Original Word: טָרִי
Part of Speech: Adjective Feminine
Transliteration: tariy
Pronunciation: tah-REE
Phonetic Spelling: (taw-ree')
KJV: new, putrefying
NASB: fresh, raw
Word Origin: [from an unused root apparently meaning to be moist]
1. (properly) dripping
2. (hence) fresh (i.e. recently made such)
From an unused root apparently meaning to be moist; properly, dripping; hence, fresh (i.e. Recently made such) -- new, putrefying.
טָרִי (ṭārî) denotes something recently produced, moist, supple, or raw. In Hebrew thought the idea of freshness often carries an undertone of potency—whether for constructive healing or destructive force—depending on its moral setting. That ambivalence is evident in the two inspired occurrences.
Key Old Testament Contexts
• Judges 15:15. Samson finds "the fresh jawbone of a donkey" and, empowered by the Spirit, strikes down a thousand Philistines. The freshness of the bone underscores immediacy: a newly fallen animal becomes an instrument of divine judgment. The text highlights God’s sovereignty in transforming what is apparently insignificant into a weapon when it is freshly available in His timing.
• Isaiah 1:6. The prophet laments that Judah’s rebellion has produced "only wounds and welts and festering sores". The underlying word points to raw, unhealed injuries—fresh lesions that continually testify to the nation’s spiritual sickness. What ought to have been fresh devotion has become fresh corruption.
Literary and Theological Parallels
1. Divine Provision Versus Human Decay: Fresh manna fell daily in Exodus 16, whereas Judah’s sins in Isaiah 1 remained unaddressed, festering. Freshness reveals whether hearts receive God’s mercies (Lamentations 3:23) or refuse them.
2. Instrumentality: As the jawbone illustrates, what is freshly prepared can become a ready tool for God’s purposes (compare 2 Timothy 2:21).
3. Covenant Consequences: A fresh wound in Isaiah mirrors Deuteronomy 28:27’s covenant curses, reminding readers that persistent sin opens the door to ongoing affliction.
Historical Significance
In Ancient Near Eastern warfare, fresh animal parts might be viewed as ritually impure, yet in Judges God chooses precisely such an object to shame human strength. Likewise, Isaiah draws on the physician’s imagery of untreated injuries, a vivid picture for a people familiar with basic medicinal practices involving oil, bandages, and cleansing.
Ministry Applications
• Preaching: Emphasize that God supplies fresh means for deliverance, yet unrepentant hearts experience fresh affliction.
• Pastoral Care: Use Isaiah 1:6 to call believers to continual spiritual examination and immediate application of the "oil" of the Spirit for healing (James 5:14, Galatians 6:1).
• Worship: Encourage prayers that personal devotion remain "fresh and green" like the righteous palm (Psalm 92:14), rather than raw and festering through hidden sin.
• Discipleship: Point to the pattern of daily renewal—"Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Christological Reflection
The Judge who wielded a fresh jawbone foreshadows the true Deliverer who would crush all enemies through the fresh power of His resurrection life. Conversely, the raw wounds of Isaiah anticipate the Suffering Servant whose own stripes would bring healing (Isaiah 53:5). Thus טָרִי directs attention both to the immediacy of divine intervention and to the urgent need for cleansing found only in the gospel.
Summary Insight
טָרִי presents a vivid contrast: what is newly available can either serve God’s redemptive purposes or expose ongoing rebellion. Scripture calls every generation to live in the freshness of obedient faith, lest the freshness of sin’s wounds testify against them.
Isaiah 1:6
HEB: וְחַבּוּרָ֖ה וּמַכָּ֣ה טְרִיָּ֑ה לֹא־ זֹ֙רוּ֙
NAS: welts and raw wounds,
KJV: and bruises, and putrifying sores:
INT: welts wounds and raw Nor pressed
2 Occurrences
Strong's Hebrew 2961
2 Occurrences
ṭə·rî·yāh — 2 Occ.