פּוּשׁ
push
to leap
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# פּוּשׁ (push): To Leap The Hebrew verb פּוּשׁ (push) denotes the action of leaping or jumping. Based on its three occurrences in the biblical text, this word belongs to a semantic field of rapid, elevated movement—distinct from ordinary walking or running, and specifically involving upward or forceful motion through the air. The rarity of this term in biblical Hebrew (appearing only three times) suggests it was not a common word in everyday speech or writing. This limited distribution indicates the word likely served a specific communicative purpose, perhaps reserved for particular contexts where the distinctive quality of leaping motion needed to be emphasized. The precise contexts of these three occurrences would determine whether the leap carried literal, metaphorical, or symbolic significance in biblical narratives. Without access to the specific verses where פּוּשׁ appears, the full range of its usage and any nuanced meanings it may have carried remain limited to the core definition: the physical act of leaping. The word's specialized nature and sparse biblical representation suggest it occupied a narrow but distinct niche in biblical Hebrew vocabulary.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences across the text
“Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain, and neigh as strong horses;
Habakkuk 1:8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour.
Malachi 4:2But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall.