Hebrew word · H7405

רָכַס

vaiyirkesu

to bind

'To bind, tie on, fasten.' The verb occurs only in Exod 28:28 and 39:21. Related words are rekhasim in Isa 40:4, usually 'rough/rugged ground' (perhaps ridges 'bound' together), and rukhsei ish in Ps 31:20 (Eng. 31:21), 'plots/intrigues of men' (things tied together, schemes).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to bind

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 Exodus 39:21

Range of meaning

'To bind, tie on, fasten.' The verb occurs only in Exod 28:28 and 39:21. Related words are rekhasim in Isa 40:4, usually 'rough/rugged ground' (perhaps ridges 'bound' together), and rukhsei ish in Ps 31:20 (Eng. 31:21), 'plots/intrigues of men' (things tied together, schemes).

Against the English

'Bind' (KJV, WEB, YLT) and 'tied' (BSB, NIV) both fit. Nothing is lost except that the Hebrew is a rare technical word, not an everyday one.

Used elsewhere in the period

Later Hebrew uses the root for fastening or buttoning, which supports a sense like 'fasten securely'. The Septuagint renders it with words for joining or fastening.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 28:28 וְיִרְכְּס֣וּ so they may bind

    The rings of the breastpiece shall be tied to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the waistband of the ephod and does not swing out from the ephod.

  2. Exodus 39:21 וַיִּרְכְּס֣וּ and they bound

    Then they tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece was above the waistband of the ephod and would not swing out from the ephod, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

    Here: 'And they bound/tied.' A rare verb used only here and in the matching instruction (Exod 28:28); it means fastening two things firmly together. The plural 'they' is the team of craftsmen under Bezalel and Oholiab.

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