רֵיקָם

Genesis 31:42 רֵיקָ֣ם empty

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”

Here: Sent off with nothing: no wages, flocks or goods. The word is placed early for emphasis. It echoes the law that a released servant must not be sent away empty (Deut 15:13).

Exodus 3:21 רֵיקָֽם׃ empty

And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed.

Here: "Empty-handed." This is the same word the Law uses for a released slave who must not be sent away with nothing (Deut 15:13). Israel leaves the way a freed servant should: provided for, with something in hand.

Exodus 23:15 רֵיקָֽם׃ empty

You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

Here: 'Emptily,' with nothing in hand. A visitor to a king brought a gift, and the pilgrim brings a gift from the harvest.

Exodus 34:20 רֵיקָֽם׃ empty

You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.

Here: An adverb from "empty": with nothing in hand. Elsewhere it describes leaving with nothing (Gen 31:42; Exod 3:21; Ruth 1:21). Coming to the King with nothing is unthinkable. One comes bearing a gift.

Deuteronomy 15:13 רֵיקָֽם׃ emptily

And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.

Deuteronomy 16:16 רֵיקָֽם׃ emptily

Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.

Here: 'Empty-handed,' meaning without a gift in hand. Verse 17 defines it: each brings 'according to the gift of his hand,' in proportion to the harvest God has given.

Ruth 1:21 וְרֵיקָ֖ם and empty

I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.”

Ruth 3:17 רֵיקָ֖ם empty

And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

1 Samuel 6:3 רֵיקָ֔ם empty

They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”

2 Samuel 1:22 רֵיקָֽם׃ empty

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not retreat, and the sword of Saul did not return empty.

Job 22:9 רֵיקָ֑ם with empty hands

You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

Here: With nothing in hand: no food, no help, no ruling in her favour. The same word appears in the law that a freed slave must not be 'sent away empty' (Deut 15:13), so it carries the sense of a duty left undone.

Psalm 7:4 רֵיקָֽם׃ without cause

if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,

Here: From 'empty'. It can mean 'without cause, groundlessly' or 'leaving him empty-handed'. Both fit the picture of stripping a foe. Some versions attach it to the enemy instead ('who is my enemy without cause').

Psalm 25:3 רֵיקָֽם׃ in vain

Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who engage in treachery without cause will be disgraced.

Here: An adverb built on "empty." It most likely describes the betrayal ("betraying for no reason"). It may also suggest that the betrayers come away with nothing ("in vain"). See the debates below.

Isaiah 55:11 רֵיקָ֑ם in vain

so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.

Here: 'Empty-handed': with nothing to show for the errand. It is used of arrows and swords that come back without striking, and of people sent away with nothing. It does not mean 'invalid'.

Jeremiah 14:3 רֵיקָ֔ם empty

The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

Here: 'Emptily': an adverb used for coming back with nothing to show, as in Naomi's 'the LORD has brought me back empty' (Ruth 1:21). It carries a sense of a wasted trip and being stripped of what you should have had.

Jeremiah 50:9 רֵיקָֽם׃ empty

For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.

Here: 'Empty.' The warrior does not come home without plunder, and the arrow does not come back without having struck. Verse 10 picks this up: the plunderers 'will have their fill'.