בָּקַע

Genesis 7:11 נִבְקְעוּ֙ they were split open

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Here: A violent verb: to cleave or split, as wood is split or a sea is divided. Its form can mean 'were split open' (by someone) or 'burst open'. Either way, the barrier holding back the waters below gives way.

Genesis 22:3 וַיְבַקַּע֙ and he cut

So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

Exodus 14:16 וּבְקָעֵ֑הוּ and divide it

And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

Exodus 14:21 וַיִּבָּקְע֖וּ and they were divided

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,

Here: 'And they were split / torn open.' This verb is used for splitting wood, for the earth bursting open, for ripping something apart. It is forceful, not neat. The form is passive: the waters are acted on.

Numbers 16:31 וַתִּבָּקַ֥ע and it was split open

As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,

Joshua 9:4 וּמְבֻקָּעִ֖ים and split

acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

Here: 'And split open.' The passive form means they have been burst. The leather had cracked under strain.

Joshua 9:13 הִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּ they have split

These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

Here: A rare reflexive-intensive form of 'split': the skins 'have split themselves open', i.e. cracked and burst along the hide. Elsewhere this exact form is used only of valleys splitting under God (Mic 1:4). It is a strong, vivid word for ruin.

Judges 15:19 וַיִּבְקַ֨ע and he split open

So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.

1 Samuel 6:14 וַֽיְבַקְּעוּ֙ and they split

The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

2 Samuel 23:16 וַיִּבְקְעוּ֩ and they broke through

So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,

1 Kings 1:40 וַתִּבָּקַ֥ע and it was split open

All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.

Here: A strong word for splitting, bursting or cleaving. It is the same form used when the ground split open under Korah (Num 16:31). Here it is deliberate exaggeration: the noise was so loud that the ground seemed to crack.

2 Kings 2:24 וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָה and they tore in pieces

Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Here: "And they ripped open": a violent word for tearing flesh, used of wild animals mauling prey (Hos 13:8). It describes mauling and wounding. It does not by itself say whether the victims died.

2 Kings 3:26 לְהַבְקִ֛יעַ to break through

When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail.

2 Kings 8:12 תְּבַקֵּֽעַ׃ you will rip open

“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”

Here: An intensive form of 'split, cleave': rip open. The same verb with the same object appears in Amos 1:13 (Ammonites in Gilead), 2 Kings 15:16 (Menahem at Tiphsah) and Hosea 13:16.

2 Kings 15:16 בִּקֵּֽעַ׃ פ he ripped open

At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.

2 Kings 25:4 וַתִּבָּקַ֣ע and it was broken into

Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,

Here: Passive form: 'and the city was split open'. The verb pictures something being torn or cracked open, like splitting wood. Here it means the Babylonians broke through the wall. Coming right after the famine in v. 3, it marks the moment the eighteen-month siege ended.

1 Chronicles 11:18 וַיִּבְקְע֨וּ and they broke through

So the Three broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,

Here: The three men cut a path through the enemy camp like a wedge splitting wood. It is the first of a fast chain of 'and they…' verbs that tells the raid at speed.

2 Chronicles 21:17 וַיִּבְקָע֔וּהָ and they broke into it

So they went to war against Judah, invaded it, and carried off all the possessions found in the king’s palace, along with his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest.

2 Chronicles 25:12 נִבְקָֽעוּ׃ ס they were split open

and the army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

2 Chronicles 32:1 לְבִקְעָ֥ם to break into them

After all these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, intending to conquer them for himself.

Nehemiah 9:11 בָּקַ֣עְתָּ you split open

You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.

Here: A forceful verb for splitting something open: wood, rock, the ground. God is the one doing it ("you"), and the form presents the act as complete. It repeats the verb of Exodus 14:16, 21 and Psalm 78:13.

Job 26:8 נִבְקַ֖ע it is split open

He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.

Here: A forceful word for something tearing or splitting apart, used elsewhere of wineskins and of the fountains of the deep at the Flood. Here it is negated and stated as a general truth: the cloud does not rip.

Job 28:10 בִּקֵּ֑עַ he splits open

He hews out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.

Job 32:19 יִבָּקֵֽעַ׃ it will be split open

Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.

Psalm 74:15 בָ֭קַעְתָּ you broke open

You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

Here: A violent, physical verb: to split something so it gapes open, the way wood or rock is split. Here God splits the ground or rock so that water bursts out. It is a completed past act ("you split"), part of the psalm's remembering of what God did "from of old" (v. 12).

Psalm 78:13 בָּ֣קַע he split open

He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.

Here: A forceful word for splitting something in two, like wood split with an axe or ground that bursts open. Putting it first gives the verse a sudden, violent opening: the sea was split open by force.

Psalm 78:15 יְבַקַּ֣ע he split open

He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.

Here: "He split open." The verb is in the stem Hebrew uses for forceful or thorough action, so it pictures rock being torn apart rather than tapped. The same verb opened verse 13 ("He split the sea"), so the poet is deliberately saying God split the sea and then split the rock.

