Hebrew word · H3767

כֶּ֫רַע

kera'av

leg

The lower legs or shanks of animals, and the jointed hind legs of locusts (Lev 11:21). It almost always appears in the dual (a pair or set).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

leg

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 12:9

Range of meaning

The lower legs or shanks of animals, and the jointed hind legs of locusts (Lev 11:21). It almost always appears in the dual (a pair or set).

Against the English

"Legs" in all versions, which is accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is common in sacrificial law: the shanks and innards of a burnt offering are washed in water before burning (Lev 1:9, 13; 8:21; 9:14). In Amos 3:12 a shepherd rescues "two legs" from a lion's mouth.

From the study of Leviticus 11:21

Range of meaning

Lower leg or shank. It appears almost only in the dual (the form for a pair, kera'ayim). It is generally connected with the verb kara', 'to bend, bow, kneel', so it is the leg that bends: the jointed lower limb (HALOT, BDB).

Against the English

BSB, ESV, NASB and NIV say 'jointed legs'; KJV and YLT say just 'legs'; WEB says 'long, jointed legs'. 'Jointed' is a fair reading of the bending idea, though no separate Hebrew word for 'joint' stands in the text. 'Long' (WEB) is an interpretive addition.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in sacrifice texts for the legs of sacrificial animals, which were washed and burnt (Exod 29:17; Lev 1:9, 13; 4:11; 8:21; 9:14), and of the Passover lamb roasted 'head with legs and inner parts' (Exod 12:9). Amos 3:12 has a shepherd rescuing 'two legs' (kera'ayim) from a lion's mouth. In Joel 1:6 and Isaiah 65:25 related forms describe animals crouching. Outside the sacrifice texts, Lev 11:21 is the main use of the word for an insect.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 12:9 כְּרָעָ֖יו legs its

    Do not eat any of the meat raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over the fire—its head and legs and inner parts.

    Here: "Its shanks": the lower legs of a four-legged animal, in the dual form (a pair or set). This is the word used for the parts of a sacrifice that are washed before burning (Lev 1:9, 13).

  2. Exodus 29:17 וּכְרָעָ֔יו and legs its

    Cut the ram into pieces, wash the entrails and legs, and place them with its head and other pieces.

Leviticus · 6

  1. Leviticus 1:9 וּכְרָעָ֖יו and legs its

    The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

    Here: The lower legs of the animal, the part below the knee (the word is also used of a locust's jumping legs, Lev 11:21). These are the parts that walked through dirt and dung.

  2. Leviticus 1:13 וְהַכְּרָעַ֖יִם and the legs

    The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall present all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

  3. Leviticus 4:11 כְּרָעָ֑יו legs its

    But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and legs and its entrails and dung—

  4. Leviticus 8:21 הַכְּרָעַ֖יִם the legs

    He washed the entrails and legs with water and burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

  5. Leviticus 9:14 הַכְּרָעָ֑יִם the legs

    He washed the entrails and the legs and burned them atop the burnt offering on the altar.

  6. Leviticus 11:21 כְרָעַ֙יִם֙ legs

    However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.

    Here: A pair of legs: the Hebrew has a special 'dual' form for things that come in twos. These are the big hind legs of a locust or grasshopper, set apart from its ordinary walking feet.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 3:12 כְרָעַ֖יִם legs

    This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.

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