רפא

Aramaic

Verb

רפא • (transliteration needed)

1. to loosen, to soften

Hebrew

Etymology 1.1

Root
ר־פ־א (r-p-ʾ)
11 terms

Inherited from Proto-West Semitic *rpʔ (“to heal, to protect”). Compare Arabic رَفَأَ (rafaʔa, “mend, repair”). Related to רָפָה.

Pronunciation

• (reconstructed Biblical) IPA^(key): /ɾaːˈpʰaːʔ/
• (Modern Israeli) IPA^(key): /ʁaˈfa/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

רָפָא • (rafá) (pa'al construction)

1. (archaic, transitive) to heal, cure (someone)
   • Tanach, Numbers 12:13, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיִּצְעַק מֹשֶׁה אֶל יְהֹוָה לֵאמֹר אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ.

     vayits'ák moshé el YHWH le'mór el na r'fá na lah.

     So Moses cried out to GOD, saying, “O God, pray heal her!”

Conjugation

Conjugation of רָפָא (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

non-finite forms		to-infinitive		לרפוא / לִרְפֹּא
		action noun		—
		passive participle		רָפוּא
finite forms		singular		plural
		m	f	m	f
past	first	רָפָאתִי		רָפָאנוּ
	second	רָפָאתָ	רָפָאת	רְפָאתֶם1	רְפָאתֶן1
	third	רָפָא	רָפְאָה	רָפְאוּ
present		רוֹפֵא	רוֹפֵאת	רוֹפְאִים	רוֹפְאוֹת
future	first	אֶרְפָּא		נִרְפָּא
	second	תִּרְפָּא	תִּרְפְּאִי	תִּרְפְּאוּ	תִּרְפֶּאנָה2
	third	יִרְפָּא	תִּרְפָּא	יִרְפְּאוּ	תִּרְפֶּאנָה2
imperative	positive	רְפָא	רִפְאִי	רִפְאוּ	רְפֶאנָה2
	negative	אַל + Second person future tense

¹ Commonly pronounced רָפָאתֶם and רָפָאתֶן in Modern Hebrew (by analogy with other past forms).
² Rare in Modern Hebrew.

Etymology 1.2

Verb

רִפֵּא • (ripé) (pi'el construction)

1. defective spelling of ריפא

Etymology 1.3

Verb

רֻפָּא • (rupá) (pu'al construction)

1. defective spelling of רופא

References

• H7495 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Militarev, Alexander; Kogan, Leonid (2000–2005), “rpˀ”, in Semitic Etymological Dictionary, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag