Hebrew word · H2131

זֵק

vazikim

fetter

Fetters or chains used to bind prisoners, usually on hands or feet. A rare word.

Appears 7 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

fetters

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 45:14

Range of meaning

Fetters or chains used to bind prisoners, usually on hands or feet. A rare word.

Against the English

All the major versions say 'chains' or 'fetters'. NLT softens the line toward willing submission.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 40:1, 4: Jeremiah himself was bound in ziqqim among the captives taken to Babylon. Nahum 3:10: the nobles of Thebes were bound in ziqqim. Psalm 149:8: 'to bind their kings with chains (ziqqim)'. Assyrian and Egyptian reliefs regularly show foreign captives in fetters in victory parades.

From the study of Proverbs 26:18

Range of meaning

Sparks, firebrands, flaming missiles. The related form זִיקוֹת (zîqôt) appears in Isaiah 50:11: "all you who kindle a fire, who surround yourselves with firebrands." A word spelled the same way, זִקִּים, means "fetters, chains" elsewhere (Psalm 149:8; Job 36:8; Isaiah 45:14). Lexicons usually treat that as a separate word, and next to "arrows" the fire sense is clear here.

Against the English

KJV/ESV/NASB have "firebrands", WEB "torches", YLT "sparks", BSB "firebrands", and NIV folds the word into "flaming arrows". In older English "firebrand" meant a burning stick or torch. Today it is mostly used for an agitator.

How it drifted

In modern English "firebrand" has become mainly a word for a fiery troublemaker. A reader can take the KJV/ESV phrase "throws firebrands" as "throws agitators" or as a figure of speech, and miss the literal burning missile that makes the comparison work.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 50:11 (zîqôt, firebrands that people gird on and kindle). In Psalm 7:13 God makes "his arrows fiery shafts", a different word but the same military picture. Burning missiles in siege warfare also appear in ancient Near Eastern art and texts (see setting).

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 36:8 בַּזִּקִּ֑ים in <the> fetters

    And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction,

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 149:8 בְּזִקִּ֑ים with fetters

    to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with shackles of iron,

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 26:18 זִקִּ֗ים burning arrows

    Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,

    Here: Burning missiles: torches, sparks, or arrows carrying fire. Fire spreads past whatever it first hits, so the damage cannot be held to one spot.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 45:14 בַּזִּקִּ֖ים in <the> fetters

    This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you; they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”

    Here: They come in fetters, the picture of captives in a victory procession. This reverses Israel's own march into exile in chains. Whether the chains are forced or worn as a sign of willing surrender is debated.

  2. Isaiah 50:11 זִיק֑וֹת וּבְזִיקוֹת֙ <of> firebrands, and with [the] firebrands

    Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in a place of torment.

    Here: Burning brands or fire-arrows. The closest parallel is Prov 26:18, a madman throwing 'firebrands, arrows and death'. 'Sparks' (KJV) is too weak a word for them.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 3:10 בַזִּקִּֽים׃ with <the> fetters

    Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.

    Here: "In the fetters": chains for hands or feet, the kind shown on Assyrian palace carvings of prisoners being led away (compare Ps 149:8, Isa 45:14).

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