Word Study for H3399 (יָרַט) | Strong's Concordance

yâraṭ /yaw-rat'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningto precipitate or hurl (rush) headlong; (intransitively) to be rash

KJV usagebe perverse, turn over.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of yâraṭ — 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 yâraṭ, represented by H3399, is a primitive root meaning to precipitate or hurl (rush) headlong; (intransitively) to be rash; be perverse, turn over. It appears only 2 times in 2 unique verses, making each instance significant in its context. The term conveys a sense of sudden, forceful action, either as a character flaw or a divine act of judgment.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its first appearance, the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 confronts Balaam, declaring his way is perverse H3399 Numbers 22:32. Here, the word describes a path or course of action that is rash and in opposition to the divine will. In the book of Job, the meaning shifts to being acted upon. Job cries out that God has delivered H5462 him to the ungodly H5760 and turned me over H3399 into the hands of the wicked H7563 Job 16:11.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words clarify the context of H3399:

H4397 mălʼâk (a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel): This is the divine being who identifies a human path as perverse. The angel H4397 of the LORD appears in a flame of fire in the book of Exodus Exodus 3:2.
H5462 çâgar (to shut up; figuratively, to surrender): This word is used in parallel with yâraṭ in Job's lament, emphasizing a sense of being handed over. David expresses confidence that the LORD will deliver H5462 Goliath into his hand 1 Samuel 17:46.
H7563 râshâʻ (morally wrong; concretely, an (actively) bad person): This term describes the destination of one who is "turned over," defining the state of those who oppose God. The psalmist declares that the LORD upholds the righteous, but the arms of the wicked H7563 will be broken Psalms 37:17.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H3399 is concentrated in its two powerful applications:

Perversity as Opposition: The word defines a way of life or a specific action that is so contrary to God's will that it warrants direct divine intervention. The angel of the LORD H4397 stands to oppose Balaam because his way is perverse Numbers 22:32.
Divine Surrender: In a context of suffering, H3399 is used to express the feeling of being hurled headlong or "turned over" by God into the power of the wicked H7563. This is seen in Job's lament, where he feels God has actively turned me over Job 16:11 to the ungodly.

Summary

In summary, H3399 captures a potent and violent concept. Whether describing a man's perverse way that invites judgment or God's action of turning someone over to the hands of the wicked, it signifies a decisive and often destructive movement. Its rarity in scripture underlines the severity of the situations it describes.

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 verb across 2 occurrences, inflected in 2 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.

יִרְטֵ
יָרַט

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 2 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Numbers and Job (1 verse each); never once in the other 37.

Numbers

Job

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.