Hebrew word · H6711

צָחַק

metzachek

to laugh

In the Qal (the basic form of the verb) it means to laugh. In the Piel it widens to play, joke, mock, or flirt and caress. Laughter can express disbelief, delight, scorn or play depending on context.

Appears 13 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to laugh, mock, play

1a) (Qal) to laugh

1b) (Piel)

1b1) to jest

1b2) to sport, play, make sport, toy with, make a toy of

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 Genesis 18:15

Range of meaning

In the Qal (the basic form of the verb) it means to laugh. In the Piel it widens to play, joke, mock, or flirt and caress. It is used of Lot's sons-in-law thinking he was joking (19:14), Ishmael "playing" or mocking (21:9), Isaac caressing Rebekah (26:8), the charge against Joseph (39:14, 17), and the revelry at the golden calf (Exod 32:6). Laughter can express disbelief, delight, scorn or play depending on context.

Against the English

"Laugh" is accurate. What English cannot carry is the sound link with the name Yiṣḥāq, Isaac, "he laughs" or "may he laugh".

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis builds a chain of wordplay on this root around Isaac's birth. Abraham laughs and falls on his face (17:17), and God names the child Isaac (17:19). Sarah laughs to herself (18:12–15). At the birth Sarah says, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with/at me" (21:6). Then Ishmael is mĕṣaḥēq (21:9). Ugaritic and other Semitic languages have related laughter words, but the pun with the name belongs to Genesis.

From the study of Genesis 19:14

Range of meaning

In its basic form the verb means 'to laugh' (Sarah in 18:12–15, Abraham in 17:17). In the intensive form used here (Piel) it covers lively, unserious or playful behaviour: jesting or joking (here), playing or making sport (21:9, Ishmael 'playing'), revelling (Exod 32:6), fondling or caressing (26:8, Isaac with Rebekah), and making a fool of someone or treating them with contempt (39:14, 17, Potiphar's wife accusing Joseph). The shared idea is behaviour that is not 'serious business'. Context decides whether it is innocent, sexual, festive or insulting.

Against the English

KJV has 'as one that mocked'. BSB, WEB and most modern versions have 'joking' or 'jesting'. YLT has 'mocking'.

How it drifted

In 1611 'mock' could still mean to jest, trifle or play the fool, and not only to ridicule someone. Today 'mock' mostly means to sneer at or deride, which makes Lot sound contemptuous of his sons-in-law. The Hebrew picture is the reverse: they thought he was not serious.

Used elsewhere in the period

Within Genesis the root is a deliberate thread: Abraham's and Sarah's laughter (17:17; 18:12–15), Isaac's name Yiṣḥāq, 'he laughs' (21:3, 6), Ishmael's 'playing' (21:9), and Isaac 'caressing' Rebekah (26:8). As I recall the Septuagint, it renders this verse with geloiazein, 'to play the buffoon, joke'. Josephus (Antiquities 1.202) retells the scene with the betrothed men treating the angels' warning as trifling.

From the study of Exodus 32:6

Range of meaning

In its simple form the verb means 'to laugh'. Sarah laughs in Gen 18:12–15, and the name Isaac (Yitsḥaq) means 'he laughs'. The intensive form used here moves from laughing to doing something laughter-filled. It can mean (1) to joke or seem to be joking (Lot's sons-in-law think he is 'jesting', Gen 19:14), (2) to mock or toy with someone (Ishmael 'playing/mocking' at Isaac's feast, Gen 21:9), (3) to fondle or caress sexually (Isaac 'sporting with' Rebekah, Gen 26:8, which is what showed Abimelech they were married), (4) to take sexual liberties or make a sexual insult ('to make sport of us', Gen 39:14, 17), and (5) to perform or entertain (Samson in Judg 16:25, alongside its sister spelling śaḥaq). The sister spelling śaḥaq covers play, dancing and celebrating in other books (2 Sam 6:5, 21; Jer 31:4).

