Hebrew word · H1163

בָּעַט

tiv'atu

to kick

To kick, to kick out at. Only twice in the Bible: here and 1 Sam 2:29 ('Why do you kick at my sacrifice and my offering?'). In both places it means scornful rebellion against God's provision, pictured as an animal lashing out.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to kick, kick at

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to kick

1a2) to kick at

1a3) to desire (fig.)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 32:15

Range of meaning

To kick, to kick out at. Only twice in the Bible: here and 1 Sam 2:29 ('Why do you kick at my sacrifice and my offering?'). In both places it means scornful rebellion against God's provision, pictured as an animal lashing out.

Against the English

'Kicked' is accurate. What modern readers may miss is the farmyard picture: a stall-fed ox or heifer that has grown strong and unruly and kicks at its owner. It is the ingratitude of a beast that bites the hand that feeds it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same animal picture appears in Hosea: Israel as 'a stubborn heifer' (Hos 4:16), and 'when they had grazed, they were satisfied; they were satisfied and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me' (Hos 13:6). Jeremiah 5:28 uses closely related wording: 'they have grown fat and sleek.' The Septuagint uses apelaktisen ('kicked away'). The later Greek proverb 'to kick against the goads' (Acts 26:14) is a related but separate image.

From the study of 1 Samuel 2:29

Range of meaning

To kick, specifically the way an animal kicks out. HALOT and BDB both give 'kick' and treat its use for people as a figure of speech: contemptuous rebellion by someone who has been well fed.

Against the English

KJV, NASB, BSB, WEB and YLT keep 'kick (at)'. ESV, NIV and NLT turn it into 'scorn'. 'Scorn' gives the right attitude, but it loses the picture of a fat beast lashing out. It also loses the link to Deuteronomy 32:15, which is the only other place this verb occurs.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible it occurs only here and in Deuteronomy 32:15: 'Jeshurun grew fat and kicked (wayyib'aṭ); you grew fat, thick, sleek; and he forsook God.' Both passages tie fattening to kicking. A related verb meaning 'kick' appears in later Aramaic and Hebrew. The Greek Septuagint did not read 'kick' here (it has 'look upon'), which suggests a variant Hebrew text or a misreading.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 32:15 וַיִּבְעָ֔ט and he kicked

    But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.

    Here: "And he kicked" — the picture of a well-fed ox or calf that turns unruly and kicks out at the one who feeds it. The only other use of the verb is 1 Sam 2:29, where Eli's sons 'kick at' God's sacrifices: contemptuous rebellion against what belongs to God.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 2:29 תִבְעֲט֗וּ do you kick

    Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’

    Here: 'You (plural) kick.' The picture is a well-fed animal lashing out with its hooves. The plural brings Eli in together with his sons. The verb occurs only one other time, in Deuteronomy 32:15, where Israel 'grew fat and kicked'.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.