Hebrew word · H5366

נְקָרָה

benikrat

crevice

A hollow, cavity or crevice in rock. It comes from naqar, 'to bore, dig out, gouge' (used of gouging out eyes, Judg 16:21; ravens pecking out an eye, Prov 30:17). It appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible: here and Isa 2:21.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

hole, crevice

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 33:22

Range of meaning

A hollow, cavity or crevice in rock. It comes from naqar, 'to bore, dig out, gouge' (used of gouging out eyes, Judg 16:21; ravens pecking out an eye, Prov 30:17). It appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible: here and Isa 2:21.

Against the English

'Cleft' or 'crevice' suggests a split or crack. The root points more toward a hole or hollow, a recess where a person could actually fit. The Septuagint's opē ('hole, opening') and Targum Onkelos's 'cave' read it the same way.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 2:21 has the same phrase in the plural, 'the clefts of the rocks' (niqrot hatstsurim), where people hide 'from the terror of YHWH and the splendor of his majesty'. The other use is also about sheltering from overwhelming divine presence. Later Jewish tradition (a baraita in b. Pesahim 54a) counts 'the cave in which Moses and Elijah stood' among things prepared at creation, joining this scene with 1 Kgs 19.

From the study of Isaiah 2:21

Range of meaning

A hollow or crevice worn or bored into rock, from nāqar, 'to bore, dig out'. It occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible.

Against the English

'Clefts' (KJV), 'caverns' (BSB, WEB), 'cavities' (YLT). All fine. None can signal the rare word's one other use.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 33:22: 'I will put you in the cleft (niqrat) of the rock, and cover you with my hand while my glory passes by.' Isaiah 2:21 is the only other place the word appears.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 33:22 בְּנִקְרַ֣ת in [the] cleft of

    and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.

    Here: A hollow, crevice or hole in rock. The word comes from a root meaning 'to bore, pick out, gouge', so it suggests a hole cut or worn into the rock face, not just a crack.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 2:21 בְּנִקְר֣וֹת in [the] crevices of

    They will flee to caverns in the rocks and crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.

    Here: A hollow bored or worn into rock (from a verb meaning 'to dig out'). The word appears only here and in Exodus 33:22, where God puts Moses in 'the cleft of the rock' while his glory passes by.

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