Hebrew word · H1694

דֶּ֫בֶק

hadevakim

joint

From the root dbq, 'to cling, stick, join'. The noun means a join or attachment. Isaiah 41:7 uses it of a metalworker's soldering ('it is good for the joining').

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) joints, soldering, joining, appendage

1a) joining, soldering, riveting

1b) appendage, open joints of a breastplate

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 1 Kings 22:34

Range of meaning

From the root dbq, 'to cling, stick, join'. The noun means a join or attachment. Isaiah 41:7 uses it of a metalworker's soldering ('it is good for the joining').

Against the English

BSB/WEB/KJV 'joints (of the armor/harness)', ESV 'scale armor', NIV 'sections of his armor'. Some English versions treat the two nouns as one phrase ('the joints of the armor'). The Hebrew names two items, 'between the dəḇāqîm and between the širyān'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare: used only here, its parallel 2 Chronicles 18:33, and Isaiah 41:7. Commentators (e.g. Cogan, Anchor Bible) suggest either the overlapping, laced scales themselves or the attached lower pieces (skirt or sleeves) of a scale coat.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 22:34 הַדְּבָקִ֖ים the joints

    However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

    Here: 'The attachments': the joined or fastened parts of the armor. This could mean the overlapping, laced scales or the attached lower sections. The exact piece is uncertain, but the image is a seam where the protection was weakest.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 18:33 הַדְּבָקִ֖ים the joints

    However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 41:7 לַדֶּ֙בֶק֙ of the soldering

    The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.

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