Hebrew word · H7785

שׁוֹק

shok

leg

The phrase occurs only here. Shoq means leg. In law and poetry it is a person's or animal's leg (Ps 147:10; Prov 26:7; Song 5:15), and in priestly texts it is the 'thigh' portion of a sacrifice given to the priest (Exod 29:22; Lev 7:32–34). Whether it means the upper or lower leg is debated.

Appears 19 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) leg, thigh

1a) of man; specifically the lower leg (calf) as opposed to the thigh

1b) of sacrificial animal; specifically the thigh, upper leg, hind leg, as the portion eaten

Aramaic equivalent: shaq (שָׁק "leg" H8243)

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 Judges 15:8

Range of meaning

The phrase occurs only here. Shoq means leg. In law and poetry it is a person's or animal's leg (Ps 147:10; Prov 26:7; Song 5:15), and in priestly texts it is the 'thigh' portion of a sacrifice given to the priest (Exod 29:22; Lev 7:32–34). Whether it means the upper or lower leg is debated. Yarekh means thigh, hip or loins, the strong upper leg and side of the body (Gen 32:25, 31; Judg 3:16, 21). Joined by 'upon', the two words form a fixed expression that describes how thorough or savage the beating was.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and ESV keep the body parts as 'hip and thigh'. BSB and NASB translate the effect, 'ruthlessly'. NIV gives 'viciously'. NLT drops the image and says it was a furious attack.

How it drifted

Through the KJV, 'smite hip and thigh' became an English proverb meaning 'to defeat utterly and without mercy'. That roughly matches the most common scholarly reading. But readers who no longer know the proverb may picture literal blows to the legs, and readers who do know it may not realise the Hebrew says 'leg', not 'hip'.

Used elsewhere in the period

No other biblical use. Ancient translators were already unsure what it meant. The Septuagint keeps it literally, roughly 'shin upon thigh'. The Vulgate turns it into a picture of the victims, so stunned that they 'laid calf upon thigh'. The Targum reportedly reads 'horsemen together with foot-soldiers', meaning the whole force. Medieval and modern interpreters suggest totality, limbs piled up in dismemberment, or a wrestling move.

From the study of Psalm 147:10

Range of meaning

Leg. It can mean the lower leg (shin or calf), the leg as a whole, or in animals the upper hind leg or thigh, the cut given to the priest in Lev 7:32–34. Here the form is dual, meaning 'pair of legs'.

Against the English

'Legs of a man' sounds odd or even comic in English. It can suggest anatomy or physical attractiveness. NIV's 'legs of the warrior' and NLT's 'human might' interpret it toward strength and fighting.

How it drifted

English does not use 'legs' as a symbol of military speed and endurance, so the image either falls flat or gets misheard.

Used elsewhere in the period

Legs as the seat of strength and speed: Song 5:15 ('his legs are pillars of marble'), and in Prov 26:7 the legs of the lame 'hang limp', the opposite of strength. Swiftness as a warrior's virtue: 2 Sam 1:23 (Saul and Jonathan 'swifter than eagles'), 2 Sam 2:18 (Asahel 'swift of foot'), Ps 18:33 ('he makes my feet like the deer's'), Amos 2:14–15 ('flight shall perish from the swift… he who is swift of foot shall not escape, nor shall the horseman save his life'). Amos pairs the swift-footed man and the horseman just as this verse does.

From the study of Leviticus 8:25

Range of meaning

The leg, especially the upper leg or thigh, of a person (Isa 47:2; Song 5:15) or an animal. In sacrifice it is the priest's prescribed portion from a peace offering (Lev 7:32–34; 10:14–15).

Against the English

KJV 'right shoulder' against modern 'right thigh'. A reader of the KJV pictures a front quarter. Most modern scholars take shoq as the upper hind leg.

How it drifted

The KJV followed a long tradition from the Greek Septuagint (brachiōn, 'arm, upper limb') and the Latin Vulgate (armus, 'shoulder'). Deut 18:3 lists a separate priestly portion, the zeroaʿ ('foreleg, shoulder'), which suggests shoq is a different limb, the hind thigh.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Sam 9:24 has Samuel set the shoq before Saul as an honored portion. Lev 7:32–34 makes the right shoq a permanent priestly due. Rabbinic tradition understood it as the hind leg.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 29:22 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination),

  2. Exodus 29:27 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the heave offering that is lifted up from the ram of ordination.

Leviticus · 8

  1. Leviticus 7:32 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    And you are to give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from your peace offering.

  2. Leviticus 7:33 שׁ֥וֹק [the] thigh of

    The son of Aaron who presents the blood and fat of the peace offering shall have the right thigh as a portion.

  3. Leviticus 7:34 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    I have taken from the sons of Israel the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as a permanent portion from the sons of Israel.’”

  4. Leviticus 8:25 שׁ֥וֹק [the] thigh of

    And Moses took the fat—the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with their fat—as well as the right thigh.

    Here: The upper part of a leg, most likely the hind leg. It is a choice cut of meat. In an ordinary peace offering it is the officiating priest's share (Lev 7:32–33), but here it will go up in smoke on the altar (v. 28).

  5. Leviticus 8:26 שׁ֥וֹק [the] thigh of

    And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer, and he placed them on the fat portions and on the right thigh.

  6. Leviticus 9:21 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    but he waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.

  7. Leviticus 10:14 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    And you and your sons and daughters may eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution in a ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the peace offerings of the sons of Israel.

  8. Leviticus 10:15 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    They are to bring the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering, together with the fat portions of the food offerings, to wave as a wave offering before the LORD. It will belong permanently to you and your children, as the LORD has commanded.”

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 6:20 שׁ֣וֹק [the] thigh of

    The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. This is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

  2. Numbers 18:18 וּכְשׁ֥וֹק and like [the] thigh of

    And their meat belongs to you, just as the breast and right thigh of the wave offering belong to you.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:35 הַשֹּׁקַ֔יִם the legs

    The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 15:8 שׁ֛וֹק leg

    And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

    Here: A leg, possibly the upper leg. The same word names the priests' portion of a sacrificed animal (the 'right thigh', Lev 7:32). Here it is the first half of a fixed expression, 'leg upon thigh', that describes how complete or brutal the beating was.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 9:24 הַשּׁ֨וֹק the thigh

    So the cook picked up the leg and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “Here is what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat, for it has been kept for you for this occasion, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul dined with Samuel that day.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 147:10 בְשׁוֹקֵ֖י in [the] legs of

    He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

    Here: 'In the legs of.' The Hebrew form means a pair of legs. Legs stand for a man's speed and staying power: the runner, the foot soldier who charges and holds his ground. It is the human counterpart to the horse's might.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 26:7 שֹׁ֭קַיִם legs

    Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 5:15 שׁוֹקָיו֙ legs his

    His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 47:2 שׁ֖וֹק a leg

    Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.

    Here: The leg, used of the lower leg but also of the thigh (the priest's 'thigh' portion of sacrifices). Showing it in public was shameful for a woman of rank and points toward the full exposure of v.3.

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