Hebrew word · H650

אָפִיק

'afikei

channel

Channels, stream beds, ravines. Usually a gully cut by water, which may run only seasonally (a wadi); also used of sea channels (2 Sam 22:16) and figuratively of strong things.

Appears 19 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) channel

2) ravine

3) of hollow bones (fig.)

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 Ezekiel 34:13

Range of meaning

Channels, stream beds, ravines. Usually a gully cut by water, which may run only seasonally (a wadi); also used of sea channels (2 Sam 22:16) and figuratively of strong things.

Against the English

KJV 'by the rivers' suggests large permanent rivers, which the hill country of Israel mostly lacks. 'Ravines' (BSB, ESV, NIV) brings out the landform; 'watercourses' (WEB) and 'streams' bring out the water. The word holds both.

How it drifted

KJV followed the Vulgate's 'in rivis' (in streams); later readers hear 'rivers' as major waterways.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel lists the land's terrain as 'mountains, hills, ravines (ʾafiqim) and valleys' when announcing judgment (6:3) and again when announcing restoration (36:4, 6; also 35:8, 31:12). Ps 42:1: the deer longs for 'streams (ʾafiqei) of water'.

From the study of Joel 3:18

Range of meaning

A channel or stream bed, the hard, rocky bed of a watercourse. It can also mean something strong or contained. In use it means the beds that hold or carry water, often only in the rainy season (BDB, HALOT).

Against the English

KJV has 'rivers,' WEB 'brooks,' BSB 'streams,' and some modern versions 'ravines' or 'streambeds.' 'Ravines' and 'streambeds' keep the sense best.

How it drifted

An English reader hears 'rivers' and pictures waters that always flow, like the Thames or the Mississippi. Judah had almost no perennial rivers. The point is that beds which are normally dry are running.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joel 1:20: 'the ʾafiqei mayim (channels of water) are dried up.' Psalm 126:4: 'restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams (ʾafiqim) in the Negev,' that is, desert wadis suddenly filled by rain. Psalm 42:1 [Hebrew 42:2]: the deer panting for ʾafiqei mayim. The Septuagint uses apheseis, 'outlets,' both here and in Joel 1:20.

From the study of Psalm 18:15

Range of meaning

A channel or stream-bed, a ravine with water in it; by extension something strong or held fast.

Against the English

'Channels' is accurate. NIV-style 'valleys of the sea' makes the seabed picture clearer.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joel 1:20 (the water channels are dried up); Ezek 32:6; Song 5:12; Job 6:15 (wadis). Septuagint: pēgai, 'springs.'

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:16 אֲפִ֣קֵי [the] channels of

    The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

Job · 4

  1. Job 6:15 כַּאֲפִ֖יק like a stream-bed of

    But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow,

  2. Job 12:21 אֲפִיקִ֣ים strong people

    He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.

    Here: Spelled the same way as the common word for 'streambeds, channels', but here it refers to people: 'the strong, the mighty'. Lexicons usually treat this as a separate word from a root meaning 'be strong, hold firm'. These are the powerful men, the strongmen.

  3. Job 40:18 אֲפִיקֵ֣י [are] tubes of

    His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are rods of iron.

  4. Job 41:15 אֲפִיקֵ֣י [is] rows of

    His rows of scales are his pride, tightly sealed together.

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 18:15 אֲפִ֥יקֵי channels of

    The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

    Here: The beds and gullies that water runs in, here the floor and channels of the sea or deep. When the water is blown back, the bare trenches show.

  2. Psalm 42:1 אֲפִֽיקֵי־ channels of

    For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.

    Here: The bed or channel that holds water: a ravine or watercourse. In a land where many streams run only in the rainy season, the word names the place where water is supposed to be, whether or not it is there now.

  3. Psalm 126:4 כַּאֲפִיקִ֥ים like stream-beds

    Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 5:12 אֲפִ֣יקֵי channels of

    His eyes are like doves beside the streams of water, bathed in milk and mounted like jewels.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 8:7 אֲפִיקָ֔יו channels its

    the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.

    Here: The beds and channels that normally hold a river's water. Every one of them fills and spills.

Ezekiel · 7

  1. Ezekiel 6:3 לָאֲפִיקִ֣ים to the ravines

    You are to say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

  2. Ezekiel 31:12 אֲפִיקֵ֣י [the] ravines of

    Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

  3. Ezekiel 32:6 וַאֲפִקִ֖ים and ravines

    I will drench the land with the flow of your blood, all the way to the mountains—the ravines will be filled.

  4. Ezekiel 34:13 בָּאֲפִיקִ֕ים in the ravines

    I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.

    Here: Stream beds and gullies, often seasonal wadis, where water and grass collect. Together with 'mountains' it sweeps across the whole terrain, high and low.

  5. Ezekiel 35:8 אֲפִיקֶ֔יךָ ravines your

    I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

  6. Ezekiel 36:4 לָאֲפִיקִ֣ים to the ravines

    therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become a spoil and a mockery to the rest of the nations around you.

    Here: Stream beds and gullies carved by water, often dry for much of the year. They begin the second pair, the low ground. There is no "and" before this word, so the list falls into pairs.

  7. Ezekiel 36:6 לָאֲפִיקִ֨ים to the ravines

    Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I have spoken in My burning zeal because you have endured the reproach of the nations.

Joel · 2

  1. Joel 1:20 אֲפִ֣יקֵי [the] channels of

    Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures.

  2. Joel 3:18 אֲפִיקֵ֥י [the] ravines of

    And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.

    Here: The rocky beds that carry water only in the rainy season and stand dry the rest of the year. Joel 1:20 lamented that 'the channels of water (ʾafiqei mayim) are dried up.' Here the same channels run full.

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