לָקַח
to take
also: get, fetch, lay hold of, seize fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘take’
- Pual
- The passive counterpart of the Piel. Here: ‘be taken from’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be captured’
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself).
- Qal Passive
- An archaic passive of the Qal, preserved in a few forms.
Form
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
55 verses where H3947 appears in the Qal stem in the Book of Ezekiel. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Ezekiel
- Ezekiel 3:10 קַ֥ח Qal impv 2ms Moreover he said to me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.
- Ezekiel 3:14 וַ/תִּקָּחֵ֑/נִי conj + Qal wimpf 3fs + sfx pers 1cs So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Yahweh was strong on me.
- Ezekiel 4:1 קַח Qal impv 2ms You also, son of man, take a tile, and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, even Jerusalem:
- Ezekiel 4:3 קַח Qal impv 2ms Take for yourself an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
- Ezekiel 4:9 קַח Qal impv 2ms Take for yourself also wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make you bread of it; [according to] the number of the days that you shall lie on your side, even three hundred ninety days, shall you eat of it.
- Ezekiel 5:1 קַח תִּקָּחֶ֣/נָּה וְ/לָקַחְתָּ֥ Qal impv 2ms Qal impf 2ms + sfx pers 3fs conj + Qal wpf 2ms You, son of man, take a sharp sword; [as] a barber's razor shall you take it to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
- Ezekiel 5:2 וְ/לָֽקַחְתָּ֣ conj + Qal wpf 2ms A third part shall you burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third part, and strike with the sword round about it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
- Ezekiel 5:3 וְ/לָקַחְתָּ֥ conj + Qal wpf 2ms You shall take of it a few in number, and bind them in your skirts.
- Ezekiel 5:4 תִּקָּ֔ח Qal impf 2ms Of these again shall you take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; from it shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
- Ezekiel 8:3 וַ/יִּקָּחֵ֖/נִי conj + Qal wimpf 3ms + sfx pers 1cs He put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner [court] that looks toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
- Ezekiel 10:6 קַ֥ח Qal impv 2ms It came to pass, when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went in, and stood beside a wheel.
- Ezekiel 10:7 וַ/יִּקַּ֖ח conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took [of it], and put it into the hands of him who was clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
- Ezekiel 15:3 הֲ/יֻקַּ֤ח יִקְח֤וּ ptcl inter + Qal Passive impf 3ms Qal impf 3mp Shall wood be taken of it to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
- Ezekiel 16:16 וַ/תִּקְחִ֣י conj + Qal wimpf 2fs You took of your garments, and made for yourselves high places decked with various colors, and played the prostitute on them: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].
- Ezekiel 16:17 וַ/תִּקְחִ֞י conj + Qal wimpf 2fs You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them;
- Ezekiel 16:18 וַ/תִּקְחִ֛י conj + Qal wimpf 2fs and you took your embroidered garments, and covered them, and did set my oil and my incense before them.
- Ezekiel 16:20 וַ/תִּקְחִ֞י conj + Qal wimpf 2fs Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your prostitution a small matter,
- Ezekiel 16:32 תִּקַּ֖ח Qal impf 3fs A wife who commits adultery! who takes strangers instead of her husband!
- Ezekiel 16:39 וְ/לָקְח֖וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your vaulted place, and break down your lofty places; and they shall strip you of your clothes, and take your beautiful jewels; and they shall leave you naked and bare.
- Ezekiel 16:61 בְּ/קַחְתֵּ֗/ךְ prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 2fs Then shall you remember your ways, and be ashamed, when you shall receive your sisters, your elder [sisters] and your younger; and I will give them to you for daughters, but not by your covenant.
- Ezekiel 17:3 וַ/יִּקַּ֖ח conj + Qal wimpf 3ms and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:
- Ezekiel 17:5 וַ/יִּקַּח֙ קָ֚ח conj + Qal wimpf 3ms n c ms He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree.
- Ezekiel 17:12 וַ/יִּקַּ֤ח conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Say now to the rebellious house, Don't you know what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king of it, and the princes of it, and brought them to him to Babylon:
- Ezekiel 17:13 וַ/יִּקַּח֙ לָקָֽח conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Qal pf 3ms and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
- Ezekiel 17:22 וְ/לָקַ֣חְתִּי conj + Qal wpf 1cs Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain:
- Ezekiel 18:8 יִקָּ֔ח Qal impf 3ms he who has not given forth on interest, neither has taken any increase, who has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true justice between man and man,
- Ezekiel 18:13 לָקַ֖ח Qal pf 3ms has given forth on interest, and has taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live: he has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be on him.
- Ezekiel 18:17 לָקָ֔ח Qal pf 3ms who has withdrawn his hand from the poor, who has not received interest nor increase, has executed my ordinances, has walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
- Ezekiel 19:5 וַ/תִּקַּ֛ח conj + Qal wimpf 3fs Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her cubs, and made him a young lion.
- Ezekiel 22:12 לָֽקְחוּ לָקַ֗חַתְּ Qal pf 3cp Qal pf 2fs In you have they taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 22:25 יִקָּ֔חוּ Qal impf 3mp There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst of it, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in the midst of it.
- Ezekiel 23:10 לָקָ֔חוּ Qal pf 3cp These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they killed with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgments on her.
