Original Word: יָעוֹר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ya`owr
Pronunciation: yah-ore'
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-ore')
KJV: wood
Word Origin: [a variation of H3298 (יַעֲרֶשׁיָה - Jaareshiah)]

1. a forest

wood

A variation of Ya'areshyah; a forest -- wood.

see HEBREW Ya'areshyah

Word Origin
the same as yaar, q.v.

I. יַ֫עַר noun masculine^{2Samuel 18:8} wood, forest, thicket (MI²¹ plural היערן (= proper name, of a location ?); Phoenician יער and יר, compare DHM in MV (10) 983; Aramaic יַעֲרָא, wood, thicket; Assyrian âru Dl^{HWB 230}, compare Jäger^{BAS i, 476}) — absolute ַ֫ יעַר Isaiah 7:2 +; יָ֑עַר Micah 3:12 +; with ה locative יַעֲרָה Joshua 17:15; construct ַ֫ יעַר 2 Samuel 18:6; יַעְרָהּ Jeremiah 46:23, etc.; plural יְעָרִים Ezra 2:25 4t. (including Ezekiel 34:25 Qr, so Co); יְעָרוֺת Psalm 29:9; —

a. wood, forest, wooded height, with trees to be felled Joshua 17:15 (with עלה go up to), Joshua 17:18 (J), Deuteronomy 19:5 (not elsewhere Hexateuch); עֵץ מִיַּעַר כְּרָתוֺ Jeremiah 10:13 as wood out of a forest he hath cut it; יחטבו מןהֿיערים Ezekiel 39:10 (עצים מןהֿשׂדה in "" clause); as producing trees יער צוֺמֵחַ עֵצִים Ecclesiastes 2:6; in designation of Solomon's palace בֵּית יַעַר הַלְּבָנוֺן 1 Kings 7:2 (on structure of this house see Sta^{Salomos Bauten, ZAW 1883, 150}), 1 Kings 10:17,21 2Chronicles 9:16,20; compare בֵּית הַיָּ֫עַר Isaiah 22:8; figurative of foes to be cut down and destroyed נִקַּף סִבְכֵי היער Isaiah 10:34; כָּֽרְתוּ יַעְרָהּ Jeremiah 46:23; so Isaiah 32:19 and יער הַבָּצִו֯ר Zechariah 11:2 (read Kt הַבָּצוּר inaccessible forest).

b. as hiding-place for fugitive 1 Samuel 22:5; lurking-place of wild beasts Amos 3:4; Micah 5:7; 2 Kings 2:24; Jeremiah 5:6; Jeremiah 12:8; Isaiah 56:9; Psalm 50:10; Psalm 80:14; Psalm 104:20, compare Ezekiel 34:25 (read Qr, see above)

c. stripped by voice of ׳י Psalm 29:9; devoured by fire Isaiah 9:17 (׳סִבְכֵי הַיּ; figurative of the people); so in metaphor or simile of ׳יs judgements Isaiah 10:18 (כְּבוֺד יַעְרוֺ, figurative of Assyr.), Jeremiah 21:14; Ezekiel 21:2; Ezekiel 21:3 (see below) Psalm 83:15.

d. opposed to כַּרְמֶל (garden-land) Isaiah 29:17; Isaiah 32:15; but also יַעַר כַּרְמִלּוֺ his garden woodland 2 Kings 19:23 = Isaiah 37:24, and יַעַר בְּתוֺךְ כַּרְמֶל Micah 7:14 (secluded and fertile abode for flock, figurative of people, see Che; Hi-St thinks of sacred grove).

e. = thicket, especially as symbol of desolation Hosea 2:14; בָּמוֺת יער thicket-covered heights (overgrown with bushes and trees) Micah 3:12 = Jeremiah 26:18; also בַּיַּעַר בּעֲרַב Isaiah 21:13 in the thicket (or bushes, so VB) in Arabia must ye lodge, caravans of Dedanites.

f. עֲצֵי (ה)יער trees of the forest Isaiah 7:2 (in sim), Isaiah 10:19 (יַעְרוֺ שְׁאָר עֵץ, figurative), Isaiah 44:14; Ezekiel 15:2, also Ezekiel 15:6 (עֵץ היער), Songs 2:3 (in simile); figurative, as singing before ׳י Psalm 96:12 = 1 Chronicles 16:33; Isaiah 44:23 (יער וְכָלעֵֿץ בּוֺ).

