ya.raq denotes spitting in the face within acts of shame or public reproach.

The attested uses describe spitting in a person’s face as an act associated with shame or reproach: a public response before elders in Deuteronomy 25:9 and a comparison explaining seven days of shame in Numbers 12:14.

1. Spitting in the face as reproach · dominant

   In Deuteronomy 25:9, the Qal sequential perfect occurs in the prescribed action of the brother’s wife after removing the man’s sandal before the elders; the APB renders the clause “and spit in his face.” In Numbers 12:14, the Qal infinitive absolute forms occur in a comparison involving a father spitting in her face, followed by her bearing shame for seven days; the APB renders this “If her father had spit in her face.”

   Deuteronomy 25:9Numbers 12:14

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the action as “spit in his face” in Deuteronomy 25:9 and “had spit in her face” in Numbers 12:14. These phrases confirm the clauses’ action rather than establish finer distinctions.