ha.rah denotes becoming pregnant, and in figurative clauses it describes bringing trouble, deceit, or futile results into being.

The predominant use marks a woman’s becoming pregnant, regularly followed by bearing a child or stated in relation to a child’s birth. A smaller figurative use applies the same pattern to trouble, evil, deception, chaff, or wind, describing their production rather than human pregnancy.

1. Becoming pregnant with a child · dominant

   The Qal sequential imperfect commonly introduces pregnancy before the clause reports a birth: in Genesis 21:2 the APB renders that Sarah “conceived and gave birth to a son,” and in 1 Samuel 1:20 Hannah conceives and then bears a son. In Genesis 16:4, the sequential form follows the man’s going in to Hagar, while the perfect form marks that she had conceived; Judges 13:3 likewise contrasts barrenness with the prospect of conceiving and bearing a son.

   Genesis 21:21 Samuel 1:20Genesis 16:4Judges 13:3Exodus 2:2Hosea 1:6
2. Figuratively producing harmful or futile outcomes · occasional

   Abstract objects fill the place of a child in several clauses. In Isaiah 59:4 the APB renders “conceiving trouble and begetting evil,” while Job 15:35 similarly has people who “conceive trouble and bring forth evil”; Isaiah 33:11 speaks of conceiving chaff, and Isaiah 26:18 of conceiving and giving birth to wind.

   Isaiah 59:4Job 15:35Isaiah 33:11Isaiah 26:18Isaiah 59:13

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the pregnancy narratives, the APB repeatedly renders the clause with “conceived,” often alongside “bore” or “gave birth.” In figurative contexts it retains “conceiving” for trouble, chaff, and deception; as a translation, these are whole-verse renderings.