Hebrew word · H7402

רָכַל

rokhelayikh

to trade

The participle of rakhal, "to go about (trading)": a traveling trader, dealer, merchant. In Ezekiel 27 it alternates with sōḥēr (verse 12, "your merchant"), another word built on the idea of going around. Both describe trade as movement along routes.

Appears 17 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to go about (meaning uncertain)

1a) (Qal) trafficker, trader (participle) (subst)

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 Ezekiel 27:13

Range of meaning

The participle of rakhal, "to go about (trading)": a traveling trader, dealer, merchant. In Ezekiel 27 it alternates with sōḥēr (verse 12, "your merchant"), another word built on the idea of going around. Both describe trade as movement along routes.

Against the English

"Merchants" and "traders" are both accurate. Neither keeps the root's picture of traveling about, of caravans and ships arriving at Tyre's harbor.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same root gives rakhil, a talebearer or slanderer. Leviticus 19:16 says "you shall not go about as a slanderer (rakhil)": the gossip peddles stories as a trader peddles goods. Rokhel also appears in 1 Kings 10:15, Nehemiah 3:31–32, Song of Songs 3:6 ("powders of the merchant") and repeatedly in Ezekiel 27.

From the study of Ezekiel 27:17

Range of meaning

The verb rakhal means 'to go about, to trade'. Its participle rokhel means a trader or dealer, especially one who carries goods from place to place. The feminine rokhelet means a market or trading place (Ezek 27:24 context; compare 27:3, where Tyre is a 'trader of the peoples'). The same root probably lies behind rakhil, 'slander' or 'gossip' (Lev 19:16), the picture being someone who peddles words from house to house.

Against the English

KJV and YLT say 'merchants', while BSB and ESV say 'traded with you'. 'Merchants' can suggest a professional merchant class. Here the word describes a whole region acting as a supplier to Tyre's market, not individual businessmen.

How it drifted

'Merchant' now suggests a shopkeeper or a business class. The Hebrew word looks at the activity of bringing goods to trade.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 27 uses two trade words in turn: socher ('customer' or 'dealer', vv. 12, 16, 18, 21) and rokhel (vv. 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24). Elsewhere: 1 Kings 10:15 (traders bringing revenue to Solomon), Nahum 3:16 ('you multiplied your traders'), Song 3:6 ('powders of the trader').

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 10:15 הָרֹכְלִ֑ים the traders

    not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

Nehemiah · 3

  1. Nehemiah 3:31 וְהָרֹכְלִ֑ים and the traders

    Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner.

  2. Nehemiah 3:32 וְהָרֹכְלִֽים׃ פ and the traders

    And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

  3. Nehemiah 13:20 הָרֹכְלִ֜ים the traders

    Once or twice, the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem,

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 3:6 רוֹכֵֽל׃ a trader

    Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant?

    Here: 'A trader': the travelling dealer who brought foreign luxury goods by caravan or ship (cf. Ezek 27; 1 Kgs 10:15). The scents are imported, rare and costly.

Ezekiel · 11

  1. Ezekiel 17:4 רֹכְלִ֖ים traders

    He plucked off its topmost shoot, carried it to the land of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.

  2. Ezekiel 27:3 רֹכֶ֙לֶת֙ [the] trader

    Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’

  3. Ezekiel 27:13 רֹֽכְלָ֑יִךְ [were] traders your

    Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.

    Here: A verb form used as a noun: "those who go around trading for you". The root means traveling about to trade, so the picture is of traveling dealers coming and going. The "your" is feminine because Tyre, a city pictured in this chapter as a splendid ship, is addressed as a woman.

  4. Ezekiel 27:15 רֹֽכְלַ֔יִךְ [were] traders your

    The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

  5. Ezekiel 27:17 רֹכְלָ֑יִךְ [were] traders your

    Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

    Here: 'Your traders' or 'your dealers'. The 'your' is feminine because Tyre is pictured as a woman, as cities usually were. Judah and Israel are the ones who brought goods to Tyre's market.

  6. Ezekiel 27:20 רֹֽכַלְתֵּ֔ךְ [was] trader your

    Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.

  7. Ezekiel 27:22 רֹכְלֵ֤י רֹכְלָ֑יִךְ [the] traders of, [were] traders your

    The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones.

  8. Ezekiel 27:23 רֹכְלֵ֖י רֹכַלְתֵּֽךְ׃ [the] traders of, [was] trader your

    Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.

  9. Ezekiel 27:24 רֹכְלַ֙יִךְ֙ [were] traders your

    In your marketplace they traded with you fine garments of blue, embroidered work, and multicolored rugs with cords tightly twisted and knotted.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 3:16 רֹֽכְלַ֔יִךְ traders your

    You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.

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