Hebrew word · H2711
חֵקֶק
chikei-
decree
A rare noun from the root ḥ-q-q, "to carve, engrave, inscribe," and from there "to decree, to fix by statute." It means something fixed or decreed: a statute, a determination, a resolution. It is closely related to the common ḥoq ("statute, prescribed portion") and ḥuqqah ("ordinance").
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
decree, resolve, statute, action prescribed
Another spelling of choq (חֹק ": decree" H2706)
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
A rare noun from the root ḥ-q-q, "to carve, engrave, inscribe," and from there "to decree, to fix by statute." It means something fixed or decreed: a statute, a determination, a resolution. It is closely related to the common ḥoq ("statute, prescribed portion") and ḥuqqah ("ordinance").
- Against the English
KJV "great thoughts of heart" softens a firm decision into mere thinking. WEB and NASB "resolves" is closest to the Hebrew. BSB and NLT "indecision" reverse the surface meaning in order to bring out the irony, reading v. 15 through v. 16's "searchings." ESV and NIV give "searching(s) of heart," in effect following the v. 16 reading.
- How it drifted
No drift in the English word itself. The problem is translations that harmonise v. 15 with v. 16 and so lose the deliberate contrast between "resolves" and "searchings."
- Used elsewhere in the period
The noun occurs elsewhere only in Isa 10:1, "Woe to those who decree (ḥoqeqim) iniquitous decrees (ḥiqqe-ʾawen)." That pairing of verb and noun shows it means authoritative decisions. The participle meḥoqeq means "commander, staff-bearer, lawgiver" in Judg 5:9, 5:14; Gen 49:10; Num 21:18; Deut 33:21.
Where it appears
Judges · 1
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Judges 5:15 חִקְקֵי־ resolves of
The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.
Here: From a root meaning "engrave, inscribe, decree." These are firm determinations, as if carved in stone. It echoes the "commanders" (meḥoqeqim, same root) of v. 14: Machir sent decree-makers who actually came down, while Reuben only decreed inside its own head.
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 10:1 חִקְקֵי־ decrees of
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
Here: A rare noun from the same root as the verb before it: "inscribe inscriptions," "decree decrees." The repeated sound hammers home that their whole job is making rules.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.