Hebrew word · H2946

טָפַח

tipachti

to extend

A rare verb. Here and probably in Lamentations 2:22 it means 'spread out, extend'. Lamentations 2:20 and 2:22 may use the same root, or a homonym, for 'carrying on the palms / dandling' children.

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

What it means

1) to extend, spread, trip, take quick little steps

1a) (Piel)

1a1) to spread out

1a2) to carry on the palms, dandle

1a3) to rear children

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 48:13

Range of meaning

A rare verb. Here and probably in Lamentations 2:22 it means 'spread out, extend'. Lamentations 2:20 and 2:22 may use the same root, or a homonym, for 'carrying on the palms / dandling' children. It is related to the noun tefach, 'handbreadth, palm-width', the width of four fingers (Exodus 25:25; 1 Kings 7:26), and to tefachot, 'coping' (the top course of a wall) (1 Kings 7:9).

Against the English

Most versions say 'spread out' (BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV, NASB) or 'stretched out' (YLT). KJV's 'spanned' and the Vulgate's 'measured' take up the 'handbreadth' link: the right hand measures the sky as a builder measures with his palm.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in Isaiah 40–48 the usual verb for the heavens is natah, 'stretch out' like a tent (40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12), so the choice of tippach here stands out. Isaiah 40:12 has God measuring 'the heavens with a span (zeret)', the width of a spread hand. The Greek Septuagint seems to render with a verb meaning 'made firm', and the Latin Vulgate has mensa est, 'measured'. BDB and HALOT list 'spread out' for this verse.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 48:13 טִפְּחָ֣ה it spread out

    Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.

    Here: A rare verb, related to the noun tefach, 'handbreadth'. It pictures an open hand stretching out the sky, possibly also measuring it, as if the whole sky were only a hand's width to God. KJV's 'spanned' keeps that picture of measuring.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 2:22 טִפַּ֥חְתִּי I had given birth

    You summoned my terrors on every side, as for the day of an appointed feast. In the day of the LORD’s anger no one escaped or survived; my enemy has destroyed those I nurtured and reared.

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