Hebrew word · H7554

רָקַע

roka'

to beat

To stamp or trample (2 Sam 22:43; Ezek 25:6), and to beat or hammer out metal into thin sheets (Exod 39:3; Num 17:4 [Heb.]; Jer 10:9). The noun רָקִיעַ, the "firmament" or hammered expanse of Gen 1, comes from the same root.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to beat, stamp, beat out, spread out, stretch

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to stamp, beat out

1a2) one who beats out (participle)

1b) (Piel) to overlay, beat out (for plating)

1c) (Pual) beaten out (participle)

1d) (Hiphil) to make a spreading (of clouds)

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 6:11

Range of meaning

To stamp or trample (2 Sam 22:43; Ezek 25:6), and to beat or hammer out metal into thin sheets (Exod 39:3; Num 17:4 [Heb.]; Jer 10:9). The noun רָקִיעַ, the "firmament" or hammered expanse of Gen 1, comes from the same root.

Against the English

"Stamp" (KJV, WEB, ESV) and "stomp" (BSB) are accurate. The Hebrew picture is a pounding, hammering blow of the foot.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 25:6 pairs stamping with clapping as Ammon's malicious celebration. 2 Sam 22:43 uses it for trampling enemies like mud. The metalworking uses show a repeated, beating action.

From the study of Isaiah 40:19

Range of meaning

'To stamp, beat out, hammer thin, spread out'. Used for beating metal into sheets or foil and laying it over a surface. The noun raqia', the 'expanse' or 'firmament' of Gen 1:6–8, comes from this root, pictured as something beaten out.

Against the English

'Overlays' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV), 'plates' (NASB) and 'spreadeth it over' (KJV) all give the result. Only KJV's 'spreadeth' keeps a trace of the spreading motion that the root shares with Isaiah's language about creation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 39:3: 'they hammered out (raqa') gold sheets' for the priestly garments. Num 17:3–4 (16:38–39 Eng.): censers hammered into plates for the altar. Jer 10:9: 'beaten silver (kesef meruqqa') is brought from Tarshish' for idols. Isa 42:5 and 44:24 use the participle for the LORD 'who spread out the earth'.

From the study of Isaiah 44:24

Range of meaning

To stamp, beat or hammer out. It is used for beating gold into thin sheets (Exod 39:3; Num 17:4 [Heb 17:4]; Jer 10:9) and for stamping with the feet (Ezek 6:11). With 'earth' it means to spread the ground out flat (Isa 42:5; Ps 136:6). The related noun raqia' is the 'firmament' or 'dome' of Gen 1:6–8.

Against the English

'Spread out' is correct but loses the metalworker's image. The picture is of a craftsman hammering a sheet flat, not of a cloth being unfolded.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 42:5 uses exactly the same pair, noteh shamayim … roqaʿ ha'arets. Ps 136:6 says 'to him who spread out (roqaʿ) the earth above the waters.' Jer 10:9 uses it for the beaten silver laid over idols, in a passage that mocks idols made by craftsmen.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 39:3 וַֽיְרַקְּע֞וּ and they hammered out

    They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut threads from them to interweave with the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen—the work of a skilled craftsman.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 16:39 וַֽיְרַקְּע֖וּם and people beat out them

    So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:43 אֶרְקָעֵֽם׃ I beat out them

    I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

Job · 1

  1. Job 37:18 תַּרְקִ֣יעַ will you spread out?

    can you, like Him, spread out the skies, as strong as a mirror of bronze?

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 136:6 לְרֹקַ֣ע to [one who] spread out

    He spread out the earth upon the waters. His loving devotion endures forever.

    Here: "To the one who beats out." The verb is a participle (a verb used like a noun, 'the Beater-out'), so it names God by what he characteristically does. The verb belongs to the metalworker hammering a sheet thin, and it gives the picture of the land pounded out flat. The prefix 'to' ties the line back to 'Give thanks... to the one who...' in verses 1–4.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 40:19 יְרַקְּעֶ֑נּוּ he will overlay it

    To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

    Here: 'Hammers it thin over it': gold beaten into foil and laid over the cast core. The verb form shifts to ongoing action, so we watch the work in progress. Isaiah uses the same verb for God 'spreading out' the earth (42:5; 44:24).

  2. Isaiah 42:5 רֹקַ֥ע [who] spread out

    This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

    Here: A craftsman's word for hammering metal into a thin sheet; the earth is pictured as laid out flat and firm by a skilled hand. Same root as the 'firmament' of Genesis 1.

  3. Isaiah 44:24 רֹקַ֥ע [who] spread out

    Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,

    Here: The metalworker's word for hammering metal into a thin sheet (Exod 39:3), and related to raqia', the 'firmament/dome' of Genesis 1. The potter (v. 24a) and the smith are both images of a craftsman at work.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 10:9 מְרֻקָּ֞ע beaten

    Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 6:11 וּרְקַ֤ע and stamp

    This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague.

    Here: "And stamp!" The verb is also used for hammering metal flat. Here it is a heavy pounding of the foot on the ground.

  2. Ezekiel 25:6 וְרַקְעֲךָ֖ and stamping you

    For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt,

    Here: 'And your pounding'. The verb is also used for hammering metal flat, so this is a hard, repeated stamping on the ground and not a light tap.

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