Hebrew word · H7273

רַגְלִי

ragli

on foot

From regel, "foot." It means someone on foot, as opposed to someone riding. It is often used for foot soldiers counted in a census or army (Exod 12:37; Judg 20:2; 1 Sam 4:10).

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

What it means

1) on foot

1a) man on foot, footman, foot soldier

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 Jeremiah 12:5

Range of meaning

From regel, "foot." It means someone on foot, as opposed to someone riding. It is often used for foot soldiers counted in a census or army (Exod 12:37; Judg 20:2; 1 Sam 4:10).

Against the English

KJV and WEB have "footmen." BSB has "men on foot." Others have "runners" or "foot soldiers."

How it drifted

In 1611 "footman" still meant a man on foot or a foot soldier. Today it usually means a uniformed household servant.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is used often in military counts in Exodus to Samuel, always contrasted with chariots or cavalry. The pairing of "on foot" and "horses" was a familiar military contrast.

From the study of Numbers 11:21

Range of meaning

An adjective or noun formed from regel, 'foot': someone on foot, especially an infantryman as opposed to a chariot driver or horseman. It always counts adult males of fighting age.

Against the English

KJV 'footmen' was correct in 1611 but now suggests household servants. 'Men on foot' (BSB, WEB, NIV) is accurate. NLT's 'foot soldiers' makes the military sense explicit.

How it drifted

In later English, 'footman' came to mean a uniformed servant, which hides the military sense of the KJV wording.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 12:37 ('about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children'); Judg 20:2 ('400,000 men on foot who drew the sword'); 1 Sam 4:10; 15:4; 2 Sam 10:6. The LXX translates it pezoi, 'infantry'.

From the study of 1 Samuel 4:10

Range of meaning

'On foot'. As a noun it means a foot soldier or infantryman, as opposed to chariotry or cavalry (Exod 12:37 of the men leaving Egypt; Judg 20:2; 2 Sam 8:4; 10:6).

Against the English

KJV and WEB have "footmen" and BSB, ESV and NIV have "foot soldiers". All are accurate. 'Footmen' can now suggest a household servant, but in context the meaning is clear enough.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Samuel 8:4 and 10:6 set raglî against chariots and horsemen. The Septuagint of 1 Samuel is reported to translate it here with tagmata, 'ranks, units'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 12:37 רַגְלִ֛י foot soldier[s]

    The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.

    Here: Formed from regel, "foot". In counts of men it normally means infantry, men who march and fight on foot as opposed to charioteers (Judg 20:2; 2 Sam 10:6). Here it pictures Israel leaving as a marching host.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 11:21 רַגְלִ֔י foot soldier[s]

    But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’

    Here: From regel, 'foot'. It counts the adult men who could march and fight, as in a military muster. Women and children are not in the count, so the full crowd Moses has to feed is far larger.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 20:2 רַגְלִ֖י on foot

    The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 4:10 רַגְלִֽי׃ foot soldier[s]

    So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.

    Here: "Foot soldiers." Formed from regel, 'foot'. Israel's tribal levy fought on foot, with no chariots or cavalry, and the word marks the dead as ordinary infantry.

  2. 1 Samuel 15:4 רַגְלִ֑י foot soldier[s]

    So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 8:4 רַגְלִ֑י on foot

    David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.

    Here: From regel, 'foot'. Ordinary infantry, the mass of the army, as opposed to the chariot forces.

  2. 2 Samuel 10:6 רַגְלִ֔י foot soldier[s]

    When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.

    Here: From regel, 'foot': infantry, as opposed to chariot troops. It is singular in form but stands for a whole body of men.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 20:29 רַגְלִ֖י foot soldier[s]

    For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 13:7 רַגְלִ֑י foot soldier[s]

    Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 18:4 רַגְלִ֑י on foot

    David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.

  2. 1 Chronicles 19:18 רַגְלִ֑י on foot

    But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 12:5 רַגְלִ֥ים׀ foot soldiers

    “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?

    Here: Men on foot. Elsewhere often infantry, but here the point is just human runners, the easy end of the comparison.

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