H2966 — טְרֵפָה (terephah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2966
Original: טְרֵפָה
Transliteration: terephah
Pronunciation: ter-ay-faw
Part of Speech: Feminine noun (collective)
Root: טָרַף (taraph, H2963) — to tear, rend, pluck
Occurrences: 9 unique verses (9 tokens) across 5 books
First Occurrence: Gen 31:39 — "That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Feminine (collectively) of H2964; prey, i.e. flocks devoured by animals: ravin, (that which was) torn (of beasts, in pieces).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
torn (various phrasings)	8	88.9%
ravin	1	11.1%

Nearly all occurrences are translated as some form of "torn" — torn of/with beasts, torn in pieces. The single "ravin" (Nah 2:12) describes the prey a lion tears apart.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	1	2.1
Leviticus	3	0.3
Exodus	2	0.2
Ezekiel	2	0.2
Genesis	1	0.1

Sparse but concentrated in purity/dietary legislation (Leviticus) and prophetic literature (Ezekiel). The Genesis occurrence (Jacob's accounting to Laban) is the earliest, establishing the pastoral/economic background of the concept.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Animal Torn by Beasts (dietary/purity prohibition)¶

The primary usage — flesh of an animal killed by predators, prohibited as food. - Exo 22:31 — "ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs" - Lev 22:8 — "That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith" - Ezek 44:31 — "The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn"

2. Nebelah-Terephah Pair (two categories of improperly-killed meat)¶

Consistently paired with nebelah (H5038) in dietary/purity legislation. - Lev 7:24 — "the fat of the beast that dieth of itself [nebelah], and the fat of that which is torn with beasts [terephah]" - Lev 17:15 — "every soul that eateth that which died of itself [nebelah], or that which was torn with beasts [terephah]" - Ezek 4:14 — "my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up... have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself [nebelah], or is torn in pieces [terephah]"

3. Pastoral/Economic Context (animal husbandry)¶

Loss of animals to predators as an economic matter. - Gen 31:39 — "That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it" (Jacob to Laban) - Exo 22:13 — "If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn"

4. Lion's Prey (prophetic metaphor)¶

Nah 2:12 — "The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps... and filled his holes with prey [terephah], and his dens with ravin [terephah]"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
נְבֵלָה (nebelah)	H5038	5x (56%)	nebelah + terephah = the standard dietary prohibition pair
טָמֵא (tame)	H2930	3x (33%)	eating terephah causes uncleanness
בָּשָׂר (basar)	H1320	2x (22%)	"flesh torn of beasts" — the meat in view
טָרַף (taraph)	H2963	2x (22%)	root verb "to tear" — etymological connection
גֵּר (ger)	H1616	1x (11%)	Lev 17:15 — ger subject to same washing if eaten

The overwhelming collocation pattern is nebelah + terephah as a fixed pair. These two words cover the two main ways an animal could die improperly: naturally (nebelah) or by predator attack (terephah). Both result in blood not being properly drained.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2963 טָרַף (taraph) — root verb: to tear, rend, pluck. Used of animals tearing prey.
H2964 טֶרֶף (tereph) — prey, food, leaf. The masculine form — what the predator seizes.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נְבֵלָה (nebelah)	H5038	both in dietary prohibition contexts	nebelah = died naturally; terephah = torn by beasts. Different cause of death, same result: blood not drained

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἐσθίω (esthio) G2068	4	6.92	"to eat" — LXX renders in eating-prohibition contexts

The LXX does not have a single dominant Greek equivalent for terephah. The word is rendered variously depending on context (eating, tearing, prey).