פָּצַח
pa.tsach
to break out
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# פָּצַח (patzach): Breaking Out and Bursting Forth The Hebrew verb פָּצַח (patzach) carries the fundamental meaning of "to break out," describing a forceful emergence or sudden rupture. With only eight occurrences across the biblical text, this is a relatively rare word, suggesting it was reserved for moments requiring emphasis on abrupt or violent action. The verb conveys intensity—not merely opening or separating, but breaking through barriers with force, whether physical or figurative. The rarity of this term (appearing just eight times) indicates that biblical authors chose it deliberately when depicting breakthrough moments. Rather than using more common words for opening or emerging, the selection of patzach signals that something significant is happening: a barrier is being overcome, a boundary is being crossed, or restraint is being shattered. This specificity makes the word functionally important for understanding contexts where biblical narratives emphasize sudden transformation or forceful action, even though the limited corpus prevents detailed analysis of its full semantic range within biblical literature.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences across the text
Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!
Isaiah 14:7The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet. They break out in song.
Isaiah 44:23Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
Isaiah 49:13Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains, for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
Isaiah 52:9Break out into joy! Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.
Isaiah 54:1“Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth; break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says Yahweh.
Isaiah 55:12For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills will break out before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.
Micah 3:3who also eat the flesh of my people, and peel their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as meat within the cauldron.