Against the English

KJV, ESV and NASB keep 'to play'. That is accurate in a narrow sense, but to modern ears it sounds childish and harmless. NIV and BSB have 'to indulge in revelry' and NLT adds 'pagan'. These capture the riotous festive tone but have to pick one shade. None of them can carry the laughter root or the echo of Isaac's name.

How it drifted

In 1611 English 'play' still covered sport, merrymaking, wanton dalliance and stage performance. Modern 'play' has narrowed toward games and children, so it now undersells the Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders it paizein ('to play, sport, dance'), and Paul quotes that Greek wording exactly in 1 Corinthians 10:7. There he ties it to idolatry, and in the next verse (10:8) to sexual immorality, with the Baal-Peor episode of Numbers 25 in view. The Vulgate has ludere. Rabbinic tradition (cited by Rashi) read letsaḥeq as covering sexual immorality (from Gen 39:17) and bloodshed (from 2 Sam 2:14, where young men 'play' a deadly contest). Those readings come from word links, not from what Exodus 32 itself says.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 11

  1. Genesis 17:17 וַיִּצְחָ֑ק and he laughed

    Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”

    Here: 'And he laughed.' The word sounds almost exactly like the name Yiṣḥāq (Isaac, 'he laughs'), which God gives the coming son two verses later (17:19). The verb can carry joy, amazement or disbelief, and the narrator leaves it open (see the debate).

  2. Genesis 18:12 וַתִּצְחַ֥ק and she laughed

    So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

    Here: "And she laughed." Here it is an incredulous laugh: the reaction of someone who hears something that sounds absurd. The verb is the root of Isaac's name (Yitsḥaq, "he laughs"), so the laugh is part of how the child gets his name.

  3. Genesis 18:13 צָחֲקָ֨ה did she laugh

    And the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’

  4. Genesis 18:15 צָחַ֖קְתִּי צָחָֽקְתְּ׃ I laughed, you laughed

    But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”

    Here: "I laughed." This is the same root as the name Isaac (Yiṣḥāq, "he laughs"). She is denying the very act that the coming son's name will remember.

  5. Genesis 19:14 כִמְצַחֵ֖ק like [one who] jests

    So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

    Here: 'Like one jesting', someone playing around or not being serious. It is the same root as Isaac's name and the laughter in chapters 17–18. The men did not think Lot was sneering at them. They thought he was joking.

  6. Genesis 21:6 יִֽצְחַק־ he will laugh

    Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.”

    Here: 'Will laugh'. The form matches the name Isaac (Yitschaq) in its letters and nearly in its sound. A Hebrew listener hears: 'everyone who hears will Isaac.' The boy's name sounds in the mouth of everyone who reacts to him.

  7. Genesis 21:9 מְצַחֵֽק׃ mocking

    But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,

    Here: An ongoing action ('was laughing / playing'), with no object in the Hebrew. It is the same root as the name Isaac (Yitsḥaq, 'he laughs'), so the boy is literally seen 'Isaac-ing'. Whether this was innocent play, mockery, or acting the part of the heir is not stated. The verse ends on this word.

  8. Genesis 26:8 מְצַחֵ֔ק [was] playing

    When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

  9. Genesis 39:14 לְצַ֣חֶק to mock

    she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.

  10. Genesis 39:17 לְצַ֥חֶק to mock

    Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me,

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 32:6 לְצַחֵֽק׃ פ to play

    So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

    Here: An intensive form of the verb 'to laugh'. It means loud, physical, festive merrymaking. Verses 18–19 show it involved singing and dancing. The same form is used elsewhere for sexual caressing (Gen 26:8) and for mockery (Gen 21:9; 39:14, 17). How far those overtones apply here is debated.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 16:25 וַיְצַחֵק֙ and he made sport

    And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

    Here: The same idea as the verb above, spelled with a different first letter (ts instead of s). Samson performed. Elsewhere the word can mean entertaining, joking, toying with someone, or being mocked as a joke (Gen 39:14, 17). Here the setting suggests humiliation.

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