H1254 - בָּרָא (bara)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H1254
Original: בָּרָא
Transliteration: bara
Pronunciation: baw-raw
Part of Speech: verb
Root: primitive root
Occurrences: 46 unique OT verses; 59 tokens
First Occurrence: Gen 1:1 - "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From the lexicon table: absolutely, to create; in qualified senses, to cut down a wood, select, dispatch, or make fat. KJV renderings include "choose," "create," "creator," "cut down," "dispatch," "do," and "make fat."

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Tallied from hebrew_parser.py --lemma "ברא" --limit 200.

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	38	create; Creator/creating participles
Niphal	10	be created
Piel	5	cut down / dispatch
Hiphil	1	make fat

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
created	7	15.2%
I create	3	6.5%
hath created	2	4.3%
that thou wast created	2	4.3%
when they were created	2	4.3%
other single-verse renderings	30	65.2%

The database preserves many phrase-level renderings, so the distribution is more fragmented than the core semantic range.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	1	1.8
Isaiah	17	1.3
Amos	1	0.7
Genesis	8	0.5
Ecclesiastes	1	0.5
Ezekiel	5	0.4
Joshua	2	0.3
Psalms	6	0.2
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
Exodus	1	0.1
Numbers	1	0.1
1 Samuel	1	0.1
Jeremiah	1	0.1

Isaiah has the largest count and density among larger books; Genesis provides the first creation cluster.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Creation of Cosmos and Life¶

Gen 1:1 - God created heaven and earth.
Gen 1:21 - God created sea creatures and living creatures.
Gen 1:27 - God created humankind.
Isa 45:18 - YHWH created and formed the earth.

2. Creation of People / Identity¶

Gen 5:1-2 - God created Adam/male and female.
Deut 4:32 - God created man upon the earth.
Isa 43:1 - Jacob/Israel is described with create and form language.
Mal 2:10 - "hath not one God created us?"

3. New or Unprecedented Divine Act¶

Exo 34:10 - YHWH will do marvels not previously created/done.
Num 16:30 - YHWH makes/creates a new thing.
Isa 48:7 - new things are "created now."
Jer 31:22 - YHWH has created a new thing in the earth.

4. Formative Restoration / Future Creation¶

Isa 4:5 - YHWH will create cloud and fire over Zion's assemblies.
Isa 57:19 - "I create the fruit of the lips."
Isa 65:17-18 - new heavens/new earth and Jerusalem as rejoicing.

5. Cutting / Dispatching / Non-Creation Senses¶

Josh 17:15 - "cut down" the wood country.
Josh 17:18 - the mountain is a wood, "thou shalt cut it down."
Eze 21:19 - appoint/cut out two ways for the sword.
Eze 23:47 - "dispatch them with their swords."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
YHWH	H3068	17x	YHWH as creating subject
earth	H776	15x	created earth / ends of earth
God	H430	12x	God as creator
make/do	H6213	11x	create paired with make/do
man	H120	9x	human creation
day	H3117	9x	creation days or temporal reference
heaven	H8064	9x	created heavens
name	H8034	7x	called/name identity contexts
people	H5971	6x	created people/community
form	H3335	5x	create paired with form

Synonyms and Near Neighbors¶

H3334 יצר (yatsar) - returned as synonym by search_relationships.py; pressing/distress sense in this Strong's number.
H6213 עָשָׂה (asah) - broad "do/make" verb; frequent collocation and LXX overlap.
H3335 יָצַר (yatsar) - "form/fashion," paired with H1254 in several creation/forming texts.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	do/make	broad action/making verb; not limited to creation
יָצַר (yatsar)	H3335	formed/made	shaping or forming imagery, often potter-like
κτίζω (ktizo)	G2936	created	primary Greek creation verb in NT and main LXX bridge
ποιέω (poieo)	G4160	make/do	broad Greek action/making verb; maps heavily to H6213 and secondarily to H1254

Semantic Domain¶

search_relationships.py returned several domains: Exist, Happen, Detach, Dead, and Fat. These reflect the lexicon's multiple senses, including create/exist and non-creation cutting/fattening senses.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Score	Notes
κτίζω (ktizo) G2936	16	8.25	23.36	primary creation bridge
κατασκευάζω (kataskeuazo) G2680	3	7.53	10.44	prepare/build sense
στερεόω (stereoo) G4732	3	6.28	8.71	establish/solidify overlap
ποιέω (poieo) G4160	18	1.93	5.69	broad make/do equivalent
θεός (theos) G2316	18	1.74	5.11	context bridge where God is subject