דֵּעַ

From the study of Job 36:3

Range of meaning

Knowledge, what one knows; also opinion or view. It is related to the common verb yāḏaʿ, 'to know,' and to the nouns daʿat and dēʿāh.

Against the English

All major versions say 'knowledge.' That is accurate, but it can sound like settled, objective information. Elihu uses the word when he asks permission to give his own view (32:6, 10, 17: 'I too will declare my opinion'), so it sits between 'knowledge' and 'what I think.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only in the Elihu speeches: Job 32:6, 10, 17; 36:3. Elihu's language has an unusual vocabulary, and commentators often point to Aramaic-flavoured words in these chapters. Related forms appear at 36:4 ('one perfect in knowledge,' dēʿôt) and 37:16, where it is God who is 'perfect in knowledge' (dēʿîm).

From the study of Job 37:16

Range of meaning

It means knowledge, opinion, what one knows. It is a rare poetic word from yādaʿ, 'to know'. In the whole Bible it occurs only in Elihu's speeches, where he uses it for his own 'opinion' or 'knowledge' (32:6, 10, 17; 36:3) and here for God's knowledge.

Against the English

English versions all say 'knowledge'. The plural form (dēʿîm, 'knowledges') does not come through in English. It suggests knowledge in its full range, every kind.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elihu's announcement in 32:6, 10, 17 is 'I too will declare my dēaʿ'. In 36:3-4 he says 'I will fetch my dēaʿ from afar … one complete in knowledge (təmîm dēʿôt) is with you'. Outside these chapters the word is not found in biblical Hebrew. Most readers treat it as part of Elihu's personal vocabulary.