Hebrew word · H6313

פּוּג

vaiyafog

be numb

To grow numb, cold, feeble; to go slack; to cease (Genesis 45:26; Psalm 38:8; Habakkuk 1:4; the related noun hafugah, 'cessation', in Lamentations 3:49).

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

What it means

1) to grow numb, be feeble, be benumbed

1a) (Qal) to be feeble

1b) (Niphal) to be benumbed

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 Psalm 77:2

Range of meaning

To grow numb, cold, feeble; to go slack; to cease (Genesis 45:26; Psalm 38:8; Habakkuk 1:4; the related noun hafugah, 'cessation', in Lamentations 3:49).

Against the English

'Did not grow weary' (BSB) and 'didn't get tired' (WEB) are reasonable. 'Ceased not' (KJV) and 'doth not cease' (YLT) follow the 'stop' side of the range. The physical sense, a limb going numb and dropping, is mostly lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 45:26: Jacob's heart 'went numb' (wayyafag) in disbelief. Habakkuk 1:4: 'the law goes slack (tafug)', the same form as here.

From the study of Habakkuk 1:4

Range of meaning

To be numb, grow cold, go limp, be faint or powerless. It describes loss of feeling and responsiveness in the body or the heart (HALOT, BDB).

Against the English

"Paralyzed" (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) captures the picture well. KJV "slacked" (loosened, gone slack) is also apt. Renderings like "ignored" (NASB) or "cease" (YLT) lose the bodily image: the torah is still present, but it has gone dead.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 45:26: Jacob's "heart went numb" when told Joseph was alive. Psalm 38:8 (Heb. 38:9): "I am numb and utterly crushed." Lamentations 2:18: "let not the pupil of your eye grow numb," meaning do not stop weeping. Later Hebrew uses the root for something cooling down or growing cold.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 45:26 וַיָּ֣פָג and it grew numb

    “Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 38:8 נְפוּג֣וֹתִי I am numb

    I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

  2. Psalm 77:2 תָפ֑וּג it grew numb

    In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.

    Here: To go limp, cold or numb, to lose force. Jacob's heart 'went numb' at the news about Joseph (Genesis 45:26), and the law 'goes slack' in Habakkuk 1:4. The verb form describes something ongoing: the hand kept on and did not drop.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 1:4 תָּפ֣וּג it grows numb

    Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

    Here: A bodily word: the numbness of a limb or heart that no longer responds. Torah is pictured as a body part gone limp. It is still there, but it no longer grips or moves anything. The imperfect verb describes an ongoing state.

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