פּוּרָה (pu.rah)
pu.rah
winepress
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun purah refers specifically to a winepress, the stone or wooden structure used to crush grapes and extract their juice. In the Hebrew Bible, this term appears only twice, in Isaiah 63:2 and Haggai 1:6, grounding its meaning in the tangible reality of agricultural labor.
Its most striking usage occurs in Isaiah, where God is depicted as treading the winepress alone. This vivid image conveys divine judgment, portraying the crushing force of wrath against nations that oppose Him. The physical act of pressing yields wine, but here it symbolizes the outpouring of retribution.
While Haggai uses the word more literally to describe storing up harvests into bags with holes, Isaiah elevates the concept to a theological level. The press becomes a metaphor for God’s sovereign action in history, separating the pure from the impure through intense pressure.
Translators consistently render purah as "winepress," preserving the concrete agricultural imagery. This choice ensures readers grasp the visceral nature of the metaphor, whether it describes storing grain or executing judgment. The word remains a powerful symbol of transformation through crushing force.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word purah points to a stone or wooden structure used to crush grapes for wine. In the Bible, this image appears in two very different settings. In Haggai, it describes the frustration of storing harvest into leaky bags, highlighting how hard work can feel empty when we are not aligned with God’s purposes. It reminds us that our efforts need His blessing to bear fruit.
In Isaiah, the imagery shifts to something far more intense. God is depicted treading the winepress alone, a scene of divine judgment against those who oppose Him. This vivid picture shows that God is sovereign over history and justice. He does not share the burden of executing righteousness; He handles it Himself with complete authority.
For your faith life, this word invites you to trust in God’s timing and power. When your work feels unrewarding or when injustice seems overwhelming, remember that God sees all things. He is both the source of true blessing and the final judge. Rest in the knowledge that He is in control, even when the path forward seems unclear.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- a winepress1×
- [the] winepress1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- פּוּרָ֣ה\׀1×
- פּוּרָ֔ה1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 63:3
“I have trodden the wine press alone. Of the peoples, no one was with me. Yes, I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments, and I have stained all my clothing.
This verse uses the winepress as a metaphor for God’s solitary and sovereign execution of judgment against the nations.
-
Haggai 2:16
Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty, there were only twenty.
Here the term appears in the context of agricultural failure, illustrating how God withholds blessing when His people are misaligned.