כָּרַע (H3766) — Hebrew Lexicon

כָּרַע

𐤊𐤓𐤏

kâraʻ

H3766 verb

SILEX Entry

Root כּ-ר-ע to bend, to kneel, to bow

Definition

To bend or kneel down, particularly by bending the knee or lowering oneself bodily. Commonly used to describe acts of bowing, kneeling, or prostration, whether in worship, submission, or defeat. The verb can refer physically to humans or animals bowing down, kneeling, or lying down, and metaphorically to a state of being brought low, subdued, or made to collapse. In worship contexts, it distinguishes the physical act of kneeling or bowing before a deity, king, or superior. In other situations, it describes persons, nations, or animals being brought low, subdued, or made to yield. Rarely, it can refer to the physical weakening or collapse from exhaustion, fear, or defeat.

Semantic Range

to bow down, to kneel, to prostrate oneself (in worship or submission), to bring low, to subdue, to crouch (of animals), to collapse (from exhaustion, defeat, or fear), to humble, to yield, to fall down

Root / Etymology

From the root כ-ר-ע (כָּרַע), which primarily means 'to bend the knee' or 'to kneel.' The root conveys imagery of bending or folding limbs, especially in the context of acts of submission, humility, or worship. Many derived nouns and forms retain this core imagery of kneeling or bowing low.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, כָּרַע (kâraʻ) is used across a range of periods. During the monarchic period, it frequently describes either Israelites or foreign peoples bowing before kings as a gesture of honor or submission, as well as acts of worship before the Israelite deity or idols. In poetic and prophetic texts, it expands metaphorically to describe nations or individuals being humbled or vanquished. It appears with both human and animal subjects, sometimes describing animals crouching or lying down to rest. The act of כָּרַע is primarily physical, distinguishing it from other terms for worship like שָׁחָה (shāchâ), which can have a broader sense of bowing, prostration, or worship. English translations often render it as 'kneel,' 'bow down,' 'sink,' or 'collapse,' depending on context, but may not always capture the distinction between deliberate acts of humility and involuntary collapse or subjugation. In later periods, related forms continue to be used in Jewish and Samaritan liturgy to denote kneeling or bowing in prayer.

Translation Consistency

primary "kneel" 16 occurrences

The Hebrew verb primarily denotes bending the knee, prostration, and kneeling in worship or submission. "Kneel" is the most natural, common English verb that captures the physical act and easily extends to figurative senses (be made to kneel, kneel in defeat), so it supports consistent, natural rendering across all forms.

Alternatives (20 occurrences):

"knelt down" (6x) "knelt" (5x) "crouched" (2x) "collapsed" (1x) "bowed down" (1x) "bow" (1x) "made bow down" (1x) "brought down" (1x) "buckling ones" (1x) "crouch down" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to bend the knee; by implication, to sink, to prostrate; bow (down, self), bring down (low), cast down, couch, fall, feeble, kneeling, sink, smite (stoop) down, subdue, [idiom] very.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כרע (k-r-ʿ) — to bend, to kneel, to bow

