H7168 H7168
torn pieces of garment, rags
This noun denotes torn pieces of cloth, whether deliberately ripped garments (as in the symbolic tearing of Jeroboam's cloak into twelve pieces) or worn rags (signifying poverty). The root conveys violent rending, and the plural form emphasizes multiple fragments. Torn garments carried powerful symbolic weight in ancient Israel—marking grief, judgment, or prophetic enactment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Designates torn pieces or fragments of cloth. In 1 Kings 11:30-31, Ahijah tears his new garment into twelve pieces (שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר קְרָעִים), symbolically dividing Solomon's kingdom. In 2 Kings 2:12, Elisha tears his own clothes into pieces in mourning. Proverbs 23:21 uses 'rags' (קְרָעִים) as a sign of poverty befalling the drunkard. The multilingual evidence shows consistent rendering of torn fabric: Spanish 'pedazos/harapos,' French 'pieces,' German 'pieces'—though some languages struggled to distinguish the deliberate tearing from mere rags. 4×
AR["قِطَعًا", "قِطَعٍ", "قِطْعَةً", "وَ-خِرَقًا"]·ben["ও-ছেঁড়া-কাপড়", "টুকরায়", "টুকরো"]·DE["[וקרעים]", "pieces"]·EN["and-rags", "pieces"]·FR["et-וקרעים", "pieces"]·heb["ו-קרעים", "קרעים"]·HI["और-चीथड़े", "टुकड़े", "टुकड़ों-में"]·ID["dan-kain-compang", "koyakan", "sobekan"]·IT["e-e-rags", "pezzi"]·jav["lan-suwek", "suwek"]·KO["그리고-누더기를", "조각들", "조각으로", "조각을"]·PT["e-trapos", "pedaços"]·RU["и-лохмотьями", "кусков", "части"]·ES["pedazos", "y-harapos"]·SW["na-matambara", "vipande", "viraruo"]·TR["parcalar", "parça", "ve-pasaklılık"]·urd["اور-چیتھڑے", "ٹکڑے"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [קֶ֫רַע] n.m. 1 K 11:30 torn piece of garment, rag;—pl. קְרָעִים 1 K 11:30 he tore it into twelve pieces, v 31 2 K 2:12; rags Pr 23:21 (sign of poverty).