H6532 — פֹּרֶכֶת (poreketh)¶

Core Data¶

Strong’s: H6532
Original: פֹּרֶכֶת
Transliteration: poreketh
Pronunciation: po-reh’-keth
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: Active participle form from same root as H6531 perek (severity/cruelty) — functioning as “separatrix,” i.e., that which separates
Occurrences: 23 unique verses (25 tokens) across 4 books
First Occurrence: Exo 26:31 — "And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims made he it of cunning work"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Feminine active participle of the same root as H6531 (perek); a separatrix, i.e. (the sacred) screen: — vail.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
the vail	19	82.6%
a vail	2	8.7%
of the vail	1	4.3%
vail	1	4.3%

Every occurrence is translated "vail" (veil). No variation in semantic range — this word refers exclusively to the inner curtain of the tabernacle/temple that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Exodus	13	1.1
Leviticus	7	0.8
Numbers	2	0.2
2 Chronicles	1	0.1

Concentrated in the Pentateuch (22 of 23 occurrences). Exodus has the highest density: construction instructions (ch. 26, 35–36) and installation narratives (ch. 38–40). Leviticus uses it in ritual contexts (Day of Atonement, blood sprinkling, priestly restrictions). The single Chronicles occurrence (2 Chr 3:14) records Solomon's temple veil. Notably absent from 1 Kings' parallel temple account.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Construction of the Veil¶

Exo 26:31 — "thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims made he it of cunning work"
Exo 36:35 — "And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work"
2 Chr 3:14 — "And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon"
Exo 38:27 — "the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail"

2. Spatial Divider — Holy Place from Most Holy¶

Exo 26:33 — "thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy"
Exo 40:21 — "he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony"
Num 18:7 — "thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail"

3. Access to the Ark and Mercy Seat¶

Exo 30:6 — "thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony"
Exo 40:3 — "thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail"
Lev 16:2 — "he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not"
Lev 16:15 — "bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat"

4. Ritual Blood Sprinkling Before the Veil¶

Lev 4:6 — "the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary"
Lev 4:17 — "the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail"
Lev 16:12 — "he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail"

5. Positional Reference — "Without the Vail"¶

Exo 27:21 — "In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony"
Exo 40:22 — "he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail"
Exo 40:26 — "he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail"
Lev 24:3 — "Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it"

6. Priestly Qualification and the Veil¶

Lev 21:23 — "Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
פָּנִים (paniym)	H6440	9x (39%)	"before the vail" — spatial orientation toward the veil
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	8x (35%)	"before the LORD, before the vail" — cultic context
אָרוֹן (arown)	H727	7x (30%)	"the ark... the vail" — veil covers/guards the ark
עֵדוּת (eduwth)	H5715	7x (30%)	"the vail of the testimony" — veil associated with the testimony
בּוֹא (bow)	H935	7x (30%)	"bring in within the vail" — entry/approach through the veil
כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth)	H3727	4x (17%)	"the mercy seat... the vail" — veil shields the mercy seat
מוֹעֵד (mowed)	H4150	4x (17%)	"tent of meeting... the vail" — veil within the meeting-tent
מָסָךְ (macak)	H4539	4x (17%)	"the vail... the screen" — distinguished from the outer screen
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	4x (17%)	"the vail of the sanctuary" — veil of the holy place
אַרְגָּמָן (argaman)	H713	3x (13%)	"blue, and purple" — construction material for the veil

Word Family / Cognates¶

H6531 פֶּרֶךְ (perek) — severity, rigour, cruelty (from same root; the semantic connection is "breaking/separating")

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
מַסְוֶה (masveh)	H4533	"vail"	A personal face-veil (Moses' veil, Exo 34:33-35); poreketh is always the tabernacle/temple curtain
מִטְפַּחַת (mitpachath)	H4304	"vail"	A woman's garment/cloak (Ruth 3:15, Isa 3:22); poreketh is exclusively cultic architecture
צָעִיף (tsaiph)	H6809	"vail"	A personal covering/wrap (Rebekah's veil, Gen 24:65; Tamar's veil, Gen 38:14); poreketh is the sanctuary curtain
מָסָךְ (macak)	H4539	—	The outer screen/hanging at the tabernacle entrance (Exo 26:36-37); poreketh is the inner veil separating Holy from Most Holy

Semantic Domain¶

Furnishings [001002008001008]
Other words in domain: גָּג (gag H1406), גָּלִיל (galiyl H1550), גֶּנֶז (genez H1595), הֲדֹם (hadom H1916)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
καταπέτασμα (katapetasma)	G2665	22x	29.63	Primary — used in nearly all LXX renderings
μαρτύριον (martyrion)	G3142	11x	13.71	"Testimony" — translates the associated eduwth, not poreketh itself
κιβωτός (kibotos)	G2787	7x	10.83	"Ark" — co-occurs in verses about the veil guarding the ark

The G2665 katapetasma mapping is exceptionally strong (22 of 23 verses, PMI 29.63), reflecting a near-perfect one-to-one lexical correspondence. This is the Greek word used for the temple veil in the Synoptic crucifixion accounts (Matt 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45) and in Hebrews' sanctuary theology (Heb 6:19, 9:3, 10:20).