wald.'
1. forest, wood, thicket — A forest, wood, or thicket (55x), referring to natural wooded terrain. Deut 19:5 envisions a man going with his neighbor into the יַעַר to cut trees, and 2 Sam 18:6–8 describes the forest of Ephraim consuming more soldiers than the sword in Absalom's rebellion. Jer 10:3 speaks of cutting wood from the forest to make an idol. Multilingual evidence ('forest/bosque/forêt/Wald') is unanimous in rendering natural woodland. The term carries occasional overtones of danger and wildness, as beasts of the forest threaten in Ps 50:10 and Isa 56:9. 55×
AR["الغابَة","الغَابَةِ","الْغابَةُ","الْغَابَةَ","الْغَابَةِ","الْوَعْرِ","غَابَةٍ","فِي-غَابَةٍ","هَ-يَعَر","وَعْرٌ"]·ben["-বনের","বন","বন-এর","বনকে","বনে-","বনের"]·DE["Wald","der-forest"]·EN["forest","the-forest"]·FR["[היער]","de-la-forêt,","forest","forêt","le-forest"]·heb["ה-יער","יער"]·HI["जंगल","जंगल-का","जंगल-की","जंगल-के","में-वृक्षों","वन-के"]·ID["-hutan","-hutan?","Hutan","hutan"]·IT["[היער]","foresta","il-bosco","il-foresta"]·jav["alas","kewan-alas","wana"]·KO["그-숲","그-숲-의","그-숲의","그-숲이","숲","숲-을","숲-의","숲에","숲의"]·PT["a-floresta","bosque","da-floresta","floresta","o-bosque"]·RU["-леса","·-леса","в-лесу","лес","леса"]·ES["bosque","el-bosque"]·SW["msitu","msituni","ya-msitu"]·TR["ağaçlarında","orman","ormanin","ormanı","ormanın"]·urd["جنگل","جنگل-میں","جنگل-نے","جنگل-کا","جنگل-کی","جنگل-کے","جنگل-کے-میں","میں"]
Deut 19:5, Josh 17:15, Josh 17:18, 1 Sam 22:5, 2 Sam 18:6, 2 Sam 18:8, 2 Sam 18:17, 1 Kgs 7:2, 1 Kgs 10:17, 1 Kgs 10:21, 2 Kgs 2:24, 2 Kgs 19:23 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. Yaar (place name) — A place name 'Yaar' (1x) in Ps 132:6, within the liturgical recollection of finding the Ark: 'we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of Yaar.' This likely refers to Kiriath-jearim ('city of forests'), where the Ark rested for twenty years (1 Sam 7:1–2). The German gloss 'Yaar' preserves the proper-noun reading, while Spanish 'bosque' and French 'forêt' assimilate it to the common noun, obscuring the geographic reference. 1×
AR["يَعْرَ"]·ben["বনের।"]·DE["Yaar"]·EN["Yaar"]·FR["forêt"]·heb["יער"]·HI["जंगल"]·ID["hutan"]·IT["foresta"]·jav["Yaar"]·KO["야알"]·PT["Jaar"]·RU["леса"]·ES["bosque"]·SW["Yaari"]·TR["Yaar'ın"]·urd["جنگل-کے"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)G0837 1. grow, increase (intransitive) (20×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. יַ֫עַר n.m. 2 S 18:8 wood, forest, thicket (MI21 pl. היערן (= n.pr.loc.?); Ph. יער and יר, cf. DHM in MV(10) 983; Aramaic יַעֲרָא, ܝܰܥܪܳܐ wood, thicket; Assyrian âru DlHWB 230, cf. JägerBAS i, 476)—abs. יַ֫עַר Is 7:2 +; יָ֑עַר Mi 3:12 +; c. ה loc. יַעֲרָה Jos 17:15; cstr. יַ֫עַר 2 S 18:6; יַעְרָהּ Je 46:23, etc.; pl. יְעָרִים Ezr 2:25 + 4 times (incl. Ez 34:25 Qr, so Co); יְעָרוֹת ψ 29:9;—…