פְּקֻדָּה
𐤐𐤒𐤃𐤄
pᵉquddâh
H6486 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
An instance or act of appointing, oversight, or inspection; often refers to an official duty, responsibility, or function assigned to a person or group, particularly in administrative, military, or priestly contexts. Can also denote an event of divine intervention—either for judgment (punishment) or mercy (deliverance)—depending on context. In some uses, it means an enumeration, accounting, or census (numbering of people or objects). Less commonly, indicates a charge, custody, or trust, including collections stored or appointed for a purpose.
Semantic Range
oversight, official duty, responsibility, appointed event (divine visitation for judgment or deliverance), examination, reckoning, numbering/census, charge/trust, custody, collection or store assigned for a purpose
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root פקד (p-q-d), which means 'to attend to, visit, muster, appoint.' The form פְּקֻדָּה (pequddâh) is a feminine noun formation associated with the idea of a responsibility, inspection, or appointed event or duty. The root connotes specific attention given to someone or something, whether for administrative, military, priestly, or divine purposes. Lexical meaning expands from the concrete act of appointing or visiting to a wide range of official and divine interventions.
Historical & Contextual Notes
פְּקֻדָּה appears across genres in the Hebrew Bible, with nuanced meanings shaped by context. In administrative and military settings (e.g., Numbers, Chronicles), the term refers to official responsibilities, censuses, or duties assigned to leaders or groups (cf. priestly פְּקֻדּוֹת in Numbers 3:32; military oversight in Numbers 4:16). In prophetic and poetic literature (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah), it often describes the act of divine 'visitation'—which could bring either judgment or deliverance. English translations vary widely: 'oversight', 'charge', 'office', 'visitation', 'punishment', or 'numbering', rarely capture its full scope. The meaning can also shift diachronically: earlier Israelite administrative use focuses on tangible oversight; later, especially in exilic and post-exilic literature, the theological sense of God's intervention (for good or ill) is more pronounced. The term is sometimes conflated with פָּקַד itself or other nouns such as מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret, 'guard, charge'), or נְקָמָה (nᵉqamâh, 'vengeance'), but without necessarily conflating administrative with punitive meaning. When rendered as 'visitation' in older translations, readers often miss its broader administrative or legal function as used in ancient Israelite society.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
feminine passive participle of פָּקַד; visitation (in many senses, chiefly official); account, (that have the) charge, custody, that which...laid up, numbers, office(-r), ordering, oversight, [phrase] prison, reckoning, visitation.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
פקד (Peqod) — to attend to, to muster, to appoint, to number, to visit
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4662 | מִפְקָד | at mustering-of |
| H4663 | מִפְקָד | the appointed-muster site |
| H6485 | פָּקַד | I will appoint |
| H6487 | פִּקָּדוֹן | in an entrusted deposit |
| H6488 | פְּקִדֻת | oversight |
Word Forms
15 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6486-09 |
פְּקֻדָּתָ֔/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their visitation | their appointed oversight | their visitation | 9 |
H6486-08 |
פְּקֻדַּ֣ת | pequdat | HNcfsc |
oversight | appointed oversight of | oversight of | 4 |
H6486-12 |
פְּקֻדֹּ֜ת | pequdot | HNcfpc |
executioners | official appointments | official appointments | 4 |
H6486-13 |
וּ/פְקֻדַּ֣ת | ufequdat | HC/Ncfsc |
and the appointed charge | and oversight-of | and oversight of | 3 |
H6486-01 |
פְקֻדָּתָ֞/ם | fequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
[are] their muster | their appointed oversight | their appointments | 2 |
H6486-02 |
פְקֻדָּתֵ/ךְ֙ | fequdatekhe | HNcfsc/Sp2fs |
your overseers | your appointed charge | your overseers | 1 |
H6486-03 |
הַ/פְּקֻדָּ֗ה | hapequdah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the punishment | the appointed oversight | the punishment | 1 |
H6486-04 |
הַ/פְּקֻדֹּ֖ת | hapequdot | HTd/Ncfpa |
prison | the appointed duties | the prison | 1 |
H6486-05 |
לִ/פְקֻדָּ֖ה | lifequdah | HR/Ncfsa |
for an assignment | appointed oversight | for oversight | 1 |
H6486-06 |
לִ/פְקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | lifequdatam | HR/Ncfsc/Sp3mp |
according to their oversight | for their appointed oversight | for their appointed oversight | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
