Hebrew word · H3554
כָּוָה
tikaveinah
to burn
To burn or scorch, specifically the skin. The passive (Niphal) means to be scorched or get burned. It is rare in the Bible. The related noun kəwiyyâ means "a burn" (Exod 21:25).
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to burn, scorch, brand
1a) (Niphal) to be burned, be scorched
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
To burn or scorch, specifically the skin. The passive (Niphal) means to be scorched or get burned. It is rare in the Bible. The related noun kəwiyyâ means "a burn" (Exod 21:25).
- Against the English
"Burned" (KJV, WEB) and "scorched" (BSB, NASB) both work. "Scorched" is closer: the word means not even a burn mark, not just escaping being burned up.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Proverbs 6:28: "Can a man walk (yəhallēk) on hot coals and his feet not be scorched (tikkāwênâ)?" It uses the same verb form and pairs it with "walk", as a picture of something impossible. Exodus 21:25: "burn (kəwiyyâ) for burn".
From the study of Proverbs 6:28
- Range of meaning
To burn, scorch or brand. It is used of skin or flesh burned by fire, the kind of burn that leaves a mark or scar. The noun forms kewiyyah / mikwah mean a "burn" or "scar" (Exod 21:25; Lev 13:24–28).
- Against the English
"Scorched" (BSB, WEB, YLT) fits better than the more general "burned" (KJV), because the word is about a burn on the body that leaves a mark. The BSB turns the clause around ("without scorching his feet"), which makes the man the one doing the scorching. In Hebrew the feet are the passive subject: they "get scorched".
- Used elsewhere in the period
Its most famous other use is Isa 43:2: "when you walk through fire you shall not be scorched (lo' tikkaweh)". The verb, the walking and the fire are the same as here. Isaiah's promise describes a miracle, which is exactly what Proverbs says an ordinary man cannot expect.
Where it appears
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 6:28 תִכָּוֶֽינָה׃ will they be scorched
Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?
Here: "Be scorched" or "be branded". The form is passive and feminine plural to agree with "feet". The feet suffer the burn whatever the man intends. This rare verb means a burn that leaves a mark on the skin.
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 43:2 תִכָּוֶ֔ה you will be burned
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Here: "You will be scorched" (passive). This is the word for a burn on the skin; the related noun is the "burn for burn" of Exodus 21:25. Proverbs 6:28 uses the same form for the impossible: walking on coals without scorching your feet.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.