Hebrew word · H7286

רָדַד

haroded

to subdue

To beat down, flatten, hammer out; by extension to subdue or bring under control.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to beat down, beat out, subdue

1a) (Qal) to beat down (fig)

1b) (Hiphil) to beat out

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 Psalm 144:2

Range of meaning

To beat down, flatten, hammer out; by extension to subdue or bring under control.

Against the English

Every major version has 'subdue'. That is accurate, but it loses the physical sense of flattening and hammering.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kings 6:32 (gold hammered over carvings); Isaiah 45:1 (God 'subduing' nations before Cyrus). The parallel Psalm 18:47 uses a different verb (dabar in its causative form, 'subdue'). 2 Samuel 22:48 has 'brings down peoples under me'.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 6:32 וַיָּ֛רֶד and he hammered out

    The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 144:2 הָרוֹדֵ֖ד the [one who] subdues

    He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

    Here: 'The one who beats down.' This is a rare verb. Elsewhere it describes hammering gold flat (1 Kings 6:32) and God subduing nations before Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1). The picture is of resistance being flattened.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 45:1 לְרַד־ to subdue

    This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

    Here: "To beat down" or "tread down". It is a rare verb (compare Ps 144:2, "who subdues peoples under me"). It states the purpose of God's grip: peoples flattened before Cyrus's advance.

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