H6083 H6083
Dust, dry earth, or loose soil; the material of human creation and mortality, also rubble or fine powder.
Aphar is the dry, loose earth from which humanity was formed (Gen 2:7) and to which all return (Gen 3:19). It is the dust thrown on the head in grief (Josh 7:6; Job 2:12), the soil that drinks blood (Isa 34:7), the ground a serpent must eat in humiliation (Gen 3:14), and the numberless particles to which Abraham compares his promised descendants (Gen 13:16). The word is viscerally physical—French poussiere, Spanish polvo, German Staub all preserve its gritty, particulate texture. Its theological weight is immense: aphar is both the raw material of creation and the emblem of mortality.
Senses
1. dust, dry earth, soil — The dominant sense covering nearly all occurrences: dust, dry earth, or loose soil as a physical substance. This includes the dust of human creation (Gen 2:7), the dust of mortality (Gen 3:19; Eccl 3:20), dust thrown in grief (Josh 7:6; Job 2:12), earth used in ritual purification (Lev 14:41–42; Num 5:17), and dust as a figure of innumerability (Gen 13:16) or humiliation (Gen 3:14; Mic 7:17). Multilingual evidence is remarkably uniform: spa 'polvo,' fra 'poussiere,' deu 'Staub'—all pointing to the same fine, dry particulate matter. 108×
AR["التُرابِ", "التُّرابِ", "التُّرَابُ", "التُّرَابِ", "تُراباً", "تُرابًا", "تُرابٍ", "تُرَابًا", "تُرَابٌ", "تُرَابٍ"]·ben["ধুলো", "ধূলা", "ধূলাতে", "ধূলায়", "ধূলার", "ধূলির", "ধূলো", "ধূলোর", "মাটির"]·DE["Staub", "bin-Staub"]·EN["dust", "the-dust"]·FR["poussière"]·heb["עפר"]·HI["धरती", "धुल", "धूल", "धूल-के", "धूल-में।", "मिट्टी", "मिट्टी-के"]·ID["bumi", "debu", "di-debu", "tanah"]·IT["polvere"]·jav["lebu"]·KO["먼지", "먼지가", "먼지를", "먼지와", "먼지의", "먼지이고", "흙", "흙을", "흙의", "흩의"]·PT["o-pó", "pó"]·RU["земли", "по-земле", "прах", "праха", "прахе", "прахом"]·ES["el-polvo", "polvo", "polvo;"]·SW["mavumbi", "mavumbini", "udongo", "vumbi"]·TR["toprak", "toprakta", "toprağın", "toz", "toza", "tozu", "tozum"]·urd["خاک", "خاک-میں", "زمین", "سوراخوں میں", "مٹی", "مٹی کی", "مٹی-سے", "مٹی-کے", "پر"]
Gen 2:7, Gen 3:19, Gen 3:19, Gen 18:27, Lev 14:41, Num 5:17, Deut 9:21, Deut 32:24, Josh 7:6, 1 Kgs 16:2, 2 Kgs 13:7, Job 2:12 (+38 more)
2. sense 2 — Fine powder or wind-blown dust particles, a specialized subset where aphar denotes not earth on the ground but airborne particulate matter. Deut 28:24 warns that God will make rain into 'aphar and dust' (paired with avaq) coming down as a devastating sand-storm. The multilingual glosses—eng 'and-powder,' spa 'y-ceniza' (and-ash), fra 'et-powder'—distinguish this from settled ground-dust, pointing to a fine, wind-driven powder. 1×
AR["وَتُرَابًا"]·ben["এবং-মাটি"]·DE["und-powder"]·EN["and-powder"]·FR["et-powder"]·heb["ו-עפר"]·HI["और-राख"]·ID["dan-pasir"]·IT["e-powder"]·jav["lan-lebu"]·KO["그리고-흩으로"]·PT["e-terra"]·RU["и-прах"]·ES["y-ceniza"]·SW["na-mchanga"]·TR["ve-toprak"]·urd["اور-خاک"]
3. sense 3 — Rubble or debris from demolished structures, where aphar refers to broken-down building material rather than natural earth. In Neh 4:10 the workers lament the great amount of aphar (rubble, debris) hindering reconstruction of Jerusalem's walls. The translations—eng 'and-the-rubble,' spa 'y-el-polvo,' deu 'und-der-Staub'—show the shift from natural dust to construction debris, though the boundary with sense 1 is porous. 1×
AR["وَ-التُّرَابُ"]·ben["এবং-ধূলি"]·DE["und-der-Staub"]·EN["and-the-rubble"]·FR["[והעפר]"]·heb["ו-ה-עפר"]·HI["और-कचरा"]·ID["dan-puing"]·IT["[והעפר]"]·jav["lan-lebu"]·KO["그리고-흙이"]·PT["e-o-pó"]·RU["и-мусора"]·ES["y-el-polvo"]·SW["na-vumbi"]·TR["ve-toprak"]·urd["اور-خاک-کی"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)H1259 1. hail (weather phenomenon) (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עָפָר n.m. Lv 14:42 dry earth, dust;—abs. ע׳ Gn 2:7 +, cstr. עֲפַר Gn 13:16 +; sf. עֲפָרֵךְ Ez 26:12, עֲפָרוֹ Dt 9:21, etc.; pl. cstr. עַפְרֹת Jb 28:6; Pr 8:26;— 1. lit.: a. dry, loose earth, thrown (in malice) 2 S 16:13 (‖ אֲבָנִים); וַיַּעֲלוּ ע׳ עַל־רֹאשׁ Jos 7:6 (JE; sign of grief), so Ez 27:30; La 2:10, and (c. זָרַק) Jb 2:12; loose earth (on surface of ground) 1 K 18:38; Am 2:7; Is 34:7,…