Hebrew word · H6013

עָמֹק

'amok

deep

Deep, physically (deep water, a deep pit). By extension: hidden, unfathomable, hard to get to the bottom of, beyond reach. It can be neutral or good (wisdom that is hard to find), or sinister (a seductress's mouth as a 'deep pit', 22:14; 23:27; the schemer's 'deep' heart, Psalm 64:6).

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) deep, mysterious, depths

1a) deep

1b) unsearchable

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 Proverbs 18:4

Range of meaning

Deep, physically (deep water, a deep pit). By extension: hidden, unfathomable, hard to get to the bottom of, beyond reach. It can be neutral or good (wisdom that is hard to find), or sinister (a seductress's mouth as a 'deep pit', 22:14; 23:27; the schemer's 'deep' heart, Psalm 64:6).

Against the English

English versions all say 'deep', which is accurate. But modern English 'deep' about words usually means wise, profound or insightful. The Hebrew picture is first about depth as distance: the water is down there, and you cannot easily see or reach it.

How it drifted

In modern English, calling something someone said 'deep' is praise ('that's deep'). In Hebrew the picture was of a deep well or the deep sea, which suggested hiddenness at least as much as worth.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 20:5: 'Counsel in a man's heart is deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out.' Ecclesiastes 7:24: 'far off, and deep, deep: who can find it?' Job 11:8 (God's wisdom is 'deeper than Sheol'). Psalm 69:2, 14 uses 'deep waters' (maʿamaqqe mayim) for danger and overwhelming trouble. The Greek Septuagint renders it bathu, 'deep'.

From the study of Proverbs 20:5

Range of meaning

Deep, low-lying, and by extension hard to fathom or hidden: "deep, deep — who can find it?" (Eccl 7:24); "the inward mind and heart of a man are deep" (Ps 64:6, of schemers); "deep waters" (Prov 18:4).

Against the English

"Deep" in English often praises ("a deep thinker"). The Hebrew can praise too, but it can also mean hidden or out of reach. KJV/ESV/NASB add "like" ("is like deep water"), which turns the bare Hebrew picture into a comparison.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 18:4: "The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook," with the same phrase mayim ʿămuqqîm. Psalm 64:6 uses ʿāmōq for the hidden heart of plotters. Isaiah 29:15 uses the root for hiding plans from God.

From the study of Job 12:22

Range of meaning

'Deep'. It is used physically of water, pits and valleys. Figuratively it means unfathomable, hard to get to the bottom of: deep counsel (Prov 20:5), deep plotting (Isa 29:15, 'those who go deep to hide their plans from the LORD'), the inscrutable (Eccl 7:24, 'deep, deep — who can find it?'). Used as a plural noun it means 'deep things', matters beyond human reach.

Against the English

'Deep things' (KJV, WEB, BSB) is accurate. ESV has 'the deeps', which can suggest the ocean depths. NASB's 'mysteries' is a fair paraphrase but loses the spatial picture of depth.

Used elsewhere in the period

Zophar has just asked whether Job can fathom God, whose wisdom is 'higher than heaven… deeper (ʿamuqqah) than Sheol' (Job 11:7–8). Isaiah 29:15 uses the same root for people who hide their plans in the dark: 'Woe to those who go deep to hide their counsel… whose deeds are in the dark.' Daniel 2:22 (Aramaic ʿamiqata) pairs deep things with darkness, as here.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 7

  1. Leviticus 13:3 עָמֹק֙ [is] deep

    The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

    Here: "Deep, sunken." The mark looks lower than the surrounding skin. Whether that means physically sunken or only looking that way because it is so bright is debated (see Debates).

  2. Leviticus 13:4 וְעָמֹק֙ and [is] deep

    If, however, the spot on his skin is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.

    Here: This is the second diagnostic test. It asks whether the spot looks sunk below, or deeper than, the surrounding skin. In Hebrew the word 'deep' comes first, before the negative, which puts weight on it.

  3. Leviticus 13:25 עָמֹ֣ק [is] deep

    the priest must examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection.

  4. Leviticus 13:30 עָמֹ֣ק [is] deep

    the priest shall examine the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a scaly outbreak, an infectious disease of the head or chin.

  5. Leviticus 13:31 עָמֹ֣ק [is] deep

    But if the priest examines the scaly infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.

  6. Leviticus 13:32 עָמֹ֖ק [is] deep

    On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine the infection, and if the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,

  7. Leviticus 13:34 עָמֹ֖ק [is] deep

    On the seventh day the priest shall examine the scaly outbreak, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

Job · 2

  1. Job 11:8 עֲמֻקָּ֥ה deep

    They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

  2. Job 12:22 עֲ֭מֻקוֹת unfathomable [things]

    He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.

    Here: A feminine plural adjective used as a noun: 'deep things'. It means things too deep to reach or fathom: hidden, unsearchable matters. It echoes Zophar's claim in the previous chapter that God's wisdom is 'deeper than Sheol' (11:8).

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 64:6 עָמֹֽק׃ [is] deep

    They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.

    Here: "Deep": too deep to see the bottom, out of reach of human probing. It is not praise for thoughtfulness. It means hidden and impossible to sound, which is exactly why the plotters think "Who will see them?" (v. 5).

Proverbs · 4

  1. Proverbs 18:4 עֲ֭מֻקִּים deep

    The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

    Here: Deep in the sense of far down and hard to reach. In Proverbs and the other wisdom books 'deep' often means hidden or beyond easy reach (20:5; Ecclesiastes 7:24), not simply 'profound' in the admiring modern sense.

  2. Proverbs 20:5 עֲ֭מֻקִּים deep

    The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.

    Here: Deep, low down, out of reach. The word can also mean hard to understand or hidden (Eccl 7:24; Ps 64:6). Here the water lies far down a well or cistern, so getting at it takes skill and work.

  3. Proverbs 22:14 עֲ֭מֻקָּה deep

    The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

    Here: A pit too deep to climb out of. Once you are in, you stay in.

  4. Proverbs 23:27 עֲמֻקָּ֣ה deep

    For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.

Ecclesiastes · 2

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:24 וְעָמֹ֥ק׀ עָמֹ֖ק and deep, deep

    What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 23:32 הָעֲמֻקָּ֖ה <the> deep

    This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much.

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