be pure
ta.her denotes becoming or being clean, cleansing persons or places, and in priestly examination pronouncing someone clean.
The term most often describes cleansing that removes uncleanness from persons, places, or land; it also marks the resulting clean condition, a priest’s pronouncement of cleanness in examinations, and acts of self-purification.
Senses in use
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Cleansing persons, places, and land · dominant
Piel forms name an action directed toward what is unclean: in 2 Chronicles 29:16 the priests enter the house of the LORD and remove the uncleanness found there, while in Ezekiel 39:12 burial is undertaken so as to cleanse the land. In Ezekiel 36:25 the clause joins clean water, cleansing from uncleanness, and cleansing from idols.
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Reaching or remaining a clean condition · common
Qal forms occur where a person or object reaches a clean state after washing, waiting, or a prescribed action. In 2 Kings 5:14 the man’s flesh returns after dipping in the Jordan and the APB renders the result "he was pure"; in Leviticus 11:32 an object remains unclean until evening and then becomes clean.
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Pronouncing a person clean after examination · occasional
In the skin-condition examinations, Piel sequential perfects accompany the priest’s inspection and the stated finding that the affected person or plague is clean. In Leviticus 13:13 the priest examines the condition after it has turned white; in Leviticus 13:34 the inspection is followed by washing garments and being clean.
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Purifying oneself · occasional
Hithpael forms portray groups acting upon themselves in settings that also mention garments, worship, or communal preparation. In Genesis 35:2 Jacob commands his household to remove foreign gods, purify themselves, and change garments; in Nehemiah 12:30 priests and Levites purify themselves before the people, gates, and wall are purified.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB uses "purify," "cleanse," "clean," and "pure," especially for removal of uncleanness and its resulting condition. In the examination passages it renders the priest’s Piel action as "pronounce ... clean"; these renderings reflect whole clauses rather than a word-by-word alignment.