TR: poreketh → katapetasma (Veil/Curtain)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
────────── ─────────────── ────────
פֹּרֶכֶת (poreketh) → καταπέτασμα (katapetasma) → καταπέτασμα (katapetasma)
H6532, 23x in OT 22x as translation 6x in NT
"the veil/curtain" of poreketh "veil"
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H6532 | פֹּרֶכֶת (poreketh) | 23 | the inner veil/curtain separating Holy Place from Most Holy |
KJV renders it exclusively as "vail" (19× "the vail," 2× "a vail," 1× "of the vail," 1× "vail"). Confined to Exodus (13×), Leviticus (6×), Numbers (3×), and 2 Chronicles (1×) — strictly Pentateuchal tabernacle/temple legislation plus Solomon's temple construction.
Key OT passages: - Exod 26:31 — "And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made" - Exod 26:33 — "And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches... and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy" - Lev 16:2 — "that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat" - 2 Chr 3:14 — "And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon"
Library: H6532-poreketh.md
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | Co-occurrences | PMI Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| poreketh (H6532) | καταπέτασμα (G2665) | 22 | 29.63 |
| poreketh (H6532) | μαρτύριον (G3142) | 11 | 13.71 |
| poreketh (H6532) | κιβωτός (G2787) | 7 | 10.83 |
The LXX-to-Hebrew alignment is near-total: 22 of 23 OT poreketh verses map to katapetasma in the LXX. This is one of the tightest one-to-one bridges in the entire LXX corpus.
Reverse direction — other Hebrew words also rendered katapetasma:
| Hebrew | Strong's | Co-occurrences | PMI Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פֹּרֶכֶת (poreketh) | H6532 | 22 | 29.63 | Inner veil (dominant) |
| מָסָךְ (macak) | H4539 | 8 | 17.70 | Outer screen/hanging |
The LXX uses katapetasma for both the inner veil (poreketh) and the outer screen (macak), collapsing a Hebrew distinction. Hebrews 9:3 restores the distinction by speaking of "the second veil" (τὸ δεύτερον καταπέτασμα).
Semantic continuity in translation: The LXX preserves the core meaning without shift. Both poreketh and katapetasma denote a fabric barrier in sacred space. The etymologies differ — poreketh from a root meaning "to separate," katapetasma from "to spread down" — but the referent is identical.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2665 | καταπέτασμα (katapetasma) | 6 | the temple veil/curtain |
Key NT passages: - Matt 27:51 — "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" - Heb 9:3 — "after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all" - Heb 10:20 — "a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh"
Library: G2665-katapetasma.md
Direct OT→NT Allusions¶
No direct quotation of a poreketh verse appears in the NT. However, Hebrews clearly draws on the tabernacle legislation:
| NT Verse | Alludes to OT | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Heb 9:3 | Exod 26:31–33 | "the second veil" = the poreketh separating Holy from Most Holy |
| Heb 6:19 | Lev 16:2 | "within the veil" echoes the Day of Atonement entry restriction |
| Heb 10:20 | Exod 26:31 | "through the veil" — the poreketh now identified with Christ's flesh |
| Matt 27:51 | Exod 26:33 | The barrier "between the holy place and the most holy" is torn |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same across testaments: - The katapetasma refers to the same physical object — the inner curtain before the Holy of Holies - Its function as a barrier separating humanity from the immediate divine presence is assumed in both testaments - The Day of Atonement restriction (Lev 16:2) underlies every NT reference
What shifts: - OT poreketh is strictly architectural/liturgical — construction materials, placement instructions, blood-sprinkling regulations - NT katapetasma becomes an event (torn at the crucifixion) and a metaphor (Christ's flesh as the veil) - The directional language "from the top to the bottom" (Matt 27:51, Mark 15:38) has no OT parallel — it signals divine initiative in removing the barrier - Hebrews reinterprets the veil-as-barrier into veil-as-opened-way: the same object that once restricted access now marks the consecrated path
Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup) Last updated: 2026-05-03