שָׁקַק

From the study of Psalm 107:9

Range of meaning

Verb: to rush, run to and fro, charge. Used of locusts swarming through a city (Joel 2:9), chariots darting through streets (Nahum 2:4) and a charging bear (Proverbs 28:15). As a participle describing a nefesh, it means restless, eager, craving, and by context parched, thirsty (Isaiah 29:8; Psalm 107:9).

Against the English

KJV, ESV and WEB say 'longing', which keeps the sense of desire but sounds gentle and wistful. BSB and NIV say 'thirsty', which suits verse 5 and Isaiah 29:8 but loses the restless energy of the root. The Greek Septuagint has 'empty' (kenēn).

How it drifted

'Longing' in modern English sounds emotional and gentle, close to romantic yearning. The Hebrew picture is agitated and bodily: a throat that will not settle.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 29:8: a thirsty man dreams he drinks, wakes 'faint, and his nefesh is shoqeqah', meaning still craving or parched. HALOT and BDB both link the participle sense to the root idea of rushing about. LXX Psalm 106:9 has psychēn kenēn, 'an empty soul/throat'.

From the study of Nahum 2:4

Range of meaning

שָׁקַק means "to run, rush, range about." It is used of locusts (Joel 2:9; Isa 33:4) and of a bear (Prov 28:15). Here the root is doubled (šq-šq), a form that usually means repeated motion, back and forth. The verb also carries an extra final -n, a weighty, slightly archaic ending found in poetry.

Against the English

KJV "justle one against another" suggests vehicles bumping into each other. The Hebrew says nothing about collision, only frantic movement to and fro. Modern versions ("rush back and forth," "rush around") are more accurate.

How it drifted

KJV's "justle" probably reflects the Latin Vulgate's "collisae sunt" ("they have collided") and the Greek Septuagint's "they will be entangled." Those are interpretations, not the Hebrew word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joel 2:9, where locust-like attackers "rush upon the city, run on the wall"; Isa 33:4, "as locusts leap." Nahum himself later compares Nineveh's people and officials to locusts (3:15–17).

From the study of Proverbs 28:15

Range of meaning

(1) To run about, rush, charge: locusts rushing on plunder (Isaiah 33:4), attackers running over a city (Joel 2:9), chariots rushing to and fro (Nahum 2:4–5). (2) Of the appetite, to be craving, empty or ravenous: the hungry man who wakes 'with his appetite craving' (Isaiah 29:8) and God who 'satisfies the longing soul' (Psalm 107:9).

Against the English

BSB, WEB and NASB-type versions say 'charging' or 'rushing'. KJV and YLT say 'ranging', meaning roaming in search of prey. The Latin Vulgate says 'hungry'. Each English choice keeps one side of the word. The Hebrew likely carries both: a bear on the move because it is hungry.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both take the word as hunger or thirst here. That shows ancient Jewish and Christian translators heard the 'craving' sense in it.