H3738a H3738a
To bore, dig, or pierce through; possibly to excavate or penetrate with force
This verb appears in the famous and textually contested Psalm 22:16, where most English versions read 'they have pierced my hands and my feet.' The Hebrew text (MT) reads 'like a lion' (כָּאֲרִי), but ancient versions and many scholars emend to כָּארוּ, 'they dug/bored.' This reading would derive from a root meaning to excavate or pierce, cognate with Assyrian 'to fell trees.' The variant translations across languages reflect this textual uncertainty, with French choosing 'comme creuser' (like digging) showing awareness of both readings.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To bore through or pierce, likely referring to violent penetration of the body. The psalm's context of suffering and the parallel with ancient versions support the interpretation of piercing hands and feet. However, the Masoretic tradition preserved 'like a lion,' creating a longstanding textual crux. Spanish and English favor the piercing interpretation ('como león' notwithstanding), while French explicitly references the digging/excavating sense that underlies the emendation. 1×
AR["كَالأَسَدِ"]·ben["সিংহের-মতো"]·DE["wie-ein-Löwe"]·EN["like-a-lion"]·FR["comme-creuser"]·heb["כ-ארי"]·HI["जैसे-सिंह"]·IT["[כארי]"]·jav["kados-singa"]·KO["사자-처럼"]·PT["como-leão"]·RU["как-льву"]·ES["como-león"]·SW["kama-simba"]·TR["aslan-gibi"]·urd["-شیر-کی-طرح"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. [כוּר] vb. meaning dub., perhaps bore, or dig, or hew (DlProl. 121 comp. Assyrian kâru, fell trees (DlHWB 324))—only Qal Pf. 3 pl. כארו = כָּארוּ for כָּרוּ ψ 22:17 (MT כָּאֲרִי, v. אֲרִי) they have bored (digged, hewn) my hands and my feet (si vera l.; cf. Vrss De Pe Che Bae al.; some, however, deriving from כרה in this sense); hence perhaps following.