Aramaic word · H8632
תְּקָף
bitkaf
might
Tĕqāp means strength, might, forcefulness. It comes from the verb tĕqēp, "to be or grow strong," which can also mean "to grow hard" or "stubborn" (5:20). Ḥēsen means power or might, especially secure, established power. Hebrew ḥōsen is used of stored wealth and strength.
A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·
What it means
strength, might
Aramaic of to.qeph (תֹּ֫קֶף "power" H8633)
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
- Range of meaning
Tĕqāp means strength, might, forcefulness. It comes from the verb tĕqēp, "to be or grow strong," which can also mean "to grow hard" or "stubborn" (5:20). Ḥēsen means power or might, especially secure, established power. Hebrew ḥōsen is used of stored wealth and strength.
- Against the English
"The might of my power" (KJV, BSB, WEB, NASB) keeps both nouns. NIV and ESV merge them into "my mighty power." That's natural English, but it drops the Aramaic's stacked emphasis.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In 2:37 Daniel says to this same king: "the God of heaven has given you the kingdom, the power (ḥisnāʾ), the might (tāqpāʾ) and the glory (yĕqārāʾ)." In 4:11 and 4:20 the dream tree "grew great and strong (tĕqip)." In 4:22 Daniel says, "it is you, O king, who have grown great and strong." In 5:20 Nebuchadnezzar's spirit "grew hard (tiqpat)" in arrogance.
Where it appears
Daniel · 2
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Daniel 2:37 וְתָקְפָּ֥א and strength the
You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
Here: 'And the might': strength that overpowers and gets its way. Its verb is used later for the king growing strong and for his spirit growing hard and proud (4:22; 5:20). It too comes back in his boast in 4:30.
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Daniel 4:30 בִּתְקַ֥ף by [the] strength of
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Here: "By the strength of." This is the noun from the verb used for the tree that "grew strong" (4:11, 20) and the king who "grew strong" (4:22). He credits his own strength as the means of everything.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.