32 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6486-08 |
Numbers 3:32 | פְּקֻדַּ֕ת | pequdat | HNcfsc |
oversight | appointed oversight of | oversight of |
H6486-13 |
Numbers 3:36 | וּ/פְקֻדַּ֣ת | ufequdat | HC/Ncfsc |
and the appointed charge | and oversight-of | and oversight of |
H6486-13 |
Numbers 4:16 | וּ/פְקֻדַּ֞ת | ufequdat | HC/Ncfsc |
and the oversight | and oversight-of | and oversight of |
H6486-08 |
Numbers 4:16 | פְּקֻדַּ֗ת | pequdat | HNcfsc |
oversight | appointed oversight of | oversight of |
H6486-13 |
Numbers 16:29 | וּ/פְקֻדַּת֙ | ufequdat | HC/Ncfsc |
and the visitation | and oversight-of | and visitation of |
H6486-12 |
2 Kings 11:18 | פְּקֻדּ֖וֹת | pequdot | HNcfpa |
the officers | official appointments | the appointments |
H6486-07 |
Isaiah 10:3 | פְּקֻדָּ֔ה | pequdah | HNcfsa |
of visitation | appointed oversight | of visitation |
H6486-14 |
Isaiah 15:7 | וּ/פְקֻדָּתָ֔/ם | ufequdatam | HC/Ncfsc/Sp3mp |
and their store | and their appointed charge | and their appointed charge |
H6486-02 |
Isaiah 60:17 | פְקֻדָּתֵ/ךְ֙ | fequdatekhe | HNcfsc/Sp2fs |
your overseers | your appointed charge | your overseers |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 8:12 | פְּקֻדָּתָ֛/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their visitation | their appointed oversight | of their visitation |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 10:15 | פְּקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their punishment | their appointed oversight | their punishment |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 11:23 | פְּקֻדָּתָֽ/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their visitation | their appointed oversight | their visitation |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 23:12 | פְּקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their visitation | their appointed oversight | their visitation |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 46:21 | פְּקֻדָּתָֽ/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their visitation | their appointed oversight | their visitation |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 48:44 | פְּקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
their visitation | their appointed oversight | their visitation |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 50:27 | פְּקֻדָּתָֽ/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their visitation | their appointed oversight | of their visitation |
H6486-09 |
Jeremiah 51:18 | פְּקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their punishment | their appointed oversight | their appointed oversight |
H6486-04 |
Jeremiah 52:11 | הַ/פְּקֻדֹּ֖ת | hapequdot | HTd/Ncfpa |
prison | the appointed duties | the prison |
H6486-12 |
Ezekiel 9:1 | פְּקֻדּ֣וֹת | pequdot | HNcfpc |
executioners | official appointments | the appointed ones |
H6486-12 |
Ezekiel 44:11 | פְּקֻדּוֹת֙ | pequdot | HNcfpa |
having oversight | official appointments | official appointments |
H6486-03 |
Hosea 9:7 | הַ/פְּקֻדָּ֗ה | hapequdah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the punishment | the appointed oversight | the punishment |
H6486-10 |
Micah 7:4 | פְּקֻדָּתְ/ךָ֣ | pequdatekha | HNcfsc/Sp2ms |
your visitation | your appointed oversight | your visitation |
H6486-11 |
Psalms 109:8 | פְּ֝קֻדָּת֗/וֹ | pequdato | HNcfsc/Sp3ms |
his office | his appointed charge | his appointed charge |
H6486-15 |
Job 10:12 | וּ֝/פְקֻדָּתְ/ךָ֗ | ufequdatekha | HC/Ncfsc/Sp2ms |
and your visitation | and your appointed oversight | and your appointed oversight |
H6486-05 |
1 Chronicles 23:11 | לִ/פְקֻדָּ֖ה | lifequdah | HR/Ncfsa |
for an assignment | appointed oversight | for oversight |
H6486-06 |
1 Chronicles 24:3 | לִ/פְקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | lifequdatam | HR/Ncfsc/Sp3mp |
according to their oversight | for their appointed oversight | for their appointed oversight |
H6486-01 |
1 Chronicles 24:19 | פְקֻדָּתָ֞/ם | fequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
their appointments | their appointed oversight | their appointments |
H6486-08 |
1 Chronicles 26:30 | פְּקֻדַּ֣ת | pequdat | HNcfsc |
charge | appointed oversight of | the charge of |
H6486-01 |
2 Chronicles 17:14 | פְקֻדָּתָ֖/ם | fequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
[are] their muster | their appointed oversight | their muster |
H6486-12 |
2 Chronicles 23:18 | פְּקֻדֹּ֜ת | pequdot | HNcfpc |
the oversight | official appointments | official appointments |
H6486-08 |
2 Chronicles 24:11 | פְּקֻדַּ֣ת | pequdat | HNcfsc |
office | appointed oversight of | the appointed oversight of |
H6486-09 |
2 Chronicles 26:11 | פְּקֻדָּתָ֔/ם | pequdatam | HNcfsc/Sp3mp |
of their muster | their appointed oversight | their mustering |