Hebrew word · H80

אָבָק

'avak

dust

ʾābāq is powdery dust, the kind raised by hooves (Ezekiel 26:10) or blown about (Exodus 9:9; Isaiah 5:24). daq means crushed fine or thin (the "thin" ears of Genesis 41, the ground incense of Leviticus 16:12). mōṣ is chaff, the husk blown off at the threshing floor.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) dust

1a) on ground

1b) clouds (fig.)

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 Isaiah 29:5

Range of meaning

ʾābāq is powdery dust, the kind raised by hooves (Ezekiel 26:10) or blown about (Exodus 9:9; Isaiah 5:24). daq means crushed fine or thin (the "thin" ears of Genesis 41, the ground incense of Leviticus 16:12). mōṣ is chaff, the husk blown off at the threshing floor.

Against the English

"Fine dust" and "chaff" are accurate, but modern readers seldom see grain winnowed. In Israel the threshed mix was tossed into the evening breeze on a hilltop floor. The heavy grain dropped and the chaff blew off and disappeared within seconds.

Used elsewhere in the period

Chaff for the wicked or for enemy nations: Psalm 1:4; 35:5; Job 21:18; Hosea 13:3; Isaiah 17:13; 41:15–16 (Israel threshes the mountains and "the wind will carry them away"). Fine dust for nations as nothing before God: Isaiah 40:15.

From the study of Nahum 1:3

Range of meaning

ʾavaq is fine dust or powder, lighter than ordinary soil (ʿafar). It is what wind lifts (Isa 5:24; 29:5, 'like fine dust'; Ezek 26:10, dust kicked up by cavalry). It is the soot-dust that became boils in Egypt (Exod 9:9). regel is 'foot'; here it is dual with suffix, 'his two feet'.

Against the English

BSB 'the dust beneath His feet' slightly blurs the picture. Hebrew 'dust of his feet' means dust raised by his feet as he walks, not dust lying underfoot. KJV/WEB 'the dust of his feet' are closer.

Used elsewhere in the period

Compare Ps 18:9, 'thick darkness was under his feet', and Ezek 26:10, where marching war-horses throw up clouds of dust. Ancient armies on the march were seen from afar by their dust cloud.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 9:9 לְאָבָ֔ק <into> dust

    It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on man and beast throughout the land.”

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:24 אָבָ֣ק dust

    The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 5:24 כָּאָבָ֣ק like <the> dust

    Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

    Here: Very fine powder that the wind lifts. What should have turned into fruit will crumble and blow away.

  2. Isaiah 29:5 כְּאָבָ֥ק like dust

    But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,

    Here: ʾābāq is light, powdery dust that the wind lifts and carries off, a lighter word than the ground-dust (ʿāpār) of verse 4. The city has been pressed into the dust, and now its besiegers are turned into dust.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 26:10 אֲבָקָ֑ם dust their

    His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 1:3 אֲבַ֥ק [the] dust of

    The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

    Here: Fine powdery dust, as in Exodus 9:9 or 'chaff and fine dust' in Isaiah 5:24. The towering storm clouds are only the dust his feet kick up.

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