Word Study for H8388 (תָּאַר)

tâʼar /taw-ar'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningto delineate; reflex. to extend

KJV usagebe drawn, mark out, (Rimmon-) methoar (by union with רִמּוֹן).

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of tâʼar — 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 tâʼar, represented by H8388, is a primitive root that means to delineate, extend, be drawn, or mark out. It appears 7 times across 5 unique verses in the Bible. The word's usage centers on the act of outlining or defining a shape, whether it is a physical object being crafted or a geographical boundary being established.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, H8388 is used in two distinct contexts. The first is in the act of craftsmanship, where a carpenter H2796 marketh it out twice when creating an idol, first with a line H8279 and then with a compass H4230, fashioning it into the figure H8403 of a man H376 Isaiah 44:13. The second context, found exclusively in the book of Joshua, relates to the surveying and establishing of tribal land boundaries. Here, the word is repeatedly used to state that a border H1366 was drawn to define the inheritance of the tribes, such as when the border was drawn from the top of a hill H2022 to the fountain H4599 of the water H4325 of Nephtoah H5318 Joshua 15:9 or when it was drawn to Shicron H7942 Joshua 15:11.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the contexts in which tâʼar is used:

H1366 gᵉbûwl (border, bound, coast): This noun is the direct object of the action in the geographical passages. The act of H8388 is to draw a border, establishing a clear and defined territory Joshua 18:14.
H2796 chârâsh (craftsman, workman): This term identifies the person who performs the action of marking out. In Isaiah, the carpenter is the one who marketh it out H8388 to create a figure Isaiah 44:13.
H8403 tabnîyth (figure, form, likeness, pattern): This word describes the intended outcome of the delineation. The carpenter marketh it out H8388 in order to make something after the figure of a man Isaiah 44:13.
H8444 tôwtsâʼâh (goings out, issues, border): This term often specifies the endpoints or final limits of a border that was drawn H8388. For example, the goings out of the border were at the sea H3220 Joshua 15:11.
H4230 mᵉchûwgâh (compass): This noun specifies a tool used for delineation. The craftsman uses a compass to mark out H8388 the idol, indicating a precise act of creation Isaiah 44:13.

Theological Significance

The conceptual weight of H8388 lies in its application to both human creation and divine allocation.

The Folly of Idolatry: The detailed description in Isaiah 44:13 of a craftsman carefully marking out an idol serves to expose the foolishness of worshipping man-made objects. The process shows that the idol is nothing more than a piece of wood H6086 shaped by human hands and tools.
Divine Delineation of Inheritance: In Joshua, the term underscores God's sovereignty in allotting the Promised Land. The borders are not arbitrary; they are meticulously drawn to specific landmarks like Bethhoron H1032 and the stone H68 of Bohan H932, signifying God's precise and deliberate fulfillment of His covenant promises to the tribes of Israel, including Judah H3063 and the sons H1121 of Reuben H7205 (Joshua 18:14, Joshua 18:17).
Establishing Order: The act of marking out brings order from chaos. Geographically, it establishes clear territories and possessions. Theologically, it contrasts the order of God's plan for His people with the vanity of humans attempting to delineate and create their own deities.

Summary

In summary, H8388 tâʼar is a precise verb for outlining and defining. While it can describe the technical skill of a craftsman fabricating an idol Isaiah 44:13, its primary biblical function is to articulate the establishment of the sacred and national boundaries of Israel's tribes in the book of Joshua Joshua 15:9. The word powerfully contrasts the futile human act of "marking out" a lifeless god with the sovereign divine act of "marking out" a living inheritance for His people.

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 8 occurrences, inflected in 3 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.

תָאַר
יְתָאֲרֵ
מְּתֹאָר

Related Words

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

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 5 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Joshua (4 verses); never once in the other 37.

Joshua

Isaiah

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.