Hebrew word · H6117

עָקַב

'akav

to assail

A verb formed from the noun ʿāqēb, "heel". Its basic sense is to seize someone by the heel. From there it means to trip someone up from behind, to overreach, to cheat. HALOT gives both "seize at the heel" and "deceive".

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to supplant, circumvent, take by the heel, follow at the heel, assail insidiously, overreach

1a) (Qal) to supplant, overreach, attack at the heel

1b) (Piel) to hold back

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 Hosea 12:3

Range of meaning

A verb formed from the noun ʿāqēb, "heel". Its basic sense is to seize someone by the heel. From there it means to trip someone up from behind, to overreach, to cheat. HALOT gives both "seize at the heel" and "deceive". The related adjective ʿāqōb means "deceitful" (Jeremiah 17:9: "the heart is deceitful").

Against the English

English versions say "took by the heel" (KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV, NASB) or "grasped his brother's heel" (BSB, NIV). That is correct for the birth scene, but in English it describes a baby's reflex and nothing more. The sense of "supplant, cheat" disappears. The Strong's gloss "to assail" misses it too. The KJV keeps it in Genesis 27:36 ("he hath supplanted me") but not here, so English readers do not see that the two verses use the same word.

How it drifted

English has no single verb that means both "grab the heel" and "cheat", so translators pick the physical meaning. The wordplay on the name Jacob also disappears in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 25:26: Jacob is born "with his hand holding Esau's heel (ʿăqēb), so he was named Yaʿaqob". Genesis 27:36: Esau says, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? He has supplanted me (wayyaʿqəbēnî) these two times." Jeremiah 9:4 (Hebrew 9:3), probably echoing this tradition: "every brother ʿāqôb yaʿqōb", meaning every brother is a thorough cheat. The Greek Septuagint translates Hosea with eptérnisen, "tripped by the heel, supplanted", the same verb it uses in Genesis 27:36. So ancient readers already took Hosea's verb to mean cheating.

From the study of Jeremiah 9:4

Range of meaning

The verb ʿāqab is tied to the noun ʿāqēb, 'heel'. It means to follow at the heel, to grab by the heel, to trip up from behind, and so to overreach, cheat or supplant by trickery. It is rare as a verb: Gen 27:36, Hos 12:3 (Heb. 12:4), Jer 9:3 (Heb.), and a related sense in Job 37:4. The adjective ʿāqōb means 'crooked' or 'deceitful' (Jer 17:9, 'the heart is deceitful').

Against the English

BSB and NASB 'deals craftily', ESV 'is a deceiver', and NIV/NLT-style 'deceiver / takes advantage' all give the sense correctly. But they lose the pun. KJV/WEB 'will utterly supplant' keeps both the intensity and, through the Latin root of 'supplant' (to trip up by the sole of the foot), the heel picture. Modern readers, though, now take 'supplant' to mean 'replace'.

How it drifted

The pun cannot be carried into English without a footnote, so most versions keep the meaning and drop the wordplay.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 27:36: Esau says, 'Is he not rightly named Jacob (Yaʿaqōb)? For he has supplanted me (wayyaʿqəbēnî) these two times.' Hos 12:3: 'In the womb he took his brother by the heel (ʿāqab).' The Septuagint renders our verse with πτερνίζω, 'to trip with the heel', the same verb it uses in Gen 27:36. The Vulgate has 'supplantans supplantabit'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 27:36 וַֽיַּעְקְבֵ֙נִי֙ and he has supplanted me

    So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

Job · 1

  1. Job 37:4 יְ֝עַקְּבֵ֗ם he holds back them

    Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 9:4 עָק֣וֹב יַעְקֹ֔ב certainly <to cheat>, he cheats

    “Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.

    Here: A verb form placed before its own finite verb to intensify it: 'utterly, certainly cheats'. The root is linked to 'heel' (ʿāqēb), so the picture is of tripping someone up from behind or grabbing his heel.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 12:3 עָקַ֣ב he took by [the] heel

    In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.

    Here: Formed from ʿāqēb, "heel", and sounding like the name Yaʿaqob (Jacob). It means both "he grabbed the heel" and "he tripped up, cheated", the meaning Esau gives it in Genesis 27:36. Hosea uses both meanings at once.

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