Original Word: פְאֹרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: p'orah
Pronunciation: po-RAH
Phonetic Spelling: (peh-o-raw')
KJV: bough, branch, sprig
NASB: branches, boughs
Word Origin: [from H6286 (פָּאַר - glorified)]

1. (properly) ornamentation, i.e. (plural) foliage (including the limbs) as bright green

bough, branch, sprig

Or pora'h {po-raw'}; or pu'rah {poo-raw'}; from pa'ar; properly, ornamentation, i.e. (plural) foliage (including the limbs) as bright green -- bough, branch, sprig.

see HEBREW pa'ar

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a bough
NASB Translation
boughs (1), branches (5).

[מּאֹרָה] noun feminine bough; — plural, all in figure: of vine, absolute מּאֹרוֺת Ezekiel 17:6 (Baer מֹּראֹות); of cedar, suffix מּאֹרֹתוֺ Ezekiel 31:5 (Kt; יָ֯ו Qr); מּאֹרֹתָיו Ezekiel 31:6, מֹּראֹתָיו Ezekiel 31:8; Ezekiel 31:12; Ezekiel 31:13.

פארה Kt., מּוּרָה Qr noun feminine collective boughs Isaiah 10:33 (van d. H. Baer מֻּארָה).

Definition in Context

The noun פְאֹרָה denotes the spreading branch or bough of a tree—especially the thick, over-arching limb that both exhibits vitality and offers shelter beneath its shade. It appears seven times and is always set within prophetic imagery that juxtaposes human pride and divine judgment.

Occurrences and Narrative Settings

Isaiah 10:33 – In the oracle against Assyria the Lord “will lop off the boughs with terrifying power”, picturing the abrupt curtailing of a proud empire’s reach.

Ezekiel 17:6 – Within the parable of the transplanted vine, the low-statured plant still sends out “branches” toward its benefactor, emphasizing dependence and political alliance.

Ezekiel 31:5-13 – Six uses portray the towering cedar that represents Assyria (and, by application, Egypt). Its multiplied boughs provide nesting for birds and shelter for beasts (31:6, 13), symbolize unmatched grandeur (31:5, 8), and finally crash to the ground under foreign axes (31:12), leaving creation scrambling from the fallen limbs.

Botanical Imagery and Symbolism

1. Abundance and Glory

The expansive boughs express God-given prosperity. Watered by “abundant waters” (Ezekiel 31:5), the tree flourishes far beyond its peers, evoking Edenic overtones (31:8).

2. Shelter and Influence

Birds and beasts dwelling in the branches figuratively portray nations and peoples finding protection or benefit under the superpower’s dominion (Ezekiel 31:6).

3. Vulnerability under Judgment

The same limbs that display majesty are within God’s reach. Once He “lops off the boughs,” the lofty is laid low (Isaiah 10:33; Ezekiel 31:12). The broken branches strewn in “every valley” dramatize utter collapse.

Theological Themes

• Sovereign Pruning: Whether Assyria, Egypt, or any later kingdom, the Lord of Hosts retains the axe. Human greatness is derivative and temporary.
• Moral Accountability: The proud cedar’s downfall follows the pattern, “Because it towered high… therefore I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations” (Ezekiel 31:10-11). Exalted position invites stricter reckoning.
• Remnant Assurance: When the oppressive branches fall, the humble and the righteous are spared—an implicit comfort to the faithful remnant of Israel and, by extension, the Church.

Christological and Eschatological Connections

The Messianic Branch motif (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5) offers deliberate contrast: ungodly branches are hewn down; the righteous Branch arises and endures. The fall of proud boughs thus anticipates the eschatological inversion in which “every mountain and hill will be made low” (Isaiah 40:4) and the reign of Christ provides lasting shelter for the nations (cf. Ezekiel 17:22-24).

Practical Ministry Implications

• Preaching Pride and Humility: פְאֹרָה gives tangible language for confronting personal or national arrogance.
• Counseling Security in God: The imagery reassures believers that worldly powers, however imposing, are cut down at God’s decree.
• Missions and Outreach: The cedar’s former role as refuge challenges the Church to become a better, Christ-centered shelter where “all nations” may nest without fear of sudden collapse.

Summary

פְאֹרָה highlights both the grandeur and the fragility of human power. Every spreading limb ultimately answers to the Master Arborist, whose pruning shears enforce righteousness and whose own Branch, Jesus Christ, supplies an unshakable refuge.

כְּפֹֽארֹתָ֑יו כפארתיו פֹּֽארֹתָיו֙ פֹּארֹתָ֣יו פֹּארֽוֹת׃ פֹֽארֹתָיו֙ פֹארֹתָ֛יו פֻּארָ֖ה פארה פארות׃ פארתיו foroTav kə·p̄ō·rō·ṯāw keforoTav kəp̄ōrōṯāw pō·rō·ṯāw p̄ō·rō·ṯāw pō·rō·wṯ poRot poroTav pōrōṯāw p̄ōrōṯāw pōrōwṯ pu·rāh puRah purāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts