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Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary: The Old Testament Hebrew word: תקע

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Dictionary/ta/ta-q-ay.html

תקע

Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary

תקע

The verb תקע (taqa') means to blow, clap or strike. The common, underlying idea of this verb is obvious, but since no such a word exists in English we must describe a true meaning (and in translations sadly lose it): The verb תקע (taqa) conveys a sudden burst; a force briefly applied. This burst evokes a union of some kind: a sword stabbed into a person (Judges 3:21); locusts driven to the sea (Exodus 10:19); people aroused and convened by a trumpet blast (Numbers 10:2); hands forcefully brought together (Nahum 3:19).

Hence the verb is also used in the sense of pitching a tent (hammering the pegs into the ground - Genesis 31:25) and making a pledge to become someone's endorser (which was done by striking hands together with someone - Job 17:3b literally reads "who is he that my hand will strike?").

In the latter usage the figurative is probably dominant: one who pledges another's safety is bound to him (compare Samson's hair "hammered" to the ground; Samson tied up - Judges 16:14) and maybe even so much inconvenienced that the pledger feels "stabbed" or thrust into (compare Proverbs 6:1, 11:15).

The derivatives of this verb are:

  • The masculine noun תקע (teqa'), meaning a blast or sound (of a horn). This noun occurs in Psalm 150:3 only.
  • The masculine noun תקוע (taqoa'), meaning trumpet. This noun occurs in Ezekiel 7:14 only, although some scholars take this word to be not a noun but an infinite absolute of the verb.

Associated Biblical names