Hebrew word · H3364

יָקַץ

va'ikatz

to awake

'Wake up', often suddenly, from sleep or a dream. In Genesis it marks the end of a significant dream or sleep (Gen 9:24; 28:16).

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to awake, awaken, become active

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 Genesis 41:4

Range of meaning

'Wake up', often suddenly, from sleep or a dream. In Genesis it marks the end of a significant dream or sleep (Gen 9:24; 28:16).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'So Pharaoh awoke'; BSB 'Then Pharaoh woke up,' (ending with a comma because the sentence runs on into v. 5).

Used elsewhere in the period

Jacob 'awoke from his sleep' after the Bethel dream (Gen 28:16); the same word ends the second dream here (41:7) and the waking is followed by 'and behold, it was a dream'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 5

  1. Genesis 9:24 וַיִּ֥יקֶץ and he awoke

    When Noah awoke from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

  2. Genesis 28:16 וַיִּיקַ֣ץ and he awoke

    When Jacob woke up, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”

  3. Genesis 41:4 וַיִּיקַ֖ץ and he awoke

    And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,

    Here: 'And he woke up.' The dream ends suddenly, at its most disturbing moment, leaving Pharaoh with the image and no explanation.

  4. Genesis 41:7 וַיִּיקַ֥ץ and he awoke

    And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.

  5. Genesis 41:21 וָאִיקָֽץ׃ and I awoke

    When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 16:14 וַיִּיקַץ֙ and he awoke

    So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web. Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.

  2. Judges 16:20 וַיִּקַ֣ץ and he awoke

    Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

    Here: He wakes up, the same verb used in 16:14. The story keeps him passive and asleep while the decisive thing happens.

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 3:15 וַיִּקַ֥ץ and he awoke

    Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

  2. 1 Kings 18:27 וְיִקָֽץ׃ so he may awake

    At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”

    Here: An open-ended verb form: 'and he will wake up', or 'so that he wakes up'. In context: 'keep shouting and maybe you'll wake him'. Translations add 'must be'.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 78:65 וַיִּקַ֖ץ and he awoke

    Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.

    Here: 'And he awoke.' This is the verb form Hebrew uses to tell a story one event after another. After the disaster of vv. 56–64 comes a sudden turn: the Lord wakes up. The word is the ordinary one for waking from sleep (Gen 28:16; 1 Kgs 3:15).

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:7 וְיִקְצ֖וּ and may they awake?

    Will not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey.

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