קוּם

From the study of Psalm 7:6

Range of meaning

Stand up, rise (from sitting or lying); arise to act; take one's stand; be established. In legal settings, rising can mark a witness or a judge stepping in to act. In war, it is the signal to move out.

Against the English

"Arise" is accurate but sounds churchy and stately. The Hebrew form (imperative with the lengthening -â) carries urgency, closer to "Get up and act!"

Used elsewhere in the period

Numbers 10:35: when the ark set out Moses said, "Rise up (qûmâ), YHWH, and let your enemies be scattered." The same cry comes back in Psalm 3:7, 9:19, 10:12, 17:13, 44:26, 68:1 (quoting Numbers 10:35) and 132:8. Psalm 76:9 describes God "rising to judgment".

From the study of Isaiah 60:1

Range of meaning

To rise or get up from lying or sitting; to stand; to stand firm or endure; to be established or confirmed (as a word or covenant is). Very often it opens a string of commands ('arise, go', 'arise, eat'). There it is close to 'Up!' or 'Come on!'.

Against the English

'Arise' sounds solemn and a little churchy in English. The Hebrew is an everyday word: 'Get up!' The feminine form, which English cannot show, makes clear that a woman is addressed.

How it drifted

No real drift. The archaic 'arise' has simply made it sound more ceremonial than it is.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Isaiah's poems of comfort the same feminine command is spoken to Jerusalem: 'Rouse yourself, rouse yourself! Rise up (qumi), O Jerusalem' (51:17). 'Shake off your dust; rise up (qumi), sit enthroned, O Jerusalem' (52:2). In 47:1 the opposite command goes to Babylon: 'Go down and sit in the dust.' Sitting on the ground was the posture of mourning and humiliation (Lamentations 2:10; Job 2:13).

From the study of Isaiah 40:8

Range of meaning

To rise or get up; to stand; to stand firm; to be established or confirmed; with words, plans and vows as the subject, to hold good, be valid, come to pass, be carried out (HALOT; BDB).

Against the English

KJV and ESV have 'shall/will stand', BSB, WEB and NASB 'stands', NIV 'endures', and YLT 'riseth'. The English 'stand' can sound static, like a monument that stays upright. NIV's 'endures' pushes further toward mere survival. The Hebrew idiom is active: the word gets up and takes effect.

How it drifted

English 'stand' (and especially 'endure') emphasises staying unchanged, and the Greek menei ('remains') in the Septuagint and 1 Peter leans the same way. The Hebrew carries both senses, but the 'fulfilment' sense is the one Isaiah keeps using.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 8:10, 'speak a word, but it will not stand (lōʾ yāqûm)', meaning it will not happen. Isa 14:24, 'as I have planned, so it shall stand'. Isa 46:10, 'my counsel shall stand'. Num 23:19, 'has he spoken and will he not make it stand (fulfil it)?' Jer 44:28–29, 'they will know whose word will stand, mine or theirs'. Prov 19:21.