H779 — אָרַר (ʼârar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H779
Original: אָרַר
Transliteration: ʼârar
Pronunciation: aw-rar'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 52 unique verses (66 tokens) across 12 books
First Occurrence: Gen 3:14 — "thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to execrate — bitterly curse.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal Participle (arur)	~42	cursed (state of being under a curse)
Qal Imperfect	~6	to curse (action)
Qal Imperative	~4	curse! (command)
Qal Perfect	~2	I have cursed (completed action)
Qal Infinitive Absolute	1	intensifier — "curse bitterly"
Piel Participle	6	that which causes cursing
Piel Perfect	1	he cursed (Gen 5:29 — ground)
Hophal Imperfect	1	be cursed (passive, Num 22:6)
Niphal Participle	1	being cursed (Mal 3:9)

The overwhelming dominance of the Qal Participle (arur) — roughly 65% of all tokens — shows this verb functions primarily as a state-declaration rather than an action verb. The passive participle arur is effectively a technical formula: "cursed [be/is] X."

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
Cursed / cursed	37	71%
curse / curse ye	7	13%
that causeth the curse	5	10%
and cursed	3	6%
bitterly	1	2%
Other (he that curseth, hath cursed, etc.)	6	12%

Over 70% of all uses are the participial "cursed" — a declared state, not a narrated act.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	3	5.5
Deuteronomy	16	1.7
Numbers	9	0.7
Genesis	8	0.5
1 Samuel	3	0.4
Jeremiah	5	0.4
Joshua	2	0.3
Judges	2	0.3
2 Kings	1	0.1
Exodus	1	0.1
Job	1	0.1
Psalms	1	0.0

Deuteronomy accounts for 31% of all uses (16/52), driven entirely by the Dodecalogue of Curses (27:15-26) and the covenant-curse formulary (28:16-19). The word is absent from the Prophets except Jeremiah and Malachi, and entirely absent from the Writings except Psalms and Job.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Curse on Creation / Creatures¶

God directly pronounces the curse formula on the serpent, the ground, and through it on humanity. - Gen 3:14 — "thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field" - Gen 3:17 — "cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it" - Gen 4:11 — "now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood" - Gen 5:29 — "because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed"

2. Covenant Curse Formulary¶

The arur-formula in legal/covenant contexts declaring sanctions for specific violations, typically with communal "Amen" ratification. - Deut 27:15 — "Cursed [be] the man that maketh [any] graven or molten image" - Deut 27:26 — "Cursed [be] he that confirmeth not [all] the words of this law to do them" - Deut 28:16-19 — "Cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the field" - Jer 11:3 — "Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant"

3. Blessing-Curse Antithesis¶

Formal pairing with barak (H1288) in oracles and promises where blessing and cursing function as polar opposites. - Gen 12:3 — "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" - Gen 27:29 — "cursed [be] every one that curseth thee, and blessed [be] he that blesseth thee" - Num 24:9 — "Blessed [is] he that blesseth thee, and cursed [is] he that curseth thee" - Mal 2:2 — "I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already"

4. Prophetic/Oracle Curse (Balaam, Judges)¶

Invocation of cursing power against enemies, whether by hired prophet or angelic command. - Num 22:6 — "curse me this people; for they [are] too mighty for me" - Num 22:12 — "thou shalt not curse the people: for they [are] blessed" - Num 23:7 — "Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel" - Judg 5:23 — "Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof"

5. Oath/Ordeal Curse (Sotah Ritual)¶

The Piel participle "that which causes cursing" applied to bitter waters in the suspected-adultery ordeal. - Num 5:18 — "the bitter water that causeth the curse" - Num 5:22 — "this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels" - Num 5:24 — "the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, [and become] bitter" - Num 5:27 — "the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter"

6. Prophetic Denunciation¶

Jeremiah and Malachi use the arur-formula to pronounce divine displeasure against specific failures. - Jer 17:5 — "Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm" - Jer 20:14 — "Cursed [be] the day wherein I was born" - Mal 1:14 — "cursed [be] the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing" - Mal 3:9 — "Ye [are] cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
עַם (ʻam)	H5971	19x (37%)	Deut 27 communal response: "all the people shall say, Amen"
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	16x (31%)	Universalizing: "cursed [be] he that confirmeth not all..."
אָמֵן (ʼamen)	H543	13x (25%)	Ratification formula in Deut 27 covenant curses
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	12x (23%)	Divine authority behind the curse: "before the LORD"
אִישׁ (ʼiysh)	H376	8x (15%)	Object of curse: "cursed [be] the man that..."
אִשָּׁה (ʼishshâh)	H802	8x (15%)	Sotah ordeal: "the priest shall say unto the woman..."
בָּרַךְ (barak)	H1288	6x (12%)	Blessing-curse antithesis: "I will bless... and curse..."
מַיִם (mayim)	H4325	6x (12%)	Sotah ritual: "bitter water that causeth the curse"
אֲדָמָה (ʼadamah)	H127	5x (10%)	"Cursed [is] the ground" — creation-curse formula
אָכַל (ʼakal)	H398	5x (10%)	Consequence: "in sorrow shalt thou eat"

Synonyms¶

H2194 זָעַם (zaʻam) — to foam at the mouth, be indignant, denounce (11v); divine wrath/indignation rather than formal curse declaration
H7043 קָלַל (qalal) — to be light, make slight, curse (79v); broader range including "despise, make contemptible"; less formal than arur

Antonyms¶

H1288 בָּרַךְ (barak) — to kneel, bless (289v); direct polar opposite in covenant formulae (Gen 12:3, Num 24:9, Deut 27-28, Mal 2:2)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
קָלַל (qalal)	H7043	"curse" (6v), "cursed" (6v)	qalal = make light of, treat with contempt; broader meaning; arur = formal execration, covenant curse
קָבַב (qabab)	H6895	"curse" (2v), "cursed" (1v)	qabab = scoop out, pierce with words; used only in Balaam narrative; arur = legal/formulaic
אָלָה (ʼalah)	H423	"curse" (noun, 32v)	ʼalah = sworn oath/imprecation, often self-invoked; arur = externally declared state
מְאֵרָה (meʼerah)	H3994	"curse" (noun, 5v)	meʼerah = derived noun from arur itself — the curse as abstract result

Semantic Domain — Curse¶

Other words in domain: אָלָה (H423), מְאֵרָה (H3994), זָעַם (H2194), קָבַב (H6895), קָלַל (H7043), אָלָה (H422), אֲלָה (H421)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
ἐπικατάρατος (epikataratos)	G1944	35x	31.14	Primary — "accursed, under a curse" (adjective)
καταράομαι (kataraomai)	G2672	10x	15.67	Secondary — "to curse" (verb)
ἐρέω (ereo)	G2046	14x	13.77	Contextual — "to say/speak" (rendering the speech act)
ὁρκίζω (horkizo)	G3726	3x	8.36	In oath/ordeal contexts

The LXX strongly favors epikataratos (G1944) for arur — an adjective meaning "under a curse" that preserves the participial/stative character of the Hebrew. The verb kataraomai (G2672) is used when arur appears as a finite verb rather than participle.