Hebrew word · H1911
הָדָה
hadah
to stretch out
This verb occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning is drawn from context and from the parallel line. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'stretch out (the hand)'. Comparisons with words in related languages have been proposed but are uncertain.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Qal) to stretch out (hand)
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
- Range of meaning
This verb occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning is drawn from context and from the parallel line. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'stretch out (the hand)'. Comparisons with words in related languages have been proposed but are uncertain.
- Against the English
'Put his hand on' (KJV, ESV, NASB, WEB) keeps to the preposition ʿal ('on/over'). 'Reach into' (BSB) and 'put its hand into' (NIV) go a step further than the Hebrew 'over/upon', though the picture of a child exploring a hole is natural.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Unique in the Hebrew Bible. Ancient versions translate it by context: the LXX has 'will lay (his) hand upon'.
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 11:8 הָדָֽה׃ he will put out
The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
Here: This verb also occurs only here, and the context gives its sense: to stretch or put out the hand. The child reaches toward or onto the viper's den, a deliberate act that is a step beyond the baby's play.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.