תָּפַר (ta.phar)
ta.phar
to sew
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb ta.phar means simply to sew or stitch together. It appears only three times in the Old Testament, yet each instance highlights a distinct aspect of this practical craft. In Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve use fig leaves to make coverings for themselves, engaging in an immediate, improvised act of sewing to address their newfound shame.
The word carries a sense of joining separate pieces into a whole. While the basic meaning is physical stitching, its rarity gives it weight. In Job 13:27, God’s hand is described as having "sewn" or bounded the reader’s hands, using the image of tailoring to suggest divine control and limitation rather than creation from nothing.
In Ecclesiastes 3:7, the verb appears in a poetic list of opposites, paired with "tearing." Here it represents the careful work of repair and restoration. The sources note that while the act is mundane, its biblical usage often points to God’s sovereign shaping of human circumstances or the human attempt to manage brokenness.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When shame strikes, our first instinct is often to cover it up with whatever we have on hand. In Genesis, Adam and Eve stitched fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. This simple act of sewing shows how deeply we want to manage our own brokenness. It reminds us that while human efforts to fix ourselves are temporary, the desire for wholeness is real.
Yet there is a deeper comfort in this word. Ecclesiastes places sewing alongside tearing, showing that repair is part of God’s appointed seasons. We do not need to fear the moments when things fall apart, because the same God who allows tearing also brings the time for mending. Your life has room for restoration.
Even when we feel bound or limited, as in Job, we are held by a sovereign hand. The act of sewing points to connection and care. You are not left to stitch your own wounds alone. There is hope in the promise that what is torn can be made whole again through grace.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- to/ sew1×
- and/ they sewed together1×
- I have sewed1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תָּ֭פַרְתִּי1×
- לִ/תְפּ֔וֹר1×
- וַֽ/יִּתְפְּרוּ֙1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 3:7
Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.
This verse captures the human impulse to create immediate, imperfect coverings for shame through our own efforts.
-
Ecclesiastes 3:7
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Here the word balances the pain of tearing with the hope of repair, showing that restoration is a divinely appointed season.
-
Job 16:15
I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and have thrust my horn in the dust.
The imagery of sewing sackcloth highlights how suffering can feel like a binding constraint imposed by circumstances beyond our control.