וַ/יַּכֶּ֨ה

𐤅/𐤉𐤊𐤄

vayakeh

and he struck

a primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively); beat, cast forth, clap, give (wounds), [idiom] go forward, [idiom] indeed, kill, make (slaughter), murderer, punish, slaughter, slay(-er, -ing), smite(-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, [idiom] surely, wound.

H5221

2 Kings 8:21 · Word #11

Lexicon H5221

Lemmaנָכָה
Lemma (Paleo)𐤍𐤊𐤄
Transliterationnâkâh
Strong'sH5221
In-contextand he struck

Morphology HC/Vhw3ms All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan h — Hiphil — Causative active
Conjugation w — Sequential Imperfect — Imperfect with waw-consecutive, narrating past events
Person 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they")
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular

SIBI-P1 H5221-74

and he struck down

Rootנכה (n-k-h)
Core Meaningsstriking, smiting, beating, wounding, killing, inflicting blows
Semantic Rangeto strike, smite, beat, wound, kill, defeat, punish, inflict blows, bring down in battle
Conceptual SignificanceThis verb frequently appears in narratives of divine or human judgment, warfare, and deliverance. It can describe YHWH striking enemies or plagues striking people, underscoring themes of justice, power, and covenant consequence in Israel’s history.
Morphological NotesConjunction וַ + Hiphil wayyiqtol (vav-consecutive imperfect) 3rd masculine singular from נכה. The Hiphil stem commonly functions as the active/causative form of this root, with the doubled כ marking the stem formation.
Rendering RationaleThe root נכה conveys the act of striking or smiting, often with force resulting in injury or death. The form is a waw-consecutive Hiphil imperfect, 3rd masculine singular, indicating a completed past action by a masculine singular subject; "and he struck down" reflects both the causative nuance of the Hiphil stem and the singular masculine subject.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root נכה (striking, smiting, beating, wounding, killing, inflicting blows)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H5221-01 akeh I will strike down
H5221-02 akekah shall I strike you down?
H5221-03 akenu I will strike him down

Word Usage (502 occurrences of H5221)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 4:15 הַכּוֹת hakot strike
Genesis 8:21 לְ/הַכּ֥וֹת lehakot to strike/destroy
Genesis 14:5 וַ/יַּכּ֤וּ vayaku and defeated