Hebrew word · H3369

יָקֹשׁ

venokshu

to snare

To lay a bait or snare (the fowler's trade). In the passive, to be caught or trapped. The related noun moqesh means a lure or snare and is used widely for anything that draws a person to ruin.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to lure, entice, snare, lay a snare or lure, set a trap

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to lay snares (fig. of devices of wicked)

1a2) fowlers (participle)

1b) (Niphal) to be ensnared, be caught by a bait

1c) (Pual) to be entrapped

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 Deuteronomy 7:25

Range of meaning

To lay a bait or snare (the fowler's trade). In the passive, to be caught or trapped. The related noun moqesh means a lure or snare and is used widely for anything that draws a person to ruin.

Against the English

'Be ensnared/snared' (BSB, KJV, WEB) keeps the hunting picture. Renderings like 'it will become a trap to you' keep the sense but make the passive into a statement about the object.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 7:16, in this same chapter: 'nor serve their gods, for that will be a snare (moqesh) to you.' Exod 23:33 and 34:12 warn that Canaan's gods and covenants will be a snare. Judg 8:27: Gideon's gold ephod 'became a snare to Gideon and his house'. Ps 124:7 pictures the bird escaping 'the snare of the fowlers'.

From the study of Proverbs 6:2

Range of meaning

In its active form the verb means to set a snare or catch birds. In the passive form used here it means to be caught in a snare, and from there, by extension, to be caught out, entrapped or brought down. Related nouns are môqēsh, a snare, lure or trap (often the trigger or bait), and yāqûsh or yôqēsh, a fowler or bird-catcher. The whole word family belongs to hunting birds with nets, nooses and spring traps.

Against the English

'Snared' and 'trapped' are accurate. English readers may not see the specific picture, though: a small creature walks into a device it does not notice, and the device closes on it. The point is not violence. It is being caught off guard by something you walked into yourself.

Used elsewhere in the period
  • Psalm 124:7: "our soul escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers."
  • Isaiah 8:15 and 28:13 use this same passive verb together with lākhad: "they will be snared and taken." The pair was a set expression.
  • Jeremiah 50:24: "I set a snare for you, and you were caught, O Babylon."
  • Proverbs 18:7: a fool's lips are "a snare to his soul".
  • Proverbs 20:25: rashly vowing something holy is a môqēsh, a snare.
  • Psalm 9:16: the wicked are snared by the work of their own hands.

From the study of Ecclesiastes 9:12

Range of meaning

To lay a snare; in passive forms, to be snared or trapped. The same root gives yaqush/yoqesh, "fowler," and moqesh, "snare, lure" (BDB).

Against the English

"Are snared / ensnared / trapped" in all versions. NLT turns it into "are caught by sudden tragedy," which merges the verb with the calamity.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 91:3, "the snare of the fowler (yaqush)." Jer 50:24, "I set a snare for you and you were caught (yaqoshti lakh)." Isa 8:15, "they will be snared and taken." Prov 6:2, "you are snared by the words of your mouth."

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 7:25 תִּוָּקֵ֣שׁ you should be ensnared

    You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

    Here: 'You be snared/trapped,' from the world of bird-catching. The precious metal is the bait, and the trap closes on the person who goes for it. The idea is being drawn into the cult the object belongs to.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 124:7 י֫וֹקְשִׁ֥ים fowlers

    We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away.

    Here: 'Fowlers': people who trap birds for a living. It is plural, so 'the trappers'. These are the human enemies of vv. 2–3, here pictured as hunters who set the trap on purpose.

  2. Psalm 141:9 יָ֣קְשׁוּ [which] they have laid

    Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers.

    Here: 'They have set it as a snare.' This is the verb behind the Hebrew word for a fowler (yôqēsh). The past tense shows the trap is already in place. The danger is not ahead of him; it has been set and is waiting. The relative 'that' is understood, which is normal in Hebrew poetry.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 6:2 נוֹקַ֥שְׁתָּ you have been ensnared

    if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,

    Here: "You have been snared." The word comes from bird-catching: a trap or noose that springs shut on a bird. The form is passive and describes something already done. The son is already in the trap, and the next phrase says who set it: his own mouth.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:12 יֽוּקָשִׁים֙ [are] ensnared

    For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

    Here: "Are snared": a passive participle from the root that gives "fowler" and "snare" (moqesh). It describes a lasting state: humans stand there as caught things. The form is unusual (see textual notes).

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 8:15 וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּ and they will be ensnared

    Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

  2. Isaiah 28:13 וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּ and they will be ensnared

    Then the word of the LORD to them will become: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” so that they will go stumbling backward and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.

    Here: Passive, from the language of bird-trapping: caught in a fowler's snare. Isaiah 8:14 makes God himself 'a trap and a snare' to Jerusalem.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 50:24 יָקֹ֨שְׁתִּי I set a trap

    I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.

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