Hebrew word · H1814

דָּלַק

dalakta

to burn; pursue

To burn, kindle, set on fire (Ezekiel 24:10; Obadiah 18; Psalm 7:13 'flaming arrows'). 2) To pursue hotly, chase in hot pursuit (Genesis 31:36, Laban 'hotly pursued' Jacob; 1 Samuel 17:53; Lamentations 4:19).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

1) to burn, hotly pursue

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to burn

1a2) to hotly pursue

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to kindle

1b2) to inflame

Aramaic equivalent: de.laq (דְּלַק "to burn" H1815)

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 Isaiah 5:11

Range of meaning: To burn, kindle, set on fire (Ezekiel 24:10; Obadiah 18; Psalm 7:13 'flaming arrows'). 2) To pursue hotly, chase in hot pursuit (Genesis 31:36, Laban 'hotly pursued' Jacob; 1 Samuel 17:53; Lamentations 4:19).
Against the English: 'Inflame' (KJV, WEB, BSB, ESV, NASB) catches the burning sense: flushed faces, heated passions. No English word can also carry the 'hot pursuit' sense, so that wordplay is lost.
Used elsewhere in the period: Genesis 31:36 'that you have hotly pursued me'; Lamentations 4:19 'they chased us hotly on the mountains'; Proverbs 26:23 'burning lips'. The LXX renders it with συγκαίω, 'burn up'.

From the study of Psalm 10:2

Range of meaning: Its basic meaning is 'to burn, be kindled'. In the causative form it means 'to set on fire' (Ezek 24:10; Obad 18). With a person as object it means 'to pursue hotly, chase in hot pursuit' (Gen 31:36, Laban 'hotly pursued' Jacob; 1 Sam 17:53; Lam 4:19). Running and fire come together in one picture: pursuit with burning intensity.
Against the English: Most English versions pick the pursuit sense: 'persecute' (KJV), 'pursue' (BSB), 'hunt down' (WEB, NIV), 'hotly pursue' (ESV, NASB). Only YLT keeps the fire ('is the poor inflamed'), following the ancient versions. 'Persecute' in modern ears suggests religious persecution, which is narrower than the Hebrew picture of being chased down.
How it drifted: KJV's 'persecute' came from the Latin persequor, 'to follow after, pursue'. In modern English the word has narrowed to systematic hostility, often for one's beliefs.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint renders it ἐμπυρίζεται, 'is set on fire', and the Vulgate incenditur, 'is burned'. Both take the afflicted as subject. The pursuit sense is secure from Gen 31:36 and Lam 4:19 ('they hotly pursued us on the mountains').

From the study of Lamentations 4:19

Range of meaning: Basic meaning: burn, be kindled, set on fire (Ezekiel 24:10; Obadiah 18; Psalm 7:13, "fiery arrows"). In military settings it means to pursue hotly or chase fiercely (Genesis 31:36, Jacob to Laban: "that you have hotly pursued me"; 1 Samuel 17:53, Israel returning "from chasing" the Philistines).
Against the English: KJV and BSB: "pursued." WEB, ESV and NASB: "chased." YLT: "burned [after] us," which keeps the root picture but sounds odd in English. Most versions drop the sense of heat and intensity.
How it drifted: Not drift, but a loss in translation. Plain "pursued" repeats the earlier word and misses that the poet chose a stronger, fiery verb for the second line.
Used elsewhere in the period: BDB lists the "pursue hotly" sense under the same root as "burn"; HALOT also gives "hotly pursue." The Greek Septuagint seems to have read the word as "burn," with a verb meaning "were kindled/inflamed" (see textual notes).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

Genesis 31:36 דָלַ֖קְתָּ you have hotly pursued

Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?

1 Samuel · 1

1 Samuel 17:53 מִדְּלֹ֖ק from hotly pursuing

When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.

Psalms · 2

Psalm 7:13 לְֽדֹלְקִ֥ים into burning [things]

He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.
Psalm 10:2 יִדְלַ֣ק he hotly pursues

In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.

Here: The verb means 'to burn' and by extension 'to chase hotly', in the heat of pursuit. The imperfect form here describes what he keeps doing, again and again. It is usually read as 'he hotly pursues the afflicted'. The ancient versions read it as 'the afflicted burns', meaning he is scorched by the oppression.

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 26:23 דֹּלְקִ֣ים burning

Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.

Isaiah · 1

Isaiah 5:11 יַדְלִיקֵֽם׃ it inflames them

Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.

Here: 'It sets them on fire / inflames them'. Wine is now the subject and the drinkers are its object: they chased the drink, and now the drink burns them. Because dalaq can also mean 'hotly pursue', there is likely a play on words: the hunters become the hunted.

Lamentations · 1

Lamentations 4:19 דְּלָקֻ֔נוּ they hotly pursued us

Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

Here: "They hotly chased us." The root means to burn or blaze. Used of pursuit it means a fierce, close chase (Genesis 31:36; 1 Samuel 17:53). The picture of fire stays in the word, which is why YLT has "burned after us."

Ezekiel · 1

Ezekiel 24:10 הַדְלֵ֣ק kindle

Pile on the logs and kindle the fire; cook the meat well and mix in the spices; let the bones be burned.

Obadiah · 1

Obadiah 1:18 וְדָלְק֥וּ and they will burn

Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph a burning flame; but the house of Esau will be stubble—Jacob will set it ablaze and consume it. Therefore no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.” For the LORD has spoken.

Here: Plural subject: Jacob and Joseph together. The verb means to burn or kindle. Elsewhere it can also mean to chase hotly, so a hint of pursuit may sit behind the fire image.

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