Hebrew word · H7031

קַל

kal

swift

Qal means light (not heavy), and so quick, swift, nimble. 'Light in his feet' is an idiom for a fast runner. The adjective alone ('the swift') can stand for the fast fighter or runner (Isa 30:16; Eccl 9:11).

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

What it means

1) swift, light, fleet

1a) swift

1b) one who is swift

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 Amos 2:15

Range of meaning

Qal means light (not heavy), and so quick, swift, nimble. 'Light in his feet' is an idiom for a fast runner. The adjective alone ('the swift') can stand for the fast fighter or runner (Isa 30:16; Eccl 9:11).

Against the English

'Swift of foot' (KJV, WEB) and 'fleet of foot' (BSB) are accurate. Paraphrases such as 'the swiftest runners' lose nothing important.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Samuel 2:18: Asahel was 'light in his feet like one of the gazelles of the field'. Jeremiah 46:6: 'Let not the swift flee, nor the warrior escape' (the same pairing of qal and the root malat). Ecclesiastes 9:11: 'the race is not to the swift'. Psalm 33:16-17 states the same idea in general terms: no king is saved by a great army, and the horse is a false hope for safety.

From the study of Isaiah 30:16

Range of meaning

Adjective qal: light, swift, nimble (of runners, horses, eagles: 2 Sam 2:18; Amos 2:15; Jer 4:13). Verb qālal: be light, be swift; also be slight or trivial, be treated with contempt; in the intensive stem, to curse (whence qəlālâ, “curse”).

Against the English

“Swift” is accurate. English cannot reproduce the echo: they ride the qal, and their pursuers yiqqallû. The KJV keeps the bare adjective (“the swift”). BSB turns it into a comparison (“faster”), which reads well but loses the exact same-word answer.

Used elsewhere in the period

Amos 2:15 says the swift of foot and the horseman will not escape, a close parallel showing that speed cannot save when God judges. Jer 4:13 has the invader's horses “swifter than eagles.” The LXX keeps the play with κοῦφοι … κοῦφοι.

From the study of 2 Samuel 2:18

Range of meaning

Light (not heavy); hence swift, quick, nimble. Used of runners, horses, clouds and messengers. From the root qalal, 'to be light, slight', which in other forms can mean 'trivial' or 'to curse' (treat lightly). Here the sense is entirely positive: speed.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'light of foot' keeps the literal image; BSB 'fleet of foot', ESV 'swift of foot', NIV 'fleet-footed'. All are accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Speed was a standard warrior virtue in Israel's poetry: Saul and Jonathan were 'swifter than eagles' (2 Sam 1:23); Gadite warriors were 'as swift as gazelles on the mountains' (1 Chr 12:8, using qal and tsevi); David praises God who 'makes my feet like the feet of a deer' (2 Sam 22:34). Amos 2:15 uses qal beraglav ('swift of foot') of a warrior who still will not escape.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 2:18 קַ֣ל [was] swift

    The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,

    Here: Literally 'light', the opposite of 'heavy'. Of a person it means quick, nimble, fast-moving. A prized quality in a warrior; here it is also the quality that will carry him to his death.

Job · 1

  1. Job 24:18 קַֽל־ [is] swift

    They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:11 לַקַּלִּ֨ים [belongs] to the swift

    I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

    Here: "To the swift ones." The prefix la- marks ownership: the race does not belong to (is not secured by) the fast. Qal is light, nimble, fleet of foot (cf. Amos 2:15, 2 Sam 2:18).

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 5:26 קַ֥ל swift

    He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!

    Here: 'Swift', literally 'light': light on its feet, moving with no drag. Placed right beside 'quickly', the two words pile up speed on speed.

  2. Isaiah 18:2 קַלִּ֗ים swift

    which sends couriers by sea, in papyrus vessels on the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people widely feared, to a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.

  3. Isaiah 19:1 קַל֙ swift

    This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.

    Here: 'Swift', the word used for fast horses and runners. Isaiah uses the same word when Judah boasts 'we will ride on swift steeds' (Isa 30:16) while trusting Egypt's cavalry. Here it is Yahweh who rides the swift mount.

  4. Isaiah 30:16 קַ֣ל swift [horse][s]

    “No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.

    Here: “Swift one”, meaning a fast horse or courser. The adjective stands in for the noun, as English says “a thoroughbred.” The root means light and quick.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 2:23 קַלָּ֖ה swift

    “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there,

    Here: 'Light-footed, quick': speed without steadiness. The root means 'light', so there may be a hint of flightiness.

  2. Jeremiah 46:6 הַקַּ֔ל the swift [one]

    “The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 4:19 קַלִּ֤ים swift

    Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

    Here: Plural adjective, placed first for emphasis: "Swift!" It is also the first word of the qof line in the Hebrew alphabet poem (each verse of Lamentations 4 starts with the next letter). The root means "light"; something light moves fast.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 3:4 קַ֣ל swift

    Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads.

    Here: An adjective used as an adverb, 'swiftly', paired with the next word for emphasis.

Amos · 2

  1. Amos 2:14 מִקָּ֔ל from a swift [person]

    Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.

    Here: Literally 'light'. Used of fast runners, the light-armed men who could outrun pursuers or carry messages (compare Asahel, 'light on his feet like a gazelle', 2 Samuel 2:18). The fastest man on the field will find there is nowhere left to run.

  2. Amos 2:15 וְקַ֥ל and a [person] swift

    The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life.

    Here: Literally 'light', and so quick and nimble. Used as a noun: 'the swift one'. It picks up 'the swift' of verse 14.

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