Hebrew word · H6497

פֶּקָעִים

peka'im

gourd

An architectural ornament found only here and in 7:24. It is related to paqqu'ot, the wild gourds (probably colocynth) that poisoned the stew in 2 Kgs 4:39. So it means gourd-shaped knobs or bosses, probably set in a row as a decorative band.

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

knob-shaped or ball-shaped or gourd-shaped carved wood or metal ornament

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 Kings 6:18

Range of meaning

An architectural ornament found only here and in 7:24. It is related to paqqu'ot, the wild gourds (probably colocynth) that poisoned the stew in 2 Kgs 4:39. So it means gourd-shaped knobs or bosses, probably set in a row as a decorative band.

Against the English

KJV 'knops' (an old word for knobs or buds) and YLT 'knobs' give the shape but lose the plant. WEB 'buds' keeps a plant but changes which one. BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB 'gourds' follow the link with paqqu'ot.

How it drifted

Older English had no settled word for a carved gourd boss. 'Knop' was a general term in architecture and goldsmithing for a rounded knob, and it was also used for the lampstand ornaments of Exod 25 (a different Hebrew word, kaftor).

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kgs 7:24 places two rows of peqa'im under the brim of the bronze Sea. Gourd and bud bands like this are well known in Phoenician and Assyrian decorative art.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 3

  1. 1 Kings 6:18 פְּקָעִ֔ים gourds

    The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

    Here: Round, gourd-shaped knobs, probably carved as a row or band. The same ornament runs under the rim of the bronze 'Sea' in 7:24.

  2. 1 Kings 7:24 וּפְקָעִים֩ הַפְּקָעִ֔ים and gourds, the gourds

    Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

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