H665 — אֵפֶר (ʼêpher)
Core Data
- Strong's: H665
- Original: אֵפֶר
- Transliteration: ʼêpher
- Pronunciation: ay-fer
- Part of Speech: Masculine noun
- Root: from an unused root meaning "to bestrew"
- Occurrences: 22 unique verses (22 tokens) in OT across 13 books
- First Occurrence: Gen 18:27 — "I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes"
- Hapax Legomenon: No
Lexicon Definition
From an unused root meaning to bestrew; ashes: — ashes.
Translation Distribution (KJV)
| Translation |
Verses |
% |
| and ashes |
6 |
27.3% |
| ashes |
5 |
22.7% |
| the ashes |
3 |
13.6% |
| with ashes |
2 |
9.1% |
| in / on / to / unto / like ashes |
6 |
27.3% |
Distribution by Book
| Book |
Count |
Per 100 Verses |
| Jonah |
1 |
2.1 |
| Malachi |
1 |
1.8 |
| Esther |
2 |
1.2 |
| Lamentations |
1 |
0.6 |
| Job |
4 |
0.4 |
| Daniel |
1 |
0.3 |
| Isaiah |
3 |
0.2 |
| Numbers |
2 |
0.2 |
| Ezekiel |
2 |
0.2 |
| Other books |
5 |
— |
H665 is sparse but semantically coherent: dry ashes as humbling residue, mourning material, penitential sign, or final reduced state.
Semantic Categories
1. Dust-and-Ashes Humility
- Gen 18:27 — Abraham describes himself as "dust and ashes."
- Job 30:19 — Job becomes "like dust and ashes."
- Job 42:6 — repentance is expressed "in dust and ashes."
2. Mourning, Humiliation, and Distress
- 2 Sam 13:19 — Tamar puts ashes on her head.
- Est 4:1 — Mordecai puts on sackcloth with ashes.
- Jer 6:26 — the daughter of the people is told to wallow in ashes.
3. Ritual Ashes of the Red Heifer
- Num 19:9 — a clean man gathers the ashes of the heifer.
- Num 19:10 — the one gathering the ashes washes his clothes.
4. Worthlessness or False Sustenance
- Job 13:12 — remembrances are "like unto ashes."
- Isa 44:20 — the idolater "feedeth on ashes."
5. Final Reduction / Destruction
- Ezek 28:18 — fire brings the figure "to ashes upon the earth."
- Mal 4:3 — the wicked become ashes underfoot.
Common Collocations
| Word |
Strong's |
Co-occurrences |
Typical Pattern |
| שַׂק (saq) |
H8242 |
6x |
sackcloth and ashes |
| עָפָר (aphar) |
H6083 |
4x |
dust and ashes |
| תָּוֶךְ (tavek) |
H8432 |
4x |
sitting/being among ashes |
| אֵבֶל (ebel) |
H60 |
3x |
mourning with ashes |
| זָעַק (zaaq) |
H2199 |
3x |
crying out in distress |
| צוֹם (tsom) |
H6685 |
3x |
fasting with sackcloth/ashes |
| רֹאשׁ (rosh) |
H7218 |
3x |
ashes placed on the head |
Synonyms / Semantic Neighbors
- H6083 עָפָר (aphar) — dust; frequent paired term.
- H8242 שַׂק (saq) — sackcloth; mourning collocate.
- H60 אֵבֶל (ebel) — mourning.
- H6685 צוֹם (tsom) — fasting.
Easily Confused Words
| Word |
Strong's |
Shared Translation |
Key Difference |
| דֶּשֶׁן (deshen) |
H1880 |
ashes |
fatty sacrificial residue / fatness; H665 is dry ashes linked to mourning, humility, or reduced remains |
| אֲפֵר (apher) |
H666 |
ashes |
rare related form; H665 is the common ashes noun |
| σποδός (spodos) |
G4700 |
ashes |
Greek LXX/NT equivalent |
Semantic Domain
- [001002010005] Dust — neighboring words include H80, H1206, H1880, H2344, and H6083.
LXX Mapping
| Greek Equivalent |
Co-occurrences |
PMI |
Notes |
| σποδός (spodos) G4700 |
20 |
9.87 |
Primary ashes equivalent |
| σάκκος (sakkos) G4526 |
6 |
7.04 |
Sackcloth collocation |
| δίδωμι (didomi) G1325 |
4 |
1.47 |
"give/place" contexts |
| γῆ (ge) G1093 |
5 |
1.14 |
Earth/ground overlap |
See Also
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_relationships.py, gather_trace_data.py
Last updated: 2026-05-07