Strong's	Lemma	SIBI-P1
H3767	כָּרָע	the lower legs

Word Forms

24 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`H3766-05`	כָּרַ֨ע	kara	`HVqp3ms`	he bowed	he knelt down	he knelt down	6
`H3766-06`	כָּרְע֥וּ	kareu	`HVqp3cp`	bowed down	they knelt	they knelt	3
`H3766-23`	יִ֭כְרְעוּ	yikhereu	`HVqi3mp`	shall bow down	they will kneel down	they will kneel down	2
`H3766-13`	תַּכְרִ֥יעַ	takheria	`HVhi2ms`	you-have-subdued	you will bring to kneeling	you made bow down	2
`H3766-22`	יִכְרַ֥ע	yikhera	`HVqi3ms`	kneels	he will kneel	he will kneel	2
`H3766-19`	וַ/יִּכְרַ֥ע	vayikhera	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and he knelt	and he knelt	and he collapsed	2
`H3766-08`	כָֽרְעוּ֙	khareu	`HVqp3cp`	have-bowed	they have bowed down	they kneeled	2
`H3766-14`	תִּכְרַ֣ע	tikhera	`HVqi3fs`	shall bow	she will kneel	shall bow	1
`H3766-10`	כֹּרְעִ֤ים	koreim	`HVqrmpa`	bowing	the kneeling ones	were kneeling	1
`H3766-04`	הִכְרִֽיעַ	hikheria	`HVhp3ms`	he brought down	he caused to kneel	he brought down	1
`H3766-17`	וָֽ/אֶכְרְעָ/ה֙	vaekhereah	`HC/Vqw1cs/Sh`	and I fell	and I knelt	and I knelt	1
`H3766-03`	הִכְרַעְתִּ֔/נִי	hikheraetini	`HVhp2fs/Sp1cs`	you have brought me low	you (feminine) caused me to kneel	you (feminine) caused me to kneel	1
`H3766-24`	יִכְרְע֥וּ/ן	yikhereun	`HVqi3mp/Sn`	let kneel	they will kneel	may kneel	1
`H3766-01`	הַכְרֵ֣עַ	hakherea	`HVha`	you have brought ... low	to cause to kneel	to cause to kneel	1
`H3766-02`	הַכְרִיעֵ֑/הוּ	hakheriehu	`HVhv2ms/Sp3ms`	bring him down	Make him kneel	Make him kneel	1
`H3766-07`	כָרַע֙	khara	`HVqp3ms`	they bow down	he bent the knee	he bowed down	1
`H3766-16`	תִּכְרָ֔עוּ	tikherau	`HVqi2mp`	you-will-bow-down	you will kneel	you will kneel	1
`H3766-15`	תִּ֭כְרַעְנָה	tikheraenah	`HVqi3fp`	they crouch down	they will kneel	they crouch down	1
`H3766-09`	כֹּרֵ֥עַ	korea	`HVqrmsa`	bowing	kneeling one	kneeling one	1
`H3766-20`	וַ/יִּכְרְעוּ֩	vayikhereu	`HC/Vqw3mp`	and they bowed	and they knelt down	and they knelt down	1
`H3766-18`	וַ/תִּכְרַ֣ע	vatikhera	`HC/Vqw3fs`	and she kneeled	and she knelt down	and she knelt down	1
`H3766-12`	מִ/כְּרֹ֣עַ	mikeroa	`HR/Vqc`	from kneeling	from kneeling	from kneeling	1
`H3766-11`	כֹּרְע֣וֹת	koreot	`HVqrfpa`	buckling	kneeling ones	buckling ones	1
`H3766-21`	וְ/נִכְרָ֑עָה	venikheraah	`HC/Vqh1cp`	and let us bow down	and let us kneel	and let us kneel	1

Occurrences in Scripture

36 occurrences

Filter by SIDANCE:

