Original Word: יֱפִי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: yophiy
Pronunciation: YOH-fee
Phonetic Spelling: (yof-ee')
KJV: beauty
NASB: beauty
Word Origin: [from H3302 (יָפָה - beautiful)]

1. beauty

beauty

From yaphah; beauty -- beauty.

see HEBREW yaphah

Word Origin
from yaphah
Definition
beauty
NASB Translation
beauty (19).

[יֳפִי] noun masculine beauty; — absolute יֹ֫פִי Isaiah 3:24 5t.; construct יְפִי Ezekiel 28:7; suffix יָפְיִ֑ךָ Ezekiel 28:17; יָפְיֵךָ Psalm 45:12 5t.; יָפְיוֺ Isaiah 33:17 2t.; יָפְיָהּ Proverbs 6:25; Esther 1:11; beauty of a woman Isaiah 3:24; Psalm 45:12; Esther 1:11; Proverbs 6:25, compare Proverbs 31:30; of Jerusalem under figure of woman Ezekiel 16:14,15,25; Tyre Ezekiel 27:3 (כְּלִי֫לַת יֹ֑פִי), compare Ezekiel 27:4; Ezekiel 27:11; prince of Tyre, beauty of (his) wisdom Ezekiel 28:7; king of Tyre Ezekiel 28:12 (כְּלִיל יפי), Ezekiel 28:17; ideal beauty of king of Judah Isaiah 33:17, Zion (מִכְלַליֹֿ֑פִי) Psalm 50:2, compare Lamentations 2:15 (כְּלִי֫לַת יֹ֑פִי); of Egypt under figure of tree Ezekiel 31:8; of ransomed people of ׳י Zechariah 9:17.

Definition and Semantic Nuance

יֱפִי (yofi) denotes attractiveness, splendor, or comeliness that draws admiring attention. Scripture applies the term to physical appearance, civic grandeur, created order and, supremely, to the Lord Himself. The word therefore spans aesthetic, moral, and theological dimensions: beauty as gift, beauty as temptation, beauty as revelation of divine glory, and beauty as eschatological promise.

Occurrences and Literary Distribution

Nineteen occurrences appear across Wisdom, Poetry, Prophetic and Historical writings, clustering especially in Ezekiel. The range is deliberate: personal (Esther 1:11), royal and messianic (Psalm 45:11), Zion-centered (Psalm 50:2), ethical instruction (Proverbs 6:25; Proverbs 31:30), prophetic warning (Isaiah 3:24; Ezekiel 16:15), national personification (Lamentations 2:15; Ezekiel 27:3), cosmic cedar imagery (Ezekiel 31:8), and eschatological blessing (Zechariah 9:17). Such diversity underscores Scripture’s coherent treatment of beauty as both blessing and potential snare.

Beauty as Reflection of Divine Glory

Psalm 50:2 proclaims, “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” Beauty here reveals God’s presence; the city’s loveliness is derivative, radiating the Creator’s splendor. Isaiah 33:17 extends the idea into eschatology: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty.” Ultimately, beauty culminates in the unveiled majesty of the Lord and anticipates the beatific vision promised to the redeemed (Revelation 22:4).

Warnings Against Pride and Seduction

Beauty unmoored from reverence becomes destructive. Proverbs 6:25 cautions, “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty,” highlighting the moral vulnerability beauty can provoke. Proverbs 31:30 relativizes outward attractiveness: “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Ezekiel repeatedly indicts Jerusalem and Tyre for trusting in beauty rather than in God: “But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to play the harlot” (Ezekiel 16:15); “Your heart grew proud of your beauty” (Ezekiel 28:17). In each case, aesthetic gift mutates into idolatrous self-exaltation, inviting divine judgment.

Prophetic Imagery and National Personifications

Lamentations 2:15 records foreign scoffers ridiculing ruined Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty?” Ezekiel 27–28 applies יֱפִי to Tyre’s maritime empire, portraying a ship whose artistry, military adornment, and commercial wealth “perfected your beauty” (Ezekiel 27:4, 11). Yet Babylonian invaders “defile your splendor” (Ezekiel 28:7). The literary strategy equates political hubris with corrupted beauty, teaching that nations, like individuals, answer to the Beauty-Giver.

Messianic and Eschatological Overtones

Psalm 45:11 speaks of a royal bride: “and let the king be enthralled by your beauty.” Hebrews 1:8–9 cites this psalm of Messiah, linking bridegroom and bride in a typology fulfilled in Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:25-27). Zechariah 9:17 exclaims over millennial prosperity: “How lovely they will be, and how beautiful!” Here beauty accompanies peace, abundant grain, and new wine—foretastes of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Theological and Devotional Applications

1. Beauty originates in God, reflects His order, and should inspire worship rather than pride.
2. Believers must prize inner godliness above external attractiveness, recognizing that “beauty is fleeting” (Proverbs 31:30).
3. Ministry to a beauty-obsessed culture requires both affirmation (celebrating creation’s goodness) and prophetic critique (exposing vanity and commodification).
4. Future hope includes the restoration of perfected beauty in the New Jerusalem, where “the glory of God gives it light” (Revelation 21:23). Anticipation of that glory shapes ethical living now.

Thus יֱפִי threads Scripture with a consistent testimony: true beauty is received, not achieved; it humbles the creature, exalts the Creator, and points to the One who is “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3).

בְּיָפְי֖וֹ בְּיָפְיֵ֑ךְ בְּיָפְיֶ֔ךָ בְּיָפְיֽוֹ׃ בְיָפְיֵ֔ךְ ביפיו ביפיו׃ ביפיך הַיֹּ֑פִי היפי יְפִ֣י יָ֭פְיָהּ יָפְי֑וֹ יָפְיֵ֑ךְ יָפְיֵ֔ךְ יָפְיֵֽךְ׃ יָפְיָ֔הּ יֹ֔פִי יֹ֗פִי יֹֽפִי׃ יפי יפי׃ יפיה יפיו יפיך יפיך׃ bə·yā·p̄ə·ye·ḵā bə·yā·p̄ə·yêḵ ḇə·yā·p̄ə·yêḵ bə·yā·p̄ə·yōw beyafeYech beyafeYecha beyafeYo bəyāp̄əyêḵ ḇəyāp̄əyêḵ bəyāp̄əyeḵā bəyāp̄əyōw haiYofi hay·yō·p̄î hayyōp̄î veyafeYech yā·p̄ə·yāh yā·p̄ə·yêḵ yā·p̄ə·yōw yafeYah yafeYech yafeYo yāp̄əyāh yāp̄əyêḵ yāp̄əyōw yə·p̄î yeFi yəp̄î yō·p̄î Yofi yōp̄îInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts