Word Study for H2892 (טֹהַר) | Strong's Concordance

ṭôhar /to'-har/ Ask about this word

Meaningliterally brightness; ceremonially purification

KJV usageclearness, glory, purifying.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of ṭôhar — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word ṭôhar, represented by H2892, refers to clearness, purity, and glory. It appears 4 times across 4 unique verses in the Bible. Based on its root, its meaning ranges from literal brightness and clarity to the state of ceremonial purification required under the law.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its biblical usage, H2892 is applied in several distinct contexts. It is used to describe the divine and majestic, as when the elders of Israel saw God, and under His feet was a pavement like sapphire stone, as clear as "the body of heaven in his clearness" Exodus 24:10. The term also defines a state of ritual purity, marking the end of the time for a woman's "purifying" after childbirth (Leviticus 12:4, Leviticus 12:6). In a more abstract sense, it can refer to the splendor or "glory" of a king, which God can cause to cease Psalms 89:44.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help illuminate the concept of purity and holiness:

H2893 ṭohŏrâh (ceremonial purification; moral purity; [idiom] is cleansed, cleansing, purification[-fying]): This is the feminine form of H2892, frequently used to denote the process or state of ritual cleansing, such as for a leper Leviticus 14:2 or for holy things in the house of God 1 Chronicles 23:28.
H4720 miqdâsh (a consecrated thing or place, especially, a palace, sanctuary... chapel, hallowed part, holy place, sanctuary): This term for a holy place is directly linked to purification. A person could not enter the sanctuary until the days of her purifying were complete Leviticus 12:4.
H6944 qôdesh (a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity; consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness...): This word for holiness is also tied to ritual readiness. During her time of purifying, a woman was forbidden to touch any hallowed thing Leviticus 12:4.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H2892 is centered on the concepts of divine presence and ritual access to God.

Divine Splendor: The "clearness" of heaven in the vision of God signifies a perfection and purity that is otherworldly, reflecting the nature of God himself Exodus 24:10.
Ceremonial Readiness: In Leviticus, the period of "purifying" is not merely about physical recovery but about restoring a person to a state of ritual cleanness, which was a prerequisite for participating in the life of the covenant community and approaching the sanctuary Leviticus 12:4.
Loss of Glory: The use of H2892 in Psalms 89:44 to describe a king's lost "glory" illustrates that this state of splendor is granted by God and can be removed as a form of judgment.

Summary

In summary, H2892 is a specific term that bridges the physical and the spiritual. It moves from the tangible "clearness" of the heavens to the regulated process of ceremonial "purifying" and the abstract concept of royal "glory". In each case, it points to a state of untaintedness and splendor, whether describing the very presence of God or the standing of an individual before Him and the community.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun and an adjective across 6 occurrences, inflected in 4 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

טָהֳרָה
טָהֳרָ
טֹהַר
טְּהָר

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 4 verses across 3 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Leviticus (2 verses); never once in the other 36.

Exodus

Leviticus

Psalms

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.