Psalm 141:7 וּבֹקֵ֣עַ and [who] breaks up

As when one plows and breaks up the soil, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

Here: "And one who splits." Paired with the first verb, it makes one picture of violent breaking open. The verb is used for splitting wood, for the sea splitting, and for the ground splitting open.

Proverbs 3:20 נִבְקָ֑עוּ they were split open

By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open, and the clouds dripped with dew.

Ecclesiastes 10:9 בּוֹקֵ֥עַ [one who] cleaves

The one who quarries stones may be injured by them, and he who splits logs endangers himself.

Isaiah 7:6 וְנַבְקִעֶ֖נָּה and let us break into it

‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’

Isaiah 34:15 וּבָקְעָ֖ה and it will hatch

There the owl will make her nest; she will lay and hatch her eggs and gather her brood under her shadow. Even there the birds of prey will gather, each with its mate.

Isaiah 35:6 נִבְקְע֤וּ they will burst forth

Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

Here: "Have been split open / burst out." The verb is passive, so the waters are split loose by someone else. It is the verb used for God splitting the sea (Exod 14:21) and the rock in the wilderness (Ps 78:15; Isa 48:21). The past-tense form presents the future event as already certain.

Isaiah 48:21 וַיִּ֨בְקַע־ and he split open

They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.

Here: 'And he split open.' This verb is used for splitting the Red Sea (Exodus 14:16, 21; Psalm 78:13), and for splitting rocks in Psalm 78:15. So the water from the rock echoes the parting of the sea: the same God splits both sea and stone.

Isaiah 58:8 יִבָּקַ֤ע it will break forth

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Here: A passive form ('will be split open, will burst through'). The same root is used for splitting the Red Sea, springs bursting out (Isa 35:6) and eggs hatching (Isa 59:5). Here it pictures first light cracking the dark horizon.

Isaiah 59:5 בִּקֵּ֔עוּ תִּבָּקַ֥ע they have hatched, it is hatched

They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

Isaiah 63:12 בּ֤וֹקֵֽעַ [who] split open

who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,

Here: 'The one who split'. This is the verb Exodus 14:16 and 14:21 use for the sea, and the same verb is used for splitting wood or rock. It is a forceful word for ripping something apart.

Jeremiah 39:2 הָבְקְעָ֖ה it was broken into

And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.

Here: A passive verb, 'it was split open / breached'. The same root is used for splitting wood, splitting the sea, and the ground splitting open. The besiegers are not named: the city simply 'was split'. It is the climax of the sentence, placed last before its subject.

Jeremiah 52:7 וַתִּבָּקַ֣ע and it was broken into

Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,

Ezekiel 13:11 תְּבַקֵּֽעַ׃ it will break through [the wall]

tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.

Here: A violent verb, used of rock being split and of animals ripping flesh. No object is written, so it can mean the wind tears the wall open or the wind itself bursts out; the word ends the verse on the moment of rupture.

Ezekiel 13:13 וּבִקַּעְתִּ֥י and I will make break out

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: In My wrath I will release a windstorm, and in My anger torrents of rain and hail will fall with destructive fury.

Ezekiel 26:10 מְבֻקָּעָֽה׃ broken into

His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

Ezekiel 29:7 וּבָקַעְתָּ֥ and you broke

When Israel took hold of you with their hands, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

Ezekiel 30:16 לְהִבָּקֵ֑עַ [about] to be broken into

I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress.

Hosea 13:8 תְּבַקְּעֵֽם׃ it will tear to pieces them

Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart.

Here: 'Will rip them open.' The verb means to split something apart, and the intensive form used here strengthens that to ripping to pieces. The subject changes from 'I' to 'the wild beast', so the verse ends with the image of a carcass left to animals. The same verb is used in 2 Kgs 2:24 for bears mauling, and in Hos 13:16 (Eng.) for what invading soldiers will do.

Hosea 13:16 יְבֻקָּֽעוּ׃ פ they will be ripped open

Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.

Here: 'Will be ripped open.' The verb means splitting something apart (wood, rock, the sea at the Exodus). Here it names a known atrocity of ancient warfare in which the next generation was destroyed in the womb.

Amos 1:13 בִּקְעָם֙ ripped open they

This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

Here: "Their ripping open". The verb is used for splitting wood, rock or the ground. Here it is a deliberately violent picture of slashing open women's bellies.

Micah 1:4 יִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּ they will be cleft

The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.

Here: The verb form means 'split themselves open', as though the ground tears itself apart. It is the language of earthquake and of the earth opening (compare Num 16:31; Zech 14:4).

Habakkuk 3:9 תְּבַקַּע־ you split open

You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.

Zechariah 14:4 וְנִבְקַע֩ and it will be split open

On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.

Here: "And it will be split." The form is passive, so no one is named as doing the splitting, but the force is plainly God's standing there. The verb recalls the splitting of the sea at the Exodus (Exod 14:16, 21).