Hebrew word · H7280

רָגַע

roga'

to disturb

Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) distinguish two roots spelled the same way: ragaʿ I, 'to stir up, disturb' (Isa 51:15, Yahweh 'stirs up the sea'; Job 26:12), and ragaʿ II, 'to be at rest, settle down, find repose' (Jer 31:2; Jer 47:6; Isa 34:14). The noun regaʿ, 'a moment, an instant,' is related.

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

What it means

1) to act in an instant, stir up, disturb

1a) (Qal) to stir up, disturb

1b) (Hiphil) to make a twinkling

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 Deuteronomy 28:65

Range of meaning

Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) distinguish two roots spelled the same way: ragaʿ I, 'to stir up, disturb' (Isa 51:15, Yahweh 'stirs up the sea'; Job 26:12), and ragaʿ II, 'to be at rest, settle down, find repose' (Jer 31:2; Jer 47:6; Isa 34:14). The noun regaʿ, 'a moment, an instant,' is related. In the causative-looking form used here the sense is intransitive: 'come to rest, find repose.'

Against the English

BSB and NIV have 'find no repose'; KJV and WEB have 'find no ease'; YLT has 'thou dost not rest.' 'Repose' and 'rest' are good. 'Ease' has shifted in modern English toward comfort or a life without difficulty, which misses the picture of never being allowed to stop and stay.

How it drifted

In 1611 'ease' could still mean relief or rest. Today 'no ease' sounds like 'life will be hard,' not 'you will never settle.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 31:2 uses the same verb for the restoration that undoes this curse: Yahweh goes 'to give Israel rest' (halokh le-hargiʿo) after the wilderness of the sword. Jer 50:34 says Yahweh 'gives rest to the earth.' The Septuagint generally renders this sense with forms of anapauō, 'to give rest.'

From the study of Isaiah 51:4

Range of meaning

Lexicons such as BDB and HALOT list more than one root: (1) "to stir up, disturb" (Isa 51:15, "who stirs up the sea"; Job 26:12); (2) "to be at rest, settle" (Deut 28:65; Jer 31:2; 50:34); and the related noun regaʿ, "moment, instant". In the causative form, the one used here, Jeremiah 49:19 and 50:44 use it adverbially: "I will suddenly / in a moment make him run."

Against the English

KJV: "I will make my judgment to rest." ESV and NASB: "I will set." WEB: "I will establish." BSB: "I will bring it about quickly" (the "moment" sense). NIV and NLT smooth it to "will become". NRSV moves it into verse 5 as "swiftly". The variety shows real uncertainty, not carelessness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 49:19 and 50:44 support the adverbial "in a moment". The Septuagint reads it with verse 5: "my righteousness draws near quickly." The Vulgate has requiescet, "will rest", which is the source of KJV's wording.

From the study of Jeremiah 49:19

Range of meaning

The root letters r-g-' cover 'to stir up, disturb' (the sea, Isa 51:15), 'to be at rest' (Hiphil, 'give rest'), and the noun rega' 'a moment, instant'. The form argi'ah works as an adverb, 'in an instant', in Prov 12:19 ('but for a moment') and in the twin verses Jer 49:19 and 50:44.

Against the English

KJV, BSB and most modern versions have 'suddenly' or 'in an instant'. YLT's 'I cause to rest' follows the 'rest' root, which gives an odd sense here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 12:19 'ad-argi'ah, 'for only a moment'. The same phrase appears in Jer 50:44. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list the adverb-like use.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:65 תַרְגִּ֔יעַ you will rest

    Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.

    Here: "You will settle down / find repose." The verb is about coming to a stop and staying put. With the negative it means Israel will never get to settle; it will always be moving on, always unsettled.

Job · 2

  1. Job 7:5 רָ֝גַ֗ע it has hardened

    My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering.

  2. Job 26:12 רָגַ֣ע he stirred up

    By His power He stirred the sea; by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

    Here: An ambiguous verb. The same phrase 'stir up the sea' appears in Isa 51:15 and Jer 31:35, where the waves roar. A related root means 'to be at rest', which allows the reading 'he calmed / subdued the sea'. Either way the sea is something God handles at will. The verb form points to a finished act in the past.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 12:19 אַ֝רְגִּ֗יעָה I will grant rest

    Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

    Here: "I would blink" or "I take a moment", a verb built from regaʿ, "an instant". "Until I blink" is a Hebrew way of saying "for a split second", like our "in the blink of an eye". The 'I' is the speaker of the proverb using an everyday expression, not God making a statement about himself.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 34:14 הִרְגִּ֣יעָה it will rest

    The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature will settle and find her place of repose.

  2. Isaiah 51:4 אַרְגִּֽיעַ׃ I will make suddenly

    Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation; for a law will go out from Me, and My justice will become a light to the nations; I will bring it about quickly.

    Here: A word that can be read two ways. It can mean "I will set it down, establish it" (making justice settle and stay), or, linked to the noun regaʿ "moment", "I will do it in an instant" (compare Jer 49:19; 50:44). Either way God is the one acting, decisively.

  3. Isaiah 51:15 רֹגַ֣ע [who] stirs up

    For I am the LORD your God who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

    Here: A participle describing what God characteristically does: he rouses the sea. The same root can elsewhere mean 'be at rest', which is why some older translations went another way (see studies). Here the parallels (Jer 31:35; Job 26:12) point to stirring or striking the sea in a show of mastery.

Jeremiah · 6

  1. Jeremiah 31:2 לְהַרְגִּיע֖וֹ to give rest it

    This is what the LORD says: “The people who survived the sword found favor in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest.”

    Here: “To give him rest” (if God is the one going) or “to find his rest” (if Israel is). The root means a settled, undisturbed calm. It reverses the curse of Deut 28:65, where scattered Israel “finds no rest” among the nations.

  2. Jeremiah 31:35 רֹגַ֤ע [who] stirs up

    Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

    Here: Another participle: 'the one stirring up.' What follows (the waves roar) points to stirring the sea into a storm. A second Hebrew root with the same letters means 'be at rest', which explains readings like 'quieting'. Either way, the sea's motion belongs to God.

  3. Jeremiah 47:6 הֵרָגְעִ֖י rest

    ‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’

    Here: 'Settle down, be at rest!' This is a rare passive form of a verb tied to calm and settling. It asks for a lasting stop, not just a pause.

  4. Jeremiah 49:19 אַרְגִּ֤יעָה I will act in a moment

    Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

    Here: Used as an adverb, 'in a moment, suddenly' (compare Prov 12:19, 'but for a moment'; the noun rega' means 'instant'). The overthrow will happen in a flash. YLT's 'I cause to rest' follows a different root with the same letters.

  5. Jeremiah 50:34 הִרְגִּ֣יעַ to give rest to

    Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

    Here: 'To bring rest to.' Most interpreters read this sense because it contrasts with the next verb. The same root can also mean 'stir up' (Isa 51:15), and ancient versions read it that way (see debates).

  6. Jeremiah 50:44 אַרְגִּ֤עָה I will act in a moment

    Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”

    Here: Disputed. Most read it as 'in an instant I will…' (from regaʿ, 'moment'), meaning a sudden blow. Others take it as 'I will stir up / disturb' or, like YLT, 'I will cause to rest'.

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