Hebrew word · H6275

עָתַק

vaiya'tek

to proceed

To move on, shift, advance (Job 14:18; 18:4, a rock 'moved' from its place; Gen 12:8 Hiphil, 'moved on'). From 'advancing' comes 'grow old' (Ps 6:7, 'my eye grows old/weak'). The related adjective ʿātîq means 'old, ancient, long-lasting', and hôn ʿātēq in Prov 8:18 is 'enduring wealth'.

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

What it means

1) to move, proceed, advance, move on, become old, be removed

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to move

1a2) to advance (in years), grow old and weak

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to move forward, proceed, move on

1b2) to remove

1b3) to transcribe

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 Job 21:7

Range of meaning

To move on, shift, advance (Job 14:18; 18:4, a rock 'moved' from its place; Gen 12:8 Hiphil, 'moved on'). From 'advancing' comes 'grow old' (Ps 6:7, 'my eye grows old/weak'). The related adjective ʿātîq means 'old, ancient, long-lasting', and hôn ʿātēq in Prov 8:18 is 'enduring wealth'.

Against the English

Most versions say 'grow old' or 'reach old age'. NASB renders it as 'continuing on', taking the movement sense. Both are within range, and the word may carry both: they last, and they last into old age.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job uses the root elsewhere (14:18; 18:4, Bildad: 'shall the rock be moved for you?'). Aramaic ʿattîq in Dan 7:9 ('the Ancient of Days') shows the 'aged' sense in a related language.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 12:8 וַיַּעְתֵּ֨ק and he moved on

    From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.

    Here: In this verb form it means 'he moved (camp) on' or 'pulled up stakes'. It is a herder's word for moving tents and flocks from one site to the next (compare Gen 26:22), not a word for permanent migration.

  2. Genesis 26:22 וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק and he moved on

    He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

Job · 5

  1. Job 9:5 הַמַּעְתִּ֣יק the [one who] removes

    He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger.

  2. Job 14:18 יֶעְתַּ֥ק it moves

    But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,

  3. Job 18:4 וְיֶעְתַּק־ so it may move?

    You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?

  4. Job 21:7 עָ֝תְק֗וּ they grow old

    Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?

    Here: 'They have grown old', literally 'advanced, moved on', here in years. The verb is now a plain statement of fact rather than a question: they reach old age, which the friends had promised only to the righteous.

  5. Job 32:15 הֶעְתִּ֖יקוּ they have moved away

    Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say; words have escaped them.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 6:7 עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה it has grown weak

    My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 25:1 הֶ֝עְתִּ֗יקוּ they copied

    These are additional proverbs of Solomon, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

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