Hebrew word · H4168
מוֹקֵד
ked
burning
Môqēd means a hearth, a firebed or a burning mass: the spot where fire is kept or the glowing fuel itself (Ps 102:3, “my bones burn like a hearth”; Isa 33:14). ʿÔlām means time stretching beyond view: “perpetual,” “age-long,” “forever,” depending on what it describes.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
a burning mass, burning, hearth
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 33:14
- Range of meaning
Môqēd means a hearth, a firebed or a burning mass: the spot where fire is kept or the glowing fuel itself (Ps 102:3, “my bones burn like a hearth”; Isa 33:14). The closely related môqədâ is the altar hearth in Lev 6:2 (Heb.), the place where the burnt offering stays all night while the fire is kept going. ʿÔlām means time stretching beyond view: “perpetual,” “age-long,” “forever,” depending on what it describes.
- Against the English
KJV and ESV “everlasting burnings,” BSB “everlasting flames” and WEB “everlasting burning” are accurate as far as they go. But the English plural “burnings” or “flames” loses the picture of a hearth: a built place where a fire is tended and never allowed to die. NASB's “continual burning” (as far as I know its wording) is closer to the perpetual-fire idea.
- How it drifted
In Christian preaching, “everlasting burnings” became a stock phrase for hell, partly because “everlasting fire” is used of final judgment in the New Testament (Matt 25:41). The Hebrew phrase was not coined for that.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Lev 6:2–6 (Heb.): the fire on the altar “shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out… a perpetual fire (ʾēš tāmîd).” Isa 31:9: YHWH “whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.” Isa 4:4–5: Zion cleansed “by a spirit of burning” and covered by a fire at night. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation) the second question becomes “who will tell you the eternal place (ton topon ton aiōnion)?”
- Range of meaning
A burning, a hearth, a fire-bed. The place where a fire burns, or the mass of fuel burning there. From the root yaqad, 'to burn, be kindled.'
- Against the English
Renderings differ widely: 'hearth' (KJV, NASB), 'glowing embers' (BSB, NIV), 'furnace' (ESV), 'red-hot coals' (NLT), 'torch' (WEB), 'fire-brand' (YLT). 'Hearth' names the place. 'Embers' and 'coals' name the burning fuel. 'Torch' brings in an image the Hebrew does not clearly have.
- How it drifted
Modern 'hearth' suggests a cosy household fireplace and warmth. The Hebrew picture is scorching and charring.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Leviticus 6:9 (Hebrew 6:2): the burnt offering stays 'on its hearth (moqdah) on the altar all night.' Isaiah 33:14 has 'everlasting burnings (moqde 'olam).' The LXX reads phrygion, 'dry firewood, kindling,' with the verb synephrygēsan, 'were parched together.' The short spelling qed in the Hebrew text is unusual. Lexicons (HALOT, BDB) treat it as this word.
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 102:3 קֵ֥ד a hearth
For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
Here: The place where something burns, or the burning mass itself: the bed of coals in a hearth or on an altar. The picture is wood burned down to glowing, charred remains.
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 33:14 מוֹקְדֵ֥י hearths of
The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
Here: “Hearths of…”: places where fire is kept burning. A closely related form names the altar hearth whose fire must never go out (Lev 6:2 Heb. / 6:9 Eng.).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.