Hebrew word · H6009

עָמֹק

he'mik

be deep

Basic stem: be deep. Causative stem: make deep, go deep. When it is followed by another verb, it often says the action is done deeply, thoroughly, to an extreme (Hos 9:9, 'they have deeply corrupted themselves'; Isa 31:6, 'they have deeply revolted'; Jer 49:8, 30, 'dwell deep', i.e. hide far away).

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

What it means

1) to be deep, be profound, make deep

1a) (Qal) to be deep

1b) (Hiphil) to make deep, make profound

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 29:15

Range of meaning

Basic stem: be deep. Causative stem: make deep, go deep. When it is followed by another verb, it often says the action is done deeply, thoroughly, to an extreme (Hos 9:9, 'they have deeply corrupted themselves'; Isa 31:6, 'they have deeply revolted'; Jer 49:8, 30, 'dwell deep', i.e. hide far away).

Against the English

BSB has 'dig deep', a concrete picture. KJV has 'seek deep', adding 'seek', which is not in the Hebrew. WEB has 'deeply hide', NIV 'go to great depths', ESV 'hide deep', YLT 'going deep'. All are defensible. 'Dig' makes a physical picture of what is most likely an idiom for effort.

Used elsewhere in the period

For the same idiom see Hos 5:2 (text uncertain), Hos 9:9 and Isa 31:6, where it is joined to another verb. Isa 7:11 uses it of a sign 'deep as Sheol'. HALOT and BDB both list the 'do deeply, thoroughly' use.

From the study of Hosea 9:9

Range of meaning

'amaq in this form (Hiphil, the form that makes something happen) means to make deep or go deep. It can be literal (digging deep, Isa 30:33; Jer 49:8 "dwell in the depths" for hiding). It can also mean doing something thoroughly or to an extreme degree. Shachat in its intensive form (Piel) means to spoil, ruin, destroy, and morally to act in a way that ruins: corruptly, perversely.

Against the English

Most English versions merge the two verbs into one idea: "deeply corrupted themselves" (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV), or "gone deep in depravity" / "sunk deep into corruption" in other modern versions. YLT keeps both verbs ("gone deep — have done corruptly"). "Themselves" is not in the Hebrew. The KJV marks it as supplied, and it narrows a verb that also means ruining things and other people.

How it drifted

"Corrupt" in modern English leans toward bribery or slow moral decay. The Hebrew verb is the ordinary word for destroying and ruining, so the behaviour it names is destructive, not merely tainted.

Used elsewhere in the period

Shachat frames the worst corruptions in Israel's story: the earth before the flood (Gen 6:11–12, "all flesh had corrupted its way"); the golden calf (Exod 32:7, "your people... have acted corruptly"); making idols (Deut 4:16, 25); and Israel's apostasy in the Song of Moses (Deut 32:5). Isaiah 31:6 has the same pairing of "go deep" with another verb ("they have deeply revolted"). Hosea uses the same opening verb in the difficult text of 5:2. He also uses shachat again in 13:9: "it is your ruin, O Israel."

From the study of Psalm 92:5

Range of meaning

To be deep, physically (deep water, a deep pit, a deep valley) or figuratively: hidden, unfathomable, hard to search out. In the causative form it means "to make deep", that is, to hide or go to great lengths (Isa 29:15, those who "go deep" to hide their plans from the LORD; Hos 9:9, "they have deeply corrupted themselves").

Against the English

English "deep" works well. The one risk is that modern "deep" can mean "intellectually impressive." The Hebrew picture is depth you cannot reach the bottom of: something beyond human sounding, not just clever.

Used elsewhere in the period

Eccl 7:24: "deep, deep (‘amoq ‘amoq); who can find it out?" Prov 20:5: "counsel in a person's heart is deep water." Ps 64:6: "the heart is deep." Job 11:8 says God's limits are "deeper than Sheol." In each case depth means hiddenness and inaccessibility.

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 92:5 עָמְק֥וּ they are deep

    How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts!

    Here: "They are deep": like deep water, they go down beyond where a person can reach or see the bottom. In Hebrew, depth means something hidden, hard to get to and hard to understand, which sets up verse 6: the senseless man cannot grasp it.

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 7:11 הַעְמֵ֣ק make deep

    “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”

    Here: A verb form used like an adverb or command: 'go as deep as you like.' It sets one end of an open-ended range for the sign.

  2. Isaiah 29:15 הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥ים those [who] make deep

    Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”

    Here: A participle with the article ('the ones who go deep'), describing what these people keep doing. Followed by 'to hide', it works like an adverb: they hide deeply, they go to great lengths to keep it buried.

  3. Isaiah 30:33 הֶעְמִ֣יק someone has made [it] deep

    For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.

    Here: "He has made [it] deep." This and the next verb sit side by side with no "and" between them, which gives a terse, hammering rhythm. The subject is unnamed, most naturally the LORD.

  4. Isaiah 31:6 הֶעְמִ֥יקוּ they have made deep

    Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel.

    Here: 'They have made deep.' The form means doing something deeply or thoroughly. Isaiah also uses this verb for hiding plans in the depths away from God (29:15). The revolt is extreme and also hidden, like a scheme dug out of sight. The verb is third person ('they'), although the opening command speaks to 'you.'

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 49:8 הֶעְמִ֣יקוּ make deep

    Turn and run! Lie low, O dwellers of Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him.

  2. Jeremiah 49:30 הֶעְמִ֧יקוּ make deep

    Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.

Hosea · 2

  1. Hosea 5:2 הֶעְמִ֑יקוּ they have made deep

    The rebels are deep in slaughter; but I will chastise them all.

  2. Hosea 9:9 הֶעְמִֽיקוּ־ they have made deep

    They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.

    Here: "They have made deep." This form makes something deep, and here it works almost like an adverb on the next verb: they went to the depths in what they did. The hyphen-like mark (maqqef) ties it to the following word as one phrase.

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