מוּךְ
𐤌𐤅𐤊
mûwk
H4134 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To be diminished or reduced in amount or substance, commonly used with reference to economic or material loss, leading to impoverishment or poverty. The term conveys the sense of losing wealth, resources, or vitality, and is most frequently applied in contexts of personal or communal economic hardship.
Semantic Range
to grow poor, to become impoverished, to undergo financial or material decline, to lose resources or property, to be diminished in vitality or strength
Root / Etymology
From the root מוך, likely related to the concept of thinning or reduction. Some lexicographers connect it to a Semitic root meaning 'to be made lean, to be diminished,' though a direct cognate in other Semitic languages is uncertain.
Historical & Contextual Notes
מוּךְ occurs sparingly in Biblical Hebrew and is primarily attested in the context of Levitical law, especially relating to Israelite individuals experiencing severe economic decline. In Leviticus (25:25, 35, 39, 47), it denotes a person who has been reduced in means to the extent of selling property or themselves into servitude. The focus is on the process or state of loss leading to poverty, more than on poverty as a static condition. The word does not refer to a specific economic class but to the experience or process of becoming destitute. Later rabbinic Hebrew tends to use different terms for poverty. Standard English translations often render it as 'become poor' or 'impoverished,' but the term encompasses broader realities of diminishing resources, not only and not always absolute poverty. Not to be confused with אֶבְיוֹן (ʾevyon) or עָנִי (ʿani), which refer to the 'poor' as a social class or someone afflicted. Its usage is specific to the context of financial downfall or loss within the community's social structure.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to become thin, i.e. (figuratively) be impoverished; be (waxen) poor(-er).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
מוך (m-w-k) — to become thin, to diminish, to be reduced
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4352 | מָכִי | Maki |
Word Forms
3 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4134-03 |
יָמ֣וּךְ | yamukhe | HVqi3ms |
he becomes poor | he becomes impoverished | 3 |
H4134-02 |
וּ/מָ֥ךְ | umakhe | HC/Vqq3ms |
and becomes poor | and he became impoverished | 1 |
H4134-01 |
מָ֥ךְ | makhe | HVqrmsa |
he is poor | impoverished one | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
5 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4134-03 |
Leviticus 25:25 | יָמ֣וּךְ | yamukhe | HVqi3ms |
becomes poor | he becomes impoverished |
H4134-03 |
Leviticus 25:35 | יָמ֣וּךְ | yamukhe | HVqi3ms |
he becomes poor | he becomes impoverished |
H4134-03 |
Leviticus 25:39 | יָמ֥וּךְ | yamukhe | HVqi3ms |
he becomes poor | he becomes impoverished |
H4134-02 |
Leviticus 25:47 | וּ/מָ֥ךְ | umakhe | HC/Vqq3ms |
and becomes poor | and he became impoverished |
H4134-01 |
Leviticus 27:8 | מָ֥ךְ | makhe | HVqrmsa |
he is poor | impoverished one |