Hebrew word · H1607

גָּעַשׁ

yego'ashu

to shake

To shake, quake, heave, or toss. It is used of the earth and the foundations of the mountains trembling at God's anger (Ps 18:7 / 2 Sam 22:8), of the sea's waves tossing (Jer 5:22), of the Nile surging (Jer 46:7–8), and of reeling like drunkards (Jer 25:16).

Appears 9 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to shake, quake

1a) (Qal) to shake

1b) (Pual) to be shaken up, convulsed

1c) (Hithpael) to shake back and forth, toss or reel to and fro

1d) (Hithpoel) to reel to and fro

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 Job 34:20

Range of meaning

To shake, quake, heave, or toss. It is used of the earth and the foundations of the mountains trembling at God's anger (Ps 18:7 / 2 Sam 22:8), of the sea's waves tossing (Jer 5:22), of the Nile surging (Jer 46:7–8), and of reeling like drunkards (Jer 25:16). It always involves physical, convulsive motion.

Against the English

KJV 'troubled' now sounds like mental worry. WEB 'shaken' is good but can also be heard as 'emotionally rattled.' BSB 'convulse' best captures the physical, almost seismic heaving of a population struck down.

How it drifted

In 1611 'troubled' could still mean physically stirred or agitated (as in 'troubled waters'). Modern English has narrowed it to inner distress, so the KJV now reads as if people were merely upset.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb appears only a handful of times in the Hebrew Bible, mostly in theophany passages, where God's appearing makes the earth quake, and in images of surging waters. The passive form used here is found only in this verse, which is one reason some scholars suspect the text has been miscopied (see textual notes).

From the study of Psalm 18:7

Range of meaning

To heave, surge, toss, reel. Rare in the Hebrew Bible. In the simple form it means to shake or heave. In the reflexive/intensive form (hitpael, as in the 7th word) it means to toss oneself back and forth, or to stagger.

Against the English

English versions use "shook" (KJV, BSB, WEB) or "reeled" (ESV). "Shook" is fine but flat. The word pictures a rolling, wave-like motion, not a short jolt.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 46:7–8: Egypt rises like the Nile, "whose waters surge" (hitpael). Jer 5:22: waves "toss themselves" but cannot pass the shore God set. Jer 25:16: the nations "reel" after drinking the cup of wrath. Its use for both water and drunkenness suggests heaving, unstable motion. HALOT and BDB give "shake, quake" and, for the hitpael, "toss, reel to and fro."

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 22:8 וַיִּתְגָּעַ֤שׁ וַיִּֽתְגָּעֲשׁ֖וּ and it shook back and forth, and they shook back and forth

    Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

Job · 1

  1. Job 34:20 יְגֹעֲשׁ֣וּ they are shaken

    They die in an instant, in the middle of the night. The people convulse and pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.

    Here: 'They are shaken / convulse.' Elsewhere this verb describes the earth quaking (Ps 18:7) and waves heaving (Jer 5:22; 46:7–8). The motion is physical and violent, not a feeling of worry. The passive form means something does it to them.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 18:7 וַתִּגְעַ֬שׁ וַ֝יִּתְגָּֽעֲשׁ֗וּ and it shook, and they shook back and forth

    Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

    Here: "And it heaved." A rare verb used elsewhere for surging floodwaters and drunken reeling. The earth rolls like a sea. The "and" form carries the story on from verse 6: God heard, and then the earth heaved.

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 5:22 וַיִּֽתְגָּעֲשׁוּ֙ and they shook back and forth

    Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.

    Here: "And they heaved themselves": the waves throw their own mass forward. The verb also describes the earth quaking (Ps 18:7) and Egypt surging like the Nile (Jer 46:7–8). The narrative tense is unusual; it reads as "whenever they heave".

  2. Jeremiah 25:16 וְהִֽתְגֹּֽעֲשׁ֖וּ and they will stagger to and fro

    And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.”

  3. Jeremiah 46:7 יִֽתְגָּעֲשׁ֖וּ they surge

    Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters churn?

  4. Jeremiah 46:8 יִתְגֹּ֣עֲשׁוּ they surge

    Egypt rises like the Nile, and its waters churn like rivers, boasting, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy the cities and their people.’

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