g. particular forests are: יער אפרים 2 Samuel 18:6, see אֶפְרַיִם above; compare 2 Samuel 18:18; 2 Samuel 18:17 (see also Joshua 17:15,18); יַעַר חָ֑רֶת 1 Samuel 22:5 (see above); יַעַר לְבָנוֺן (see above); יַעַר הַשָּׂדֶה נֶגֶב and יַעַר הַנָּגֶב Ezekiel 21:2; Ezekiel 21:3 (see above) figurative of Judah (land and people); see also יְעָרִים below — שְׂדֵיָֿ֑ יעַר Psalm 132:6 is a proper name, of a location (but Bae thinks appellative 'auf waldigem Gefilcle'), see קִרְיַת יְעָרִים. On 1 Samuel 14:25,26, see II. יער. — יעורים Ezekiel 34:25 Kt, read יְעָרִים Qr, see above

II. יער ( √ of following; meaning dubious; MV identification with I, from roughness and porousness (?) of honeycomb, compare Buhl.

Lexical Background and General Scope

יָעוֹר is an alternate spelling of the more common יְאֹר (“river, canal, water-course”), a term used almost exclusively of the Nile and its branches. Although this particular orthography is unattested in the extant Old Testament text, its association with the Nile permits a wide-ranging biblical survey of rivers as both literal lifelines and theological signposts.

The Nile in Israel’s Historical Memory

1. Cradle of Preservation – Pharaoh’s decree to drown Hebrew infants (Exodus 1:22) turned the Nile into an arena of death, yet the same river became the means of Moses’ rescue (Exodus 2:3–10). God’s sovereignty over the waterway underscored His ability to subvert human tyranny.
2. Arena of Judgement – In the first plague, “Moses raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood” (Exodus 7:20). What Egypt worshiped for fertility God transformed into a sign of wrath, revealing the impotence of idols and the supremacy of the covenant LORD.
3. Prophetic Warning – Centuries later Isaiah announced, “The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty” (Isaiah 19:5). Judgment on the Nile signified judgment on the nation it sustained, reminding every generation that political strength cannot outlast divine decree.

Symbolic Dimensions of Rivers in Scripture

• Life and Fruitfulness – “He is like a tree planted by streams of water” (Psalm 1:3). The righteous draw constancy and nourishment from God just as the land of Goshen depended on the Nile’s annual flood.
• Cleansing and New Creation – In Ezekiel’s temple vision “a river of water was flowing from under the threshold” (Ezekiel 47:1). The life-giving stream heals the Dead Sea, prefiguring the ultimate renewal of creation.
• Eschatological Satisfaction – Revelation 22:1 envisions “a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The river motif crescendos in the new Jerusalem, where divine presence and provision meet eternally.
• Spiritual Inwardness – Jesus applies the imagery to personal regeneration: “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him’” (John 7:38). Believers become conduits of the Spirit’s life, fulfilling the typology of physical rivers.

Rivers as Instruments of Divine Intervention

God repeatedly employs rivers to deliver or to discipline: parting the Jordan (Joshua 3:17), stopping the Kishon (Judges 5:21), and drowning Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea (metonymically linked to the Nile in Exodus traditions). Each act demonstrates that what sustains earthly kingdoms ultimately yields to the rule of heaven.

Ministry and Discipleship Applications

1. Dependence – As Egypt relied on the Nile, so the church must recognize the Lord as its singular source of vitality (Jeremiah 2:13).
2. Holiness – The defilement of the Nile in Exodus warns against compromising with cultural idols; the people of God are called to remain unstained while living “in the world” (James 1:27).
3. Mission – Ezekiel’s expanding river models the outward flow of the gospel: life spreads from the sanctuary to barren regions, urging believers to carry living water to spiritually arid contexts (Acts 1:8).
4. Hope – Future restoration is not abstract; it is pictured in tangible geography. Teaching on the river of life anchors eschatology in concrete promise, encouraging patient endurance amid present trials (Romans 8:18-25).

Christological Fulfillment

The greater Moses, preserved from slaughter, not only survives a river but commands it. In His baptism Jesus stands in the Jordan, identifying with sinners and inaugurating the new exodus. His death releases “blood and water” (John 19:34), and His exaltation sends the Spirit as living water to His people (John 16:7; Acts 2:33). Thus every biblical river, including the Nile of יָעוֹר, ultimately flows toward the Lamb.

Summary

Although יָעוֹר itself does not appear in the Masoretic Text, its close connection to the Nile opens a rich biblical portrait of rivers as emblems of providence, judgment, redemption, and eternal life. From Genesis to Revelation the Lord rules the waters, directing them for His redemptive purposes and inviting His people to trust, obey, and proclaim the One from whose throne the final river flows.

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