Hebrew word · H3489

יָתֵד

yated

peg

A tent peg or stake. Also a peg driven into a wall to hang things on (Ezek 15:3), a digging tool (Deut 23:13), and, by metaphor, a secure fixture or a leader (Isa 22:23; Zech 10:4).

Appears 24 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) pin, stake, peg, nail

1a) pin, peg, tent pin, tent stake

1b) nail, pin (fig.)

1c) pin (used in weaving)

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 Exodus 27:19

Range of meaning

A tent peg or stake. Also a peg driven into a wall to hang things on (Ezek 15:3), a digging tool (Deut 23:13), and, by metaphor, a secure fixture or a leader (Isa 22:23; Zech 10:4).

Against the English

KJV 'pins' sounds small, like a sewing pin. The word means sturdy stakes.

How it drifted

'Pin' in older English meant any peg or bolt. Today it mostly means a small fastener.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jael killed Sisera with a tent peg (Judg 4:21). Isaiah pictures Zion as a tent 'whose stakes will never be pulled up' (Isa 33:20; cf. 54:2). Exod 35:18 and 38:20, 31 confirm that the pegs of the Dwelling and of the court were bronze, with cords.

From the study of Ezra 9:8

Range of meaning

A pointed peg. It can be a tent stake hammered into the ground (Exodus 27:19; Judges 4:21; Isaiah 33:20; 54:2) or a peg fixed in a wall to hang things on (Ezekiel 15:3; Isaiah 22:23–25). In a figure of speech it means a firm fixture, something securely fastened, or a leader others 'hang' on (Zechariah 10:4).

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'a nail', WEB and BSB 'a stake'. Some modern versions turn it into an abstraction, such as 'a firm place' or 'a secure hold'. These catch the meaning but lose the picture.

How it drifted

In 1611 'nail' could mean a peg or pin. A modern reader pictures a small metal nail and misses the tent stake, or the wall peg of Isaiah 22:23, behind the word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 22:23: 'I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place', said of Eliakim, though that peg later gives way (22:25). Isaiah 54:2: 'strengthen your stakes', in the promise of Zion's restoration. Zechariah 10:4, from the restoration period: 'from him the tent peg'.

From the study of Isaiah 54:2

Range of meaning

yātēd: a peg or stake, for a tent (Judges 4:21), a building, or a wall. Used figuratively of a secure, dependable person or foothold (Isaiah 22:23, "I will fasten him like a peg in a firm place"; Ezra 9:8; Zechariah 10:4). ḥāzaq in this intensive form: to make strong, firm, fixed. It also means to strengthen weak hands (Isaiah 35:3).

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT say "strengthen / make strong your stakes". BSB says "drive your stakes in deep", which interprets well: a peg is made strong by being driven firmly into the ground.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 33:20 pictures Zion as "a tent that will not be moved, whose stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its cords broken". Isaiah 33:23 uses ḥāzaq for ropes that "cannot hold the mast firm". The Septuagint has κατίσχυσον, "make strong".

Where it appears

Exodus · 8
  1. Exodus 27:19 יְתֵדֹתָ֛יו יִתְדֹ֥ת tent pegs its, [the] tent pegs of

    All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, including all its tent pegs and the tent pegs of the courtyard, shall be made of bronze.

    Here: 'Its pegs': the stakes driven into the ground to anchor the cords of the Dwelling's tent coverings.

  2. Exodus 35:18 יִתְדֹ֧ת יִתְדֹ֥ת [the] tent pegs of

    the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, along with their ropes;

  3. Exodus 38:20 הַיְתֵדֹ֞ת the tent pegs

    All the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

  4. Exodus 38:31 יִתְדֹ֧ת יִתְדֹ֥ת [the] tent pegs of

    the bases for the surrounding courtyard and its gate, and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and its surrounding courtyard.

  5. Exodus 39:40 וִיתֵדֹתֶ֑יהָ and tent pegs its

    the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases; the curtain for the gate of the courtyard, its ropes and tent pegs, and all the equipment for the service of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting;

Numbers · 2
  1. Numbers 3:37 וִיתֵדֹתָ֖ם and tent pegs their

    as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

  2. Numbers 4:32 וִֽיתֵדֹתָם֙ and tent pegs their

    and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and everything related to their use. You shall assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.

Deuteronomy · 1
  1. Deuteronomy 23:13 וְיָתֵ֛ד and a spade

    And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement.

Judges · 6
  1. Judges 4:21 יְתַ֨ד הַיָּתֵד֙ [the] peg of, the peg

    But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.

  2. Judges 4:22 וְהַיָּתֵ֖ד and the peg

    When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man you are seeking.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with a tent peg through his temple.

  3. Judges 5:26 לַיָּתֵ֣ד to the peg

    She reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she shattered and pierced his temple.

  4. Judges 16:14 בַּיָּתֵ֔ד הַיְתַ֥ד with the pin, the pin of

    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.

Ezra · 1
  1. Ezra 9:8 יָתֵ֖ד a tent peg

    But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes.

    Here: A tent stake driven into the ground, or a peg fixed in a wall. It is a picture of a small but firm hold: a foothold, a place where something is fastened and stays put.

Isaiah · 4
  1. Isaiah 22:23 יָתֵ֖ד a tent peg

    I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a throne of glory for the house of his father.

  2. Isaiah 22:25 הַיָּתֵ֔ד the tent peg

    In that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, the peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and fall, and the load upon it will be cut down.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

  3. Isaiah 33:20 יְתֵֽדֹתָיו֙ tent pegs its

    Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

    Here: 'Its tent pegs', the stakes driven into the ground that hold a tent in place. In Isaiah a peg 'fastened in a firm place' stands for stability (Isa 22:23).

  4. Isaiah 54:2 וִיתֵדֹתַ֖יִךְ and tent pegs your

    “Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep.

    Here: "Your tent-pegs", the stakes driven into the ground to anchor the ropes. Elsewhere a peg firmly driven is a picture of security and permanence (Isaiah 22:23; 33:20).

Ezekiel · 1
  1. Ezekiel 15:3 יָתֵ֔ד a peg

    Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils?

Zechariah · 1
  1. Zechariah 10:4 יָתֵ֔ד a peg

    The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together.

    Here: A tent peg driven into the ground, or a peg fixed into a wall for hanging things. Both pictures say the same thing: what holds firm and what everything else hangs on. Compare Isaiah 22:23–24, where a trusted official is 'a peg in a secure place' on which his family's whole weight hangs.

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