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`H3766-05`	Genesis 49:9	כָּרַ֨ע	kara	`HVqp3ms`	he crouches	he knelt down	he crouched
`H3766-05`	Numbers 24:9	כָּרַ֨ע	kara	`HVqp3ms`	He crouches	he knelt down	he crouched
`H3766-05`	Judges 5:27	כָּרַ֥ע	kara	`HVqp3ms`	he bowed	he knelt down	he knelt down
`H3766-05`	Judges 5:27	כָּרַ֣ע	kara-2	`HVqp3ms`	he bowed	he knelt down	he knelt down
`H3766-05`	Judges 5:27	כָּרַ֔ע	kara-3	`HVqp3ms`	he bowed	he knelt down	he knelt down
`H3766-22`	Judges 7:5	יִכְרַ֥ע	yikhera	`HVqi3ms`	kneels	he will kneel	he will kneel
`H3766-06`	Judges 7:6	כָּרְע֥וּ	kareu	`HVqp3cp`	kneeled	they knelt	they knelt
`H3766-01`	Judges 11:35	הַכְרֵ֣עַ	hakherea	`HVha`	you have brought ... low	to cause to kneel	to cause to kneel
`H3766-03`	Judges 11:35	הִכְרַעְתִּ֔/נִי	hikheraetini	`HVhp2fs/Sp1cs`	you have brought me low	you (feminine) caused me to kneel	you (feminine) caused me to kneel
`H3766-18`	1 Samuel 4:19	וַ/תִּכְרַ֣ע	vatikhera	`HC/Vqw3fs`	and she kneeled	and she knelt down	and she knelt down
`H3766-13`	2 Samuel 22:40	תַּכְרִ֥יעַ	takheria	`HVhi2ms`	you-have-subdued	you will bring to kneeling	you make kneel
`H3766-12`	1 Kings 8:54	מִ/כְּרֹ֣עַ	mikeroa	`HR/Vqc`	from kneeling	from kneeling	from kneeling
`H3766-08`	1 Kings 19:18	כָֽרְעוּ֙	khareu	`HVqp3cp`	have-bowed	they have bowed down	they kneeled
`H3766-19`	2 Kings 1:13	וַ/יִּכְרַ֥ע	vayikhera	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and he knelt	and he knelt	and he knelt
`H3766-19`	2 Kings 9:24	וַ/יִּכְרַ֖ע	vayikhera	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and he sank	and he knelt	and he collapsed
`H3766-07`	Isaiah 10:4	כָרַע֙	khara	`HVqp3ms`	they bow down	he bent the knee	he bowed down
`H3766-14`	Isaiah 45:23	תִּכְרַ֣ע	tikhera	`HVqi3fs`	shall bow	she will kneel	shall bow
`H3766-05`	Isaiah 46:1	כָּרַ֥ע	kara	`HVqp3ms`	bows down	he knelt down	he knelt down
`H3766-08`	Isaiah 46:2	כָֽרְעוּ֙	khareu	`HVqp3cp`	they bowed down	they have bowed down	they kneeled
`H3766-16`	Isaiah 65:12	תִּכְרָ֔עוּ	tikherau	`HVqi2mp`	you-will-bow-down	you will kneel	you will kneel
`H3766-02`	Psalms 17:13	הַכְרִיעֵ֑/הוּ	hakheriehu	`HVhv2ms/Sp3ms`	bring him down	Make him kneel	Make him kneel
`H3766-13`	Psalms 18:40	תַּכְרִ֖יעַ	takheria	`HVhi2ms`	you-made-bow-down	you will bring to kneeling	you made bow down
`H3766-06`	Psalms 20:9	כָּרְע֣וּ	kareu	`HVqp3cp`	have bowed down	they knelt	they knelt
`H3766-23`	Psalms 22:30	יִ֭כְרְעוּ	yikhereu	`HVqi3mp`	will kneel	they will kneel down	they will kneel down
`H3766-23`	Psalms 72:9	יִכְרְע֣וּ	yikhereu	`HVqi3mp`	shall bow down	they will kneel down	they will kneel down
`H3766-04`	Psalms 78:31	הִכְרִֽיעַ	hikheria	`HVhp3ms`	he brought down	he caused to kneel	he brought down
`H3766-21`	Psalms 95:6	וְ/נִכְרָ֑עָה	venikheraah	`HC/Vqh1cp`	and let us bow down	and let us kneel	and let us kneel
`H3766-11`	Job 4:4	כֹּרְע֣וֹת	koreot	`HVqrfpa`	buckling	kneeling ones	buckling ones
`H3766-24`	Job 31:10	יִכְרְע֥וּ/ן	yikhereun	`HVqi3mp/Sn`	let kneel	they will kneel	may kneel
`H3766-15`	Job 39:3	תִּ֭כְרַעְנָה	tikheraenah	`HVqi3fp`	they crouch down	they will kneel	they crouch down
`H3766-10`	Esther 3:2	כֹּרְעִ֤ים	koreim	`HVqrmpa`	bowing	the kneeling ones	were kneeling
`H3766-22`	Esther 3:2	יִכְרַ֖ע	yikhera	`HVqi3ms`	would bow	he will kneel	would kneel
`H3766-09`	Esther 3:5	כֹּרֵ֥עַ	korea	`HVqrmsa`	bowing	kneeling one	kneeling one
`H3766-17`	Ezra 9:5	וָֽ/אֶכְרְעָ/ה֙	vaekhereah	`HC/Vqw1cs/Sh`	and I fell	and I knelt	and I knelt
`H3766-20`	2 Chronicles 7:3	וַ/יִּכְרְעוּ֩	vayikhereu	`HC/Vqw3mp`	and they bowed	and they knelt down	and they knelt down
`H3766-06`	2 Chronicles 29:29	כָּרְע֗וּ	kareu	`HVqp3cp`	bowed down	they knelt	they knelt

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