Lexical Summary pasaq: To cut off, to cease, to stop Original Word: פָשַׂק Strong's Exhaustive Concordance open wide A primitive root; to dispart (the feet or lips), i.e. Become licentious -- open (wide). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to part, open wide NASB Translation opens wide (1), spread (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [מָּשַׂק ] verb part, open wide (Late Hebrew מָּסַק, Aramaic מְּסַק,  , all cut, sever, cleave); — Qal Participle שֲֵֹׁק שְׂפָתָיו Proverbs 13:3 i.e. one talkative. Pi`el Imperfect2feminine singular וַתְּפַשְּׂקִי אֶתרַֿגְלַיִךְ Ezekiel 16:23 (with ל person; sensu obsc.). Topical Lexicon Root and Semantic Rangeפָשַׂק conveys the idea of gaping or flinging open, whether of the mouth in reckless speech or of the body in sexual abandon. In both inspired occurrences the verb stresses an excessive, unguarded openness that invites destruction. Biblical Occurrences Proverbs 13:3 warns, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin”. The sage contrasts disciplined speech with a mouth “opened wide” in unbridled talk. פָשַׂק pictures lips stretched beyond safe bounds, exposing the speaker to calamity. Ezekiel 16:25 rebukes Jerusalem’s covenant infidelity: “At the head of every road you built your elevated shrine and made your beauty an abomination; you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your prostitution”. Here the verb starkly portrays wanton immorality. The physical image of legs spread wide dramatizes spiritual harlotry—Israel’s reckless embrace of foreign gods. Historical and Cultural Context Wisdom literature in the ancient Near East consistently extols measured speech. In royal courts and family settings alike, a guarded mouth signaled prudence. The unrestrained lips denounced in Proverbs 13:3 would disrupt social order, jeopardize honor, and expose one to legal peril. Ezekiel prophesied during Judah’s final decades before the Babylonian exile. Syncretistic worship on every street corner betrayed the people’s covenant vows. The prophet adopts the vivid language of prostitution common in ancient treaties, where political disloyalty was likened to adultery. פָשַׂק thus carries a forensic edge: the nation’s shameless openness stands as evidence in Yahweh’s lawsuit against His bride. Theological Themes 1. Self-control versus excess. Both passages affirm a biblical ethic of boundaries. Whether in words or sexuality, unregulated openness leads to ruin. The fruit of the Spirit—“self-control” (Galatians 5:23)—answers the folly of פָשַׂק behavior. 2. Covenant fidelity. Ezekiel’s usage shows that moral restraint is not mere propriety but loyalty to God. When Israel “opened wide,” she breached relational exclusivity and incurred judgment. 3. The danger of presumption. An opened mouth or body imagines impunity. Scripture counters this illusion: “Guard your heart above all else, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). פָשַׂק warns that boundaries ignored will eventually be enforced by divine discipline. Practical and Ministry Implications Pastoral care. Counseling often encounters the fallout of unguarded speech—broken relationships, legal troubles, church conflict. Proverbs 13:3 provides a concise diagnostic and prescriptive tool: guard the mouth to preserve life. Preaching and teaching on purity. Ezekiel 16:25 supplies a sobering metaphor for sexual sin. The frank language confronts cultural permissiveness and elevates the biblical vision of covenantal intimacy. Spiritual formation. Prayer practices such as silence and fasting can train believers to close what the flesh seeks to fling open, cultivating reverence and dependence on the Spirit. Church discipline. The verb’s dual contexts—verbal and sexual excess—underscore areas where congregations must exercise loving accountability. Christological and Redemptive Linkages Jesus Christ embodies the antithesis of פָשַׂק. He “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22) and remained faithful as the true Bridegroom. At Calvary His body was exposed not in shameless rebellion but in redemptive humility, bearing the penalty for every careless word (Matthew 12:36) and every act of infidelity. By union with Him, believers receive power to close lips and legs to destructive openness and to open hearts in obedient worship. Related Biblical Motifs • Guarding the lips: Proverbs 10:19; James 1:19 Summary פָשַׂק captures the peril of unrestrained openness—speech that overruns discretion and actions that violate covenant purity. Proverbs calls the individual to watchfulness; Ezekiel indicts the nation for wholesale abandonment. Both testify that God’s wise order flourishes within divinely set boundaries, a truth fulfilled and empowered through Jesus Christ for the well-being of His people. Forms and Transliterations וַתְּפַשְּׂקִ֥י ותפשקי פֹּשֵׂ֥ק פשק pō·śêq poSek pōśêq vattefasseKi wat·tə·p̄aś·śə·qî wattəp̄aśśəqîLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Proverbs 13:3 HEB: שֹׁמֵ֣ר נַפְשׁ֑וֹ פֹּשֵׂ֥ק שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יו מְחִתָּה־ NAS: his life; The one who opens wide his lips KJV: his life: [but] he that openeth wide his lips INT: preserves his life opens his lips to ruin Ezekiel 16:25 2 Occurrences |
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