Hebrew word · H3753
כִּרְכָּרָה
uvakirkarot
dromedary
It appears only here in the Bible, so its meaning is uncertain. It most likely comes from the root krr, 'to whirl, dance', and refers to swift riding animals, probably dromedaries or fast she-camels.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
dromedary, dromedary camel, beasts
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 Isaiah 66:20
- Range of meaning
It appears only here in the Bible, so its meaning is uncertain. It most likely comes from the root krr, 'to whirl, dance', and refers to swift riding animals, probably dromedaries or fast she-camels.
- Against the English
KJV 'swift beasts' (sticks to the root idea); ESV and YLT 'dromedaries'; BSB, WEB and NIV 'camels'. The Greek and Latin translators seem to have taken it as some kind of covered vehicle or canopy instead.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Medieval Jewish commentators and modern lexicons such as BDB and HALOT tentatively connect it to 'dancing' or swift movement. There are no other biblical occurrences.
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 66:20 וּבַכִּרְכָּר֗וֹת and on <the> camels
And they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots and wagons, on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.”
Here: This word appears only here in the Bible. It probably comes from a root meaning 'whirl, dance' (as in David 'dancing' in 2 Samuel 6:14), so it suggests fast-moving animals. Usually taken as swift camels or dromedaries, but the meaning is not certain.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.