Hebrew word · H1963

הֵיךְ

heikh

how?

'How?' A rare variant of the common 'eikh / 'eikhah. It occurs only here and in Dan 10:17 ('How can my lord's servant talk with my lord?'), both late books. In both places a human being stands overwhelmed before a superior, holy presence.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

how

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 Chronicles 13:12

Range of meaning

'How?' A rare variant of the common 'eikh / 'eikhah. It occurs only here and in Dan 10:17 ('How can my lord's servant talk with my lord?'), both late books. In both places a human being stands overwhelmed before a superior, holy presence.

Against the English

BSB and NIV add 'ever' ('How can I ever…'), which brings out the despairing tone. KJV and WEB give a plainer 'How shall/can I…', which leaves room for a real question about method.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Samuel parallel (2 Sam 6:9) has the normal form 'eikh. The Chronicler's heikh fits other signs of later Hebrew in Chronicles. The LXX has pōs, 'how?', and the Latin Vulgate quomodo.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 13:12 הֵ֚יךְ how?

    That day David feared God and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”

    Here: A rare, late spelling of the usual 'eikh, 'how?'. It can sound like dismay ('How could I possibly…?') and also like a real question ('In what way…?'). Both senses fit here.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 10:17 וְהֵ֣יךְ and how?

    How can I, your servant, speak with you, my lord? Now I have no strength, nor is any breath left in me.”

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