תְּבַר (te.var)
te.var
to break
A:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:V
Word Overview
The Aramaic verb tevar means to break or shatter into pieces. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, found in Daniel 2:42. In this context, it describes the toes of the statue’s feet, which were made partly of iron and partly of clay. The text uses this word to highlight a structural weakness that prevents the kingdom from holding together.
This term is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew verb shabar (H7665). While Hebrew texts use shabar for breaking things like bones or vessels, Daniel’s court language prefers tevar. The distinction is linguistic rather than semantic; both words convey the same physical act of fracture. Its single occurrence underscores the fragility of empires built on unstable foundations.
Translators typically render tevar as "broken" or "partly broken." This choice captures the literal state of the material mixture. The word serves as a vivid image for political division. It reminds readers that unity requires more than superficial connection; it demands a cohesive strength that iron and clay cannot provide on their own.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word tevar describes something broken or shattered into pieces. In Daniel 2:42, it paints a picture of feet made of iron mixed with clay. This mixture creates a structure that looks solid but is actually weak and brittle. It cannot hold together because the materials do not bond well.
This image reminds us that human strength often fails when we try to build our own security. Empires and systems may seem powerful, but they are fragile without God. We find our true stability not in our own efforts, but in His unshakeable kingdom.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- breakable1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תְבִירָֽה\׃1×
Key Verses
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Daniel 2:42
As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
The word tevar highlights the structural weakness of the statue's feet, showing how a mix of iron and clay creates a brittle foundation that cannot hold together.