Brown-Driver-Briggs
עָפָר noun masculineLeviticus 14:42 dry earth, dust; — absolute
׳ע Genesis 2:7 +, construct
עֲפַר Genesis 13:16 +; suffix
עֲפָרֵךְ Ezekiel 26:12,
עֲפָרוֺ Deuteronomy 9:21, etc.; plural construct
עַפְרֹת Job 28:6;
Proverbs 8:26; —
1 literally:
a. dry, loose earth, thrown (in malice) 2 Samuel 16:13 ("" אֲבָנִים); עַלרֿאֹשׁ ׳וַיַעֲלוּ ע Joshua 7:6 (J E; sign of grief), so Ezekiel 27:30; Lamentations 2:10, and (with זָרַק) Job 2:12; loose earth (on surface of ground) 1 Kings 18:38; Amos 2:7; Micah 1:10; Isaiah 34:7,9; Leviticus 17:13 (H) Ezekiel 24:7 (in figurative), Numbers 5:17; Job 14:19; Job 38:38; Job 39:14; Genesis 26:15 (R), made into siege works Habakkuk 1:10; of sand-storm Deuteronomy 28:24 (+ אָבָק); as serpent's food, token of punishment and humiliation, Genesis 3:14 (J) Isaiah 65:25 (compare Micah 7:17 2e below); ׳זֹחֲלֵי ע Deuteronomy 32:24 (poem; compare 2e).
b. specifically as material of human body Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:19 (J), Ecclesiastes 3:20, compare Job 4:19; Job 8:19; Psalm 103:14, to which it returns (שׁוּב אֶלֿ) Genesis 3:19; Job 10:9; Psalm 104:29; Ecclesiastes 3:20; so (with עַל) Job 34:15; Ecclesiastes 12:7.
c. = surface of ground Exodus 8:12; Exodus 8:13 (twice in verse); (P; הָאָרַץ ׳ע), Job 19:25; Isaiah 25:12; Isaiah 26:5 (both "" אֶרֶץ), surface of (whole) earth Job 41:25, ׳מְחִלוֺת ע Isaiah 2:19 (for hiding), so ׳ע alone Isaiah 2:10, compare ׳חֹרֵי ע Job 30:6; = soil, Job 5:6; Job 14:8.
d. powder of anything pulverized Deuteronomy 9:21 (twice in verse) (compare דָּ֑ק "" Exodus 32:20), 2 Kings 23:6 (twice in verse); 2 Kings 23:12,15, so in simile 2 Samuel 22:43 = Psalm 18:43, hence = ashes Psalm 18:4; Numbers 19:17.
e. debris, of ruined city 1 Kings 20:10; Ezekiel 26:4,12; Nehemiah 3:34; Nehemiah 4:4; Psalm 102:15. The following are late:
f. earth of the grave: אֶשְׁכַּב ׳לֶע Job 7:21, so (with עַל) Job 20:11; Job 21:26, compare Job 17:16; ׳יוֺרְדֵי ע Psalm 22:30, ׳שֹׁכְנֵי ע Isaiah 26:19, ׳יְשֵׁנֵי אַדְמַתעֿ Daniel 12:2; עֲפַרמָֿוֶת Psalm 22:16; ׳ע in figure Psalm 30:10.
g. mortar (i.e. dried mud) for plastering houses Leviticus 14:41,42,45 (P).
h. (iron-) ore Job 28:2; עַפְרֹת זָהָב Job 28:6 gold-dust (but see סַמִּיר).
i. material of earth Isaiah 40:12, compare ראֹשׁ עַפְרֹת תֵּבֵל Proverbs 8:26 the first of the earth particles of the world.
2 figurative:
a. of abundance Genesis 13:16 (twice in verse); Genesis 28:14 (all J) 2 Chronicles 1:9; Job 27:16; Psalm 78:27 ("" חוֺל יַמִּים), compare עֲפַר יַעֲקֹב Numbers 23:10 (JE); with added idea of commonness, worthlessness Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 9:3.
b. of worthlessness (alone) Job 22:24.
c. simile of the scattered, dispersed 2 Kings 13:7; ׳כֶּע Isaiah 41:2 (so van d. H. Ginsb; Baer ׳כֵּע; on meaning see Du Che, reading תְּשִׂימֵם for יִתֵּן).
d. of self-abasement Genesis 18:27 (+ אֵפַר), ׳וְנִחַמְתִּי עַלעֿ וָאֵפֶר Job 42:6, מִּיהוּ ׳יִתֵּן בֶּע Lamentations 3:29.
e. of humiliation (sitting or lying in dust) Isaiah 47:1; compare Isaiah 29:4 (twice in verse), Job 16:15; Job 40:13; Psalm 7:6; Psalm 44:26; Psalm 119:25, simile Job 30:19; licking dust Psalm 72:9; Isaiah 49:23; Micah 7:17, compare Tel Amarna tikalu ipra (of enemies, see WklAltor. Forsch. iii. 291; also of serpent 1a above); of ׳י raising from the dust 1 Samuel 2:8 = Psalm 113:7, 1 Kings 16:2; of lifting oneself Isaiah 52:2.
