יְרַקְרַק
ye.raq.raq
greenish
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of יְרַקְרַק (ye.raq.raq) The Hebrew word יְרַקְרַק denotes a color descriptor meaning "greenish," indicating a hue that ranges along the green spectrum. The reduplicated form of the root suggests a nuanced or variable shade rather than a pure, singular green—the doubling of the root element typically conveys intensity, repetition, or gradation in Hebrew. This linguistic construction points to a color that is distinctly but not uniformly green, perhaps with some variation or mixed quality. The word appears only three times in the biblical text, which indicates it describes a relatively specific or specialized phenomenon rather than a common everyday object. This limited occurrence suggests the term was used to denote particular natural conditions or materials that required this specific color designation. Without access to the specific passages where it appears, we can infer that biblical writers employed this term when a simple reference to "green" was insufficient and a more particular greenish tone needed to be identified. The inclusion of this term in the biblical lexicon demonstrates that ancient Hebrew speakers made fine distinctions in color perception and had vocabulary to express subtle chromatic variations. Such precision in color language typically correlates with practical observation of natural phenomena and suggests attentiveness to the material world.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences across the text
while you sleep among the camp fires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold.
Leviticus 13:49if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the leather, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything made of leather; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest.
Leviticus 14:37He shall examine the plague; and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and it appears to be deeper than the wall,