צָפַר tsâphar — to skip about, i.e. return

pronounced tsaw-far' · Strong's H6852 · 1 occurrence in the Hebrew Bible · 1 stem: Qal (Pa'al)

Translated in the KJV as depart early.

a primitive root; to skip about, i.e. return.

tsâphar in each stem

Qal (Pa'al) 1×

Simple · active — the plain action; the subject does it

Imperfect (yiqtol) 1

וְיִצְפֹּ֖ר Judg 7:3 Imperfect (yiqtol), 3rd person masculine singular

Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. (KJV)

What the stems mean

A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›

Open in Hebrew Explorer with Verb Anatomy on →

In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. tsâphar in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

Open Hebrew Explorer — 30+ free study tools →

Hebrew Explorer Weekly

One email, every Friday

This week’s Torah portion, a Hebrew word from it, an archaeology discovery, and what’s new — in time for Shabbat. Free, and one click to stop.

See a recent issue