This is a verbal form from the common root פָּרָה meaning 'to bear fruit' or 'be fruitful,' the same root appearing in God's creation blessing 'be fruitful and multiply' (Genesis 1:22). In Hosea 13:15, the Hifil form appears in a context of bitter irony: though Ephraim may flourish (with a wordplay on the name Ephraim, which sounds like 'fruitful'), the east wind of judgment is coming. The verb throughout Scripture carries connotations of productivity, prosperity, and blessing—making its use in this judgment oracle particularly poignant as fertility imagery is reversed into barrenness and destruction.