Hebrew word · H8630

תָּקֵף

titkefehu

to prevail

To overpower, prevail over, overwhelm by superior strength. It appears only three times in the Hebrew Bible (Job 14:20; 15:24; Eccl 4:12). Related nouns: tōqep, 'power, authority' (Esth 9:29; 10:2; Dan 11:17). The root is much more common in Aramaic ('be strong, become mighty').

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to prevail over or against, overcome, overpower

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 Job 14:20

Range of meaning

To overpower, prevail over, overwhelm by superior strength. It appears only three times in the Hebrew Bible (Job 14:20; 15:24; Eccl 4:12). Related nouns: tōqep, 'power, authority' (Esth 9:29; 10:2; Dan 11:17). The root is much more common in Aramaic ('be strong, become mighty').

Against the English

KJV/ESV/WEB 'prevail against' and BSB/NASB 'overpower' both get the idea of a contest that is lost. 'Prevail' is a little abstract. The Hebrew picture is closer to being physically overwhelmed.

Used elsewhere in the period

Eccl 4:12: 'if one can overpower him who is alone, two will withstand him.' Job 15:24, in Eliphaz's reply, uses it for distress and anguish 'overpowering' the wicked man like a king ready for battle, which may deliberately turn Job's own word back on him. The Aramaic of Daniel uses the root for Nebuchadnezzar's tree and heart 'growing strong' (Dan 4:11, 20, 22; 5:20).

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 14:20 תִּתְקְפֵ֣הוּ you overpower him

    You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.

    Here: God overwhelms the human being by force, the way a stronger fighter beats a weaker one. A rare, forceful verb. Its form describes something that keeps happening: this is what God does to every human.

  2. Job 15:24 תִּ֝תְקְפֵ֗הוּ it overpowers him

    Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:12 יִתְקְפוֹ֙ someone will overpower him

    And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

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