יָקַע
𐤉𐤒𐤏
yâqaʻ
H3363 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To be dislocated or out of joint, to be separated from one’s connection; in an extended physical or metaphorical sense, to be alienated or estranged. In causative forms, to cause to be torn away, to impale or hang up something or someone, leading to their abandonment or ruin (often as an act of public display or harsh judgment).
Semantic Range
to be dislocated physically (limb out of joint); to be separated or alienated relationally; causatively, to impale, to hang up, to expose the dead; to abandon or leave out; to be (made) out of joint; to display as a warning
Root / Etymology
From the root יקע, whose core meaning involves the notion of dislocation, tearing apart, or causing separation from a natural place or relationship. As a verb, יָקַע expresses both the state of being physically out of place (as a limb out of joint) and the active causation of such separation (to put out of joint, to impale and thus separate a body from its natural state).
Historical & Contextual Notes
יָקַע appears rarely in the Hebrew Bible, making its precise semantic contours subject to close contextual interpretation. In its basic (qal) form, it refers to something being ‘out of joint’ or dislocated, as in the physical body (Job 33:21), or, by extension, a relationship that is severed or a person alienated. In the causative (hiphil), it is used with the specific sense of impaling or hanging a body, thus intentionally separating it from the community and exposing it, sometimes until it decomposes. This carries both a judicial and symbolic dimension. Later translations (LXX, Vulgate, Targum) sometimes used terms implying execution or display, which influenced subsequent English translations. The use of 'hang (up)' and 'impale' is closely related to Ancient Near Eastern legal punishments and the practice of public display of executed criminals as a form of deterrence and shame, not merely the act of execution itself. The figurative sense, ‘to abandon’ or ‘to be alienated’, is grounded in the literal meaning but may not always capture the judicial severity implied in some contexts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; properly, to sever oneself, i.e. (by implication) to be dislocated; figuratively, to abandon; causatively, to impale (and thus allow to drop to pieces by rotting); be alienated, depart, hang (up), be out of joint.
Bantu Hebrew
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יקע (y-q-ʿ) — to dislocate, to put out of joint, to separate
Word Forms
6 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3363-03 |
וַ/תֵּ֨קַע֙ | vateqa | HC/Vqw3fs |
and she was alienated | and she was dislocated | 3 |
H3363-04 |
וַ/יֹּקִיעֻ֤/ם | vayoqium | HC/Vhw3mp/Sp3mp |
and they impaled them | and they impaled them | 1 |
H3363-02 |
תֵּקַ֥ע | teqa | HVqi3fs |
my soul depart | she will be dislocated | 1 |
H3363-05 |
וְ/הוֹקַ֥ע | vehoqa | HC/Vhv2ms |
and impale | cause to be impaled | 1 |
H3363-01 |
הַ/מּוּקָעִֽים | hamuqaim | HTd/VHsmpa |
the hanged ones | the impaled ones | 1 |
H3363-06 |
וְ/הוֹקַֽעֲנוּ/ם֙ | vehoqaanum | HC/Vhq1cp/Sp3mp |
and we will impale them | and we impaled them | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3363-03 |
Genesis 32:26 | וַ/תֵּ֨קַע֙ | vateqa | HC/Vqw3fs |
was strained | and she was dislocated |
H3363-05 |
Numbers 25:4 | וְ/הוֹקַ֥ע | vehoqa | HC/Vhv2ms |
and impale | cause to be impaled |
H3363-06 |
2 Samuel 21:6 | וְ/הוֹקַֽעֲנוּ/ם֙ | vehoqaanum | HC/Vhq1cp/Sp3mp |
and we will impale them | and we impaled them |
H3363-04 |
2 Samuel 21:9 | וַ/יֹּקִיעֻ֤/ם | vayoqium | HC/Vhw3mp/Sp3mp |
and they impaled them | and they impaled them |
H3363-01 |
2 Samuel 21:13 | הַ/מּוּקָעִֽים | hamuqaim | HTd/VHsmpa |
the hanged ones | the impaled ones |
H3363-02 |
Jeremiah 6:8 | תֵּקַ֥ע | teqa | HVqi3fs |
my soul depart | she will be dislocated |
H3363-03 |
Ezekiel 23:17 | וַ/תֵּ֥קַע | vateqa | HC/Vqw3fs |
and she was alienated | and she was dislocated |
H3363-03 |
Ezekiel 23:18 | וַ/תֵּ֤קַע | vateqa | HC/Vqw3fs |
then I turned away | and she was dislocated |