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רָקַע

𐤓𐤒𐤏

râqaʻ

H7554 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To hammer, beat, or flatten a material, especially metal, into thin sheets or plates; to spread out or overlay by pounding. The term can refer to literal physical processes (such as the hammering of metal to create a covering or plating) or figuratively to the spreading out of something broad and thin (such as 'the sky' conceived as a broad expanse).

Semantic Range

to flatten by hammering, to overlay with thin plates, to stamp, to spread out broadly, to make broad, to expand by beating, to pound (earth or other material), to stretch out metaphorically (used of the sky or earth)

Root / Etymology

Root רָקַע (ר-ק-ע), meaning 'to hammer, beat, stamp, spread out.' The verb derives from the action of striking or pounding a substance to make it flat or broad. While the core meaning involves physical flattening or expansion by force, secondary senses extend this to processes such as overlaying (with metal) or, figuratively, to stretching something out widely.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In its oldest and most literal uses, particularly in Exodus (e.g., Exod 39:3), רָקַע describes the artisanal process of beating gold or other metals into thin plates for overlaying sacred objects or structures. Poetically and in cosmological description (as in Gen 1:17, Isa 42:5, Ps 136:6), it shifts to describe the act of spreading out the earth or the skies—comparing divine creation to the smith's act of hammering out metal into a broad sheet. The imagery is common in ancient Near Eastern cosmologies (the sky as a dome or vault hammered out of metal), but the core meaning remains tied to the process of flattening or spreading. The root and noun forms contrast with related terms like מָתַח (to stretch, draw out) which suggest tension rather than hammering. English translations sometimes render the term as 'spread' or 'stamp' but risk obscuring the original sense of forceful flattening or overlaying. In later periods and post-biblical Hebrew, the word's use narrows primarily to manual or technical contexts (e.g., metallurgy).

Translation Consistency

primary "beat" 0 occurrences

'Beat' best covers the typical, concrete sense of râqaʻ — pounding or hammering metal or material flat (e.g. 'beat out' plates) — while also naturally handling figurative senses (the sky or earth 'beaten' or spread out). It is a common, natural English verb that fits the verb’s primary semantic range better than narrower choices like 'hammer' or broader ones like 'spread.'

Alternatives (11 occurrences):
"beating-spreader" (2x) "hammered flat" (1x) "hammered them out" (1x) "trample" (1x) "plates" (1x) "hammered-out" (1x) "stamp" (1x) "stamped" (1x) "who spreads out" (1x) "spread out" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to pound the earth (as a sign of passion); by analogy to expand (by hammering); by implication, to overlay (with thin sheets of metal); beat, make broad, spread abroad (forth, over, out, into plates), stamp, stretch.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

רקע (r-q-ʿ) — to hammer, to beat, to flatten, to spread out, to overlay

Root רקע to beat, to flatten, to spread out, to hammer, to overlay
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H7549 רָקִיעַ in the hammered vault of
H7555 רִקֻּעַ beaten-metal plates of

Word Forms

10 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H7554-04 רֹקַ֥ע roqa HVqrmsc spreading hammering-spreader beating-spreader 2
H7554-05 תַּרְקִ֣יעַ tareqia HVhi2ms spread out you will hammer-flat you will spread out 1
H7554-08 וַֽ/יְרַקְּע֖וּ/ם vayeraqeum HC/Vpw3mp/Sp3mp and they beat them they hammered them out they hammered them out 1
H7554-07 וַֽ/יְרַקְּע֞וּ vayeraqeu HC/Vpw3mp And they hammered out and they hammered flat and they hammered flat 1
H7554-03 מְרֻקָּ֞ע meruqa HVPsmsa beaten hammered-out hammered-out 1
H7554-10 יְרַקְּעֶ֑/נּוּ yeraqeenu HVpi3ms/Sp3ms plates it he hammers it flat plates it 1
H7554-09 וְ/רַקְעֲ/ךָ֖ veraqeakha HC/Vqc/Sp2ms and stamped and your hammering-out and stamped 1
H7554-02 לְ/רֹקַ֣ע leroqa HR/Vqrmsc to-the-one-who-spreads-out to the one who hammers out to the one who spreads out 1
H7554-01 אֶרְקָעֵֽ/ם ereqaem HVqi1cs/Sp3mp I-trample-them I hammer-spread them I will trample them 1
H7554-06 וּ/רְקַ֤ע ureqa HC/Vqv2ms and stamp and hammer flat and stamp 1

Occurrences in Scripture

11 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H7554-07 Exodus 39:3 וַֽ/יְרַקְּע֞וּ vayeraqeu HC/Vpw3mp And they hammered out and they hammered flat and they hammered flat
H7554-08 Numbers 17:4 וַֽ/יְרַקְּע֖וּ/ם vayeraqeum HC/Vpw3mp/Sp3mp and they beat them they hammered them out they hammered them out
H7554-01 2 Samuel 22:43 אֶרְקָעֵֽ/ם ereqaem HVqi1cs/Sp3mp I-trample-them I hammer-spread them I will trample them
H7554-10 Isaiah 40:19 יְרַקְּעֶ֑/נּוּ yeraqeenu HVpi3ms/Sp3ms plates it he hammers it flat plates it
H7554-04 Isaiah 42:5 רֹקַ֥ע roqa HVqrmsc who spread out hammering-spreader beating-spreader
H7554-04 Isaiah 44:24 רֹקַ֥ע roqa HVqrmsc spreading hammering-spreader beating-spreader
H7554-03 Jeremiah 10:9 מְרֻקָּ֞ע meruqa HVPsmsa beaten hammered-out hammered-out
H7554-06 Ezekiel 6:11 וּ/רְקַ֤ע ureqa HC/Vqv2ms and stamp and hammer flat and stamp
H7554-09 Ezekiel 25:6 וְ/רַקְעֲ/ךָ֖ veraqeakha HC/Vqc/Sp2ms and stamped and your hammering-out and stamped
H7554-02 Psalms 136:6 לְ/רֹקַ֣ע leroqa HR/Vqrmsc to-the-one-who-spreads-out to the one who hammers out to the one who spreads out
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