Grow With Me
Grow With Me

קָרַע

kara · tear

Hebrew word · Strong’s number H7167 · appears 64 times in the Bible

What is the Strong number?Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.

What it means

kara (קָרַע) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “tear”.

Tearing one's clothes was the sign of a very great grief.

How to say it

ka·ra

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

  1. To rip one's clothes in great grief.
  2. To take something away violently, as a piece of cloth is torn off: a kingdom.
  3. To paint the eyes with antimony so they look larger.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To tear, rend: to rip a cloth, a scroll or, as an image, a kingdom. Tearing one's clothes was the visible sign of great grief or horror.

Historical and cultural background

Ahijah tore his new cloak into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam, as a sign that YHWH was tearing away Solomon's kingdom (1 Kings 11:30-31). On hearing the words of the book of the law, Josiah “tore his clothes” (2 Kings 22:11).

How we translate it

“Tore” 30 times, “torn” 15, “tear” 14 in almost every case. It changes only when the object asks for it: “cut them off” for the columns of the scroll (Jeremiah 36:23), “you enlarge” the eyes with antimony (Jeremiah 4:30); “tear it out” of the garment (Leviticus 13:56) and “tear open” (Hosea 13:8) keep the verb.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

  • tore ×30
  • torn ×15
  • tear ×14
  • am tearing ×1
  • cuts out ×1
  • would cut them off ×1
  • you enlarge ×1

Related words

Words that come from it

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

  • Genesis 37:29

    Reuben returned to the cistern, and look, Joseph was not in the cistern; and he tore his clothes.

  • Genesis 37:34

    Jacob tore his garments, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

  • Genesis 44:13

    They tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

  • Exodus 28:32

    There shall be an opening for its head in its middle, with a binding around its opening, the work of a weaver; like the opening of a coat of mail it shall be for it, so that it will not tear.

  • Exodus 39:23

    And the opening of the robe was in its middle, like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding for its opening all around, so that it would not be torn.

  • Leviticus 13:56

    But if the priest examines it and, look, the mark has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the skin or out of the woven material or out of the knitted material.

  • Numbers 14:6

    And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes

  • Joshua 7:6

    Joshua tore his cloaks and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of YHWH until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

  • Judges 11:35

    When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who bring me ruin. I have opened my mouth to YHWH, and I cannot turn back.”

  • 1 Samuel 4:12

    And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that day, with his clothes torn and earth on his head.

  • 1 Samuel 15:27

    Samuel turned to go, and he seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

  • 1 Samuel 15:28

    Samuel said to him, “YHWH has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your companion, who is better than you.

  • 1 Samuel 28:17

    YHWH has done as he spoke by my hand: YHWH has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your companion, to David.

  • 2 Samuel 1:2

    And it happened on the third day that, look, a man was coming from the camp, from beside Saul, with his clothes torn and earth on his head. And it happened when he came to David that he fell to the ground and bowed down.

  • 2 Samuel 1:11

    Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and also all the men who were with him.

  • 2 Samuel 3:31

    David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, gird on sackcloth, and lament before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bed.

  • 2 Samuel 13:19

    Tamar took ashes and put them on her head, and the long robe that she had on she tore; she put her hand on her head and went away, crying out as she went.

  • 2 Samuel 13:31

    The king got up and tore his clothes and lay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with torn clothes.

  • 2 Samuel 15:32

    When David came to the summit, where he used to bow down there to Elohim, there to meet him came Hushai the Archite, with his tunic torn and earth on his head.

  • 1 Kings 11:11

    And YHWH said to Solomon, “Because this has been with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.

  • 1 Kings 11:12

    Yet in your days I will not do it, for the sake of David your father; from the hand of your son I will tear it.

  • 1 Kings 11:13

    Only, I will not tear all the kingdom; one tribe I will give to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

  • 1 Kings 11:30

    And Ahijah grabbed the new cloak that was on him and tore it into twelve pieces.

  • 1 Kings 11:31

    And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, ‘Look, I am tearing the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give to you the ten tribes;

  • 1 Kings 13:3

    And he gave a wonder that day, saying, “This is the wonder that YHWH has spoken: look, the altar will be torn apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”

  • 1 Kings 13:5

    The altar was torn apart, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the wonder that the man of Elohim had given by the word of YHWH.

  • 1 Kings 14:8

    and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart, to do only what is right in my eyes,

  • 1 Kings 21:27

    And it happened, when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted; and he lay in the sackcloth and went about slowly.

  • 2 Kings 2:12

    Elisha was watching and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see him again. Then he took hold of his clothes and tore them in two pieces.

  • 2 Kings 5:7

    And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I Elohim, to put to death and to make alive, that this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only know, please, and see that he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

  • 2 Kings 5:8

    And it happened, when Elisha the man of Elohim heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come, please, to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

  • 2 Kings 6:30

    And it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes, and he was passing by on the wall, and the people saw, and there was the sackcloth on his flesh underneath.

  • 2 Kings 11:14

    She looked, and there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the commanders and the trumpets beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing the trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

  • 2 Kings 17:21

    For he tore Israel from the house of David, and they made king Jeroboam son of Nebat; and Jeroboam drew Israel away from following YHWH and made them sin a great sin.

  • 2 Kings 18:37

    Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

  • 2 Kings 19:1

    And it happened, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of YHWH.

  • 2 Kings 22:11

    And it happened, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.

  • 2 Kings 22:19

    because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before YHWH when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard, declares YHWH.

  • 2 Chronicles 23:13

    She looked, and there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the commanders and the trumpets beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing the trumpets, and the singers with instruments of song leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

  • 2 Chronicles 34:19

    And it happened, when the king heard the words of the law, that he tore his clothes.

And 24 more times.