Hebrew word · H3127
יוֹנֶ֫קֶת
yonekotav
shoot
A young shoot, sucker or tender twig. It comes from the verb yānaq, 'to suck, nurse' (the same root as yônēq, 'nursing infant'). It means new growth that draws life from a parent stem or root.
Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
young plant, twig, young shoot
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 young shoot, sucker or tender twig. It comes from the verb yānaq, 'to suck, nurse' (the same root as yônēq, 'nursing infant'). It means new growth that draws life from a parent stem or root.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB 'branches' suggests established, woody limbs. BSB/ESV/NASB 'shoots' and NIV 'young shoots' are closer. YLT's 'sucklings' is wooden, but it keeps the root picture of nursing.
- How it drifted
'Branches' is a natural English simplification. It loses the sense of fresh, tender, new growth springing up.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Job 8:16: the godless man's 'shoots go out over his garden'. Job 14:7: a tree cut down sprouts again, 'and its shoot will not cease', which is a famous image of life coming back from a stump. Ps 80:11 (Heb 80:12): the vine Israel sends 'its shoots to the River'. Ezek 17:4 uses the related yənîqâ for the top twig of the cedar.
From the study of Ezekiel 17:22
- Range of meaning
A young shoot or sucker, the newest growth on a tree. It comes from yanaq, 'to suck, nurse'. The related word yoneq means a nursing infant and also a young plant (Isa 53:2).
- Against the English
'Young twigs' (KJV, WEB), 'topmost shoots' (BSB), 'tender shoots' (YLT). English keeps the botanical sense but loses the 'nursling' overtone a Hebrew ear could hear.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Ezek 17:4 (the eagle's plucking); Job 8:16, 14:7, 15:30 (a tree's shoots); Ps 80:11 (Israel the vine's shoots); Hos 14:6. The related yoneq in Isa 53:2 describes the servant who 'grew up like a young shoot'.
- Range of meaning
A young shoot or tender twig, especially new growth springing from a root or stock. It comes from yānaq, 'to suck, to nurse': a suckling shoot that feeds on the parent plant.
- Against the English
'Tender shoots' (BSB), 'tender branch' (KJV, WEB) and 'shoots' (ESV, NIV) all lose the nursing picture. The horticultural word 'sucker' happens to keep it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Psalm 80:11 (Israel the vine 'sent out its shoots to the River'); Hosea 14:6 (restored Israel's 'shoots shall spread'); Ezekiel 17:4 (top of the 'young twigs'). Inside Job, Job's friends use the same word for the wicked man's household: Bildad in 8:16 ('his shoots spread over his garden') and Eliphaz in 15:30 ('the flame will dry up his shoots').
Where it appears
Job · 3
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Job 8:16 יֹֽנַקְתּ֥וֹ young shoot[s] its
He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden.
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Job 14:7 וְ֝יֹֽנַקְתּ֗וֹ and young shoot[s] its
For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
Here: 'And its shoot'. The noun comes from the verb 'to suckle', so it pictures a nursing shoot drawing on the old root. English gardeners still call these 'suckers'.
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Job 15:30 יֹֽ֭נַקְתּוֹ young shoot[s] his
He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
Here: Literally a 'suckling': the tender new growth of a plant that draws up sap. It pictures the man as a plant, and his shoots may also hint at his offspring and future.
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 80:11 יֽוֹנְקוֹתֶֽיהָ׃ young shoots its
It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.
Ezekiel · 1
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Ezekiel 17:22 יֹֽנְקוֹתָיו֙ young shoots its
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
Here: Fresh new growth. The word comes from the root 'to suckle', so it pictures a 'nursling' shoot, and it suggests the youngest members of the royal family.
Hosea · 1
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Hosea 14:6 יֹֽנְקוֹתָ֔יו young shoots its
His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
Here: 'His shoots'. The noun comes from the verb 'to suck, nurse', so it means a sucker or tender new growth, the young shoots that draw sap from the parent stock. YLT's 'sucklings' keeps the root. 'His' is Israel, called 'he' in the verse before.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.