Hebrew word · H6277
עָתָק
'atak
arrogant
Insolent, arrogant, brazen, mainly of speech. It belongs to a family of words built on ʿ-t-q, whose verb means "to move on, advance" and also "to grow old" (Job 21:7). A related adjective means "ancient" (1 Chr 4:22).
Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) forward, bold, arrogant
1a) of speech
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
- Range of meaning
Insolent, arrogant, brazen, mainly of speech. It belongs to a family of words built on ʿ-t-q, whose verb means "to move on, advance" and also "to grow old" (Job 21:7). A related adjective means "ancient" (1 Chr 4:22). The sense "insolent" probably comes from the idea of pushing forward, speech that oversteps its bounds.
- Against the English
BSB "with arrogance"; WEB "insolently"; ESV "insolently"; NASB and NIV "arrogantly"; KJV "grievous things" (harsh, oppressive words); YLT "ancient sayings," which takes the word from the "old" sense of the root.
- How it drifted
KJV's "grievous" meant "heavy, harsh, oppressive" in 1611. A modern reader may hear "sad" or "causing grief," which misses the note of insolence.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Only four occurrences, all describing speech: 1 Sam 2:3 (Hannah: "let not arrogance come from your mouth"); Ps 75:5 (Hebrew 75:6: "do not speak with an insolent neck"); Ps 94:4 ("they pour out, they speak arrogance"); and here. The Septuagint here has anomia ("lawlessness"), interpreting rather than translating literally.
From the study of 1 Samuel 2:3
- Range of meaning
From a root meaning "move forward, advance, be advanced (in age)." The adjective/noun ʿātāq is used of speech: forward, insolent, overbearing (Ps 31:18 [Heb 19], "lips that speak ʿātāq against the righteous"; Ps 75:5 [Heb 6]; Ps 94:4). A related form ʿātēq means "enduring, ancient" (Prov 8:18, "enduring wealth"; 1 Chr 4:22, "ancient records").
- Against the English
Most modern versions: "arrogance." KJV "arrogancy." YLT's "the old saying" follows the "old/ancient" sense of the root, probably via the Latin Vulgate's vetera ("old things").
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Psalms passages above show it as a fixed term for insolent speech by the powerful against the godly. BDB and HALOT give "forward, arrogant" for this verse.
- Range of meaning
Bold, unrestrained, insolent. In the Hebrew Bible it is always used of speech. It comes from a root meaning "to move forward, advance", which also gives words for "old" or "ancient" (things that have moved on in time). Lexicons (BDB "forward, arrogant"; HALOT "impudent, unrestrained") agree on its meaning in these speech passages.
- Against the English
Translations vary: "arrogance" (supplied gloss), "insolent pride" (NASB), "so defiantly" (NIV). KJV and WEB fold it into "stiff neck", which loses the point that this is insolent talk.
- Used elsewhere in the period
1 Sam 2:3 (Hannah): "Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance (ʿātāq) come from your mouth." Ps 31:18: lying lips "that speak insolently (ʿātāq) against the righteous". Ps 94:4: "they pour out, they speak arrogance (ʿātāq)". The Septuagint usually translates it as wrongdoing or lawlessness (ἀδικία, ἀνομία), treating insolent speech as a moral offence, not merely bad manners.
Where it appears
1 Samuel · 1
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1 Samuel 2:3 עָתָ֖ק arrogance
Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
Here: Bold, overreaching, insolent speech, used elsewhere of words the wicked speak against the righteous (Ps 31:18; 94:4). It is the content of what comes out of the mouth.
Psalms · 3
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Psalm 31:18 עָתָ֗ק arrogance
May lying lips be silenced—lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
Here: Used here like an adverb, or as the thing spoken: they speak "insolently," or they speak "insolent things." It means brazen, unrestrained speech that pushes forward without shame.
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Psalm 75:5 עָתָֽק׃ arrogance
Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak with an outstretched neck.’”
Here: "Arrogance". Elsewhere it is always used for insolent talk: Hannah's "let no arrogance come from your mouth" (1 Samuel 2:3), and Psalms 31:18 and 94:4. Here it is most likely what they speak ("speak insolence"), though it could also describe the neck ("an insolent neck").
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Psalm 94:4 עָתָ֑ק arrogance
They pour out arrogant words; all workers of iniquity boast.
Here: An adjective used as a noun, 'insolent stuff'. It is the object of both verbs: what gushes out and what they speak is brazen, overbearing talk. The verse's main pause falls on this word.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.