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פָּקַד

𐤐𐤒𐤃

pâqad

H6485 verb

SILEX Entry

Root פקד to attend to, to take account, to number, to appoint, to visit

Definition

To pay close attention to, attend to, or deal with someone or something, often as an act of oversight, inspection, or intervention. The verb can denote a range of activities including visiting, appointing responsibility, taking account, mustering (as for military or census), caring for, remembering with action, punishing, or bringing to reckoning. The context determines whether the action is positive (e.g., caring for, remembering favorably, appointing to office) or negative (e.g., punishing, exacting judgment, reckoning with).

Semantic Range

to pay attention to, to visit (for blessing or judgment), to appoint or assign responsibility, to muster or take a census, to care for, to remember (with intent to act), to punish or bring to account, to deposit entrust, to miss or lack, to reckon, to call to mind, to deliver (into custody), to oversee, to place in charge

Root / Etymology

From the root פקד, which at its core means 'to attend to' or 'to take account of.' The verb denotes active engagement or consideration of an object or person, which may be carried out through visitation, appointment, or reckoning. The concrete outworking varies based on the subject, object, and context, leading to its wide semantic range. The root also yields nouns like פָּקִיד (official, overseer) and מִפְקָד (numbering, muster).

Historical & Contextual Notes

פָּקַד is one of the most versatile verbs in Biblical Hebrew, appearing widely across narrative, legal, and prophetic texts. In pre-monarchic and monarchic contexts, it frequently refers to military or census activities ('to muster,' 'to number'), as well as royal or priestly appointments ('to appoint'). In narrative and poetry, it can imply an act of divine or human intervention, whether for blessing (e.g., 'YHWH visited Sarah') or judgment (as in punishing wrongdoing). Postexilic texts occasionally employ פָּקַד in bureaucratic senses (appoint, oversee). English translations often split פָּקַד into distinct words ('visit,' 'punish,' 'appoint,' 'remember'), sometimes obscuring the underlying sense of active, purposeful attention. The term's flexibility means that context must be evaluated carefully for each use. Contrasts with שָׁקַד (to watch), זָכַר (to remember), and סָפַר (to count), though these share thematic overlap. Later translation traditions sometimes render פקד with terms like 'visit' (LXX: ἐπισκοπέω, Latin: visitare), which carry connotations of both care and scrutiny. In some periods, the English term 'officer' or 'overseer' comes into play via derived nouns, but care must be taken not to retroject bureaucratic meanings into earlier periods.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.; appoint, [idiom] at all, avenge, bestow, (appoint to have the, give a) charge, commit, count, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do judgment, lack, lay up, look, make, [idiom] by any means, miss, number, officer, (make) overseer, have (the) oversight, punish, reckon, (call to) remember(-brance), set (over), sum, [idiom] surely, visit, want.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

פקד (p-q-d) — to attend to, to take account, to number, to appoint, to visit

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4662 מִפְקָד at mustering-of
H4663 מִפְקָד the appointed-muster site
H6486 פְּקֻדָּה their appointed oversight
H6487 פִּקָּדוֹן in an entrusted deposit
H6488 פְּקִדֻת oversight

Word Forms

96 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6485-59 וּ/פָקַדְתִּ֥י ufaqadeti HC/Vqq1cs and I will punish and I attended to 20
H6485-47 פְּקֻדֵי/הֶ֖ם pequdeyhem HVqsmpc/Sp3mp those numbered of them their appointed ones 16
H6485-66 וּ/פְקֻדֵי/הֶ֑ם ufequdeyhem HC/Vqsmpc/Sp3mp and those numbered of them and their mustered-ones 13
H6485-78 וַ֠/יִּפְקֹד vayifeqod HC/Vqw3ms and he mustered and he attended to 12
H6485-16 הַ/פְּקֻדִ֔ים hapequdim HTd/Vqsmpa those numbered the accounted ones 12
H6485-93 יִפְקֹ֣ד yifeqod HVqi3ms visit he will attend to 12
H6485-33 פָּקַ֥ד paqad HVqp3ms numbered he attended to 11
H6485-04 אֶפְקֹ֗ד efeqod HVqi1cs I will punish I will attend to 11
H6485-46 פְּקוּדֵ֥י pequdey HVqsmpc numbered accounted ones of 10
H6485-28 לִ/פְקֻדֵי/הֶם֒ lifequdeyhem HR/Vqsmpc/Sp3mp according to those numbered of them for their mustered-ones 10

Occurrences in Scripture

304 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6485-33 Genesis 21:1 פָּקַ֥ד paqad HVqp3ms visited he attended to
H6485-73 Genesis 39:4 וַ/יַּפְקִדֵ֨/הוּ֙ vayafeqidehu HC/Vhw3ms/Sp3ms and appointed him and he appointed him
H6485-22 Genesis 39:5 הִפְקִ֨יד hifeqid HVhp3ms he appointed he appointed
H6485-78 Genesis 40:4 וַ֠/יִּפְקֹד vayifeqod HC/Vqw3ms took charge of and he attended to
H6485-88 Genesis 41:34 וְ/יַפְקֵ֥ד veyafeqed HC/Vhj3ms and let him appoint and may he appoint
H6485-39 Genesis 50:24 פָּקֹ֧ד paqod HVqa will surely to attend to
H6485-93 Genesis 50:24 יִפְקֹ֣ד yifeqod HVqi3ms visit he will attend to
H6485-39 Genesis 50:25 פָּקֹ֨ד paqod HVqa will surely to attend to
H6485-93 Genesis 50:25 יִפְקֹ֤ד yifeqod HVqi3ms visit he will attend to
H6485-39 Exodus 3:16 פָּקֹ֤ד paqod HVqa I have surely to attend to
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