Hebrew word · H6267

עַתִּיק

'atikei

ancient; taken

'Old, ancient, of long standing'. A related form means 'removed, taken away' ('taken from the breast', Isa 28:9), which is why the supplied gloss reads 'ancient; taken'. A similar adjective in Isa 23:18 means 'choice, fine'.

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

What it means

1) removed, weaned, old, ancient, taken away

1a) removed, weaned

1b) old, ancient

Aramaic equivalent: at.tiq (עַתִּיק "ancient" H6268)

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 1 Chronicles 4:22

Range of meaning

'Old, ancient, of long standing'. A related form means 'removed, taken away' ('taken from the breast', Isa 28:9), which is why the supplied gloss reads 'ancient; taken'. A similar adjective in Isa 23:18 means 'choice, fine'. The Aramaic cognate is in Daniel's 'Ancient of Days' ('attiq yomin, Dan 7:9).

Against the English

Translations agree on 'ancient'. The word itself causes no problem.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Biblical Hebrew it is rare, which fits Chronicles' late Hebrew with its Aramaic influence. The Aramaic 'attiq is common for 'old'. The Talmud (Bava Batra 91b) plays on it, saying these words were spoken by the 'Ancient' One.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:22 עַתִּיקִֽים׃ [are] ancient

    Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi-lehem. (These names are from ancient records.)

    Here: A rare word meaning 'old, of long standing'. With it the narrator steps outside the list and tells the reader that this material goes back a very long way.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 28:9 עַתִּיקֵ֖י [ones] removed

    Whom is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His message? To infants just weaned from milk? To babies removed from the breast?

    Here: "Those taken away." This is a rare word that matches "weaned" in the parallel line: little ones just taken off the breast.

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