- Ezekiel 23:25 יִקָּ֔חוּ Qal impf 3mp I will set my jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall take away your nose and your ears; and your residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take your sons and your daughters; and your residue shall be devoured by the fire.
- Ezekiel 23:26 וְ/לָקְח֖וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp They shall also strip you of your clothes, and take away your beautiful jewels.
- Ezekiel 23:29 וְ/לָקְחוּ֙ conj + Qal wpf 3cp and they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take away all your labor, and shall leave you naked and bare; and the nakedness of your prostitution shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your prostitution.
- Ezekiel 24:5 לָק֔וֹחַ Qal inf.abs Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile [of wood] for the bones under [the caldron]; make it boil well; yes, let the bones of it be boiled in the midst of it.
- Ezekiel 24:16 לֹקֵ֧חַ Qal ptcp.act ms Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.
- Ezekiel 24:25 קַחְתִּ֤/י Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 1cs You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,
- Ezekiel 27:5 לָקָ֔חוּ Qal pf 3cp They have made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
- Ezekiel 30:4 וְ/לָקְח֣וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp A sword shall come on Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
- Ezekiel 33:2 וְ/לָקְח֨וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, When I bring the sword on a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;
- Ezekiel 33:4 וַ/תִּקָּחֵ֑/הוּ conj + Qal wimpf 3fs + sfx pers 3ms then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and doesn't take warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be on his own head.
- Ezekiel 33:6 וַ/תִּקַּ֥ח נִלְקָ֔ח conj + Qal wimpf 3fs Niphal pf 3ms But if the watchman sees the sword come, and doesn't blow the trumpet, and the people aren't warned, and the sword comes, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
- Ezekiel 36:24 וְ/לָקַחְתִּ֤י conj + Qal wpf 1cs For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
- Ezekiel 36:30 תִקְח֥וּ Qal impf 2mp I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations.
- Ezekiel 37:16 קַח וּ/לְקַח֙ Qal impv 2ms conj + Qal impv 2ms You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and [for] all the house of Israel his companions:
- Ezekiel 37:19 לֹקֵ֜חַ Qal ptcp.act ms tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, [even] with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.
- Ezekiel 37:21 לֹקֵ֨חַ֙ Qal ptcp.act ms Say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
- Ezekiel 38:13 לָ/קַ֨חַת֙ prep + Qal inf.cs Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, shall tell you, Are you come to take the spoil? have you assembled your company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?
- Ezekiel 43:20 וְ/לָקַחְתָּ֣ conj + Qal wpf 2ms You shall take of the blood of it, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border round about: thus shall you cleanse it and make atonement for it.
- Ezekiel 43:21 וְ/לָ֣קַחְתָּ֔ conj + Qal wpf 2ms You shall also take the bull of the sin-offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.
- Ezekiel 44:22 יִקְח֥וּ יִקָּֽחוּ Qal impf 3mp Qal impf 3mp Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
- Ezekiel 45:18 תִּקַּ֥ח Qal impf 2ms Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish; and you shall cleanse the sanctuary.
- Ezekiel 45:19 וְ/לָקַ֨ח conj + Qal wpf 3ms The priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering, and put it on the door-posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
- Ezekiel 46:18 יִקַּ֨ח Qal impf 3ms Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not be scattered every man from his possession.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
לקח (lâqach) is a Hebrew verb most often rendered “to take.” Different stems carry different senses — BDB groups them under 5 stems, among them Qal and Niphal. Spanning 909 verses in 32 books, it ranks among the most common words of the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 2:15. Sharing its root, it stands alongside לקח, מלקוח and מלקח. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3947 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 909
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 909 distinct verses.
- 32 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 32 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #44
- by frequency
- Top 50 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 44 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 909 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 909 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 443 verses · 49%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 371 verses · 41%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 95 verses · 10%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Took 222×, Take 163×, He took 53×
- American Standard Version†: Took 202×, Take 130×, He took 53×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Take 150×, Took 147×, He took 36×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Take 191×, Took 176×, And 111×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3947 across 968† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 173 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3947 across 967† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 193 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3947 across 937† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 245 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 27 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3947 across 1,162† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 123 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
37 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Pual (the passive of Piel), Hophal (the passive of Hiphil), and Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 37 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Pf. ל׳ Gn 2:22 +, לָקָ֑ח 27:36 + (קָח Ez 17:5 is textual error; om. 𝔊 𝔖 Co, cf. Ges§ 19, 3.a); sf. לְקָחַנִי Gn 24:7, לְקָחָם Je 27:20 (for קָחָם Ho 11:3 read prob. אֶקָּחֵם 𝔊 𝔗 Ew St Sta§ 384, 4 Now Che Or We); 2 ms. לָקַחְתָּ Gn 20:3 +, etc.; Impf. יִקַּח Ex 21:10 +, וַיִּקַּח Gn 2:15 + (Nu 16:1 read וַיָּקָם Bö We Di Dr 2 S 18:18; 1 S 30:20 read וַיִּקְחוּ We Dr Kit Bu); sf. יִקָּחֵנִי 2 S 22:17 +; יִקָּחֲךָ Jb 15:12; 3 fs. תִּקַּח Gn 38:23 +; 1 s. אֶקַּח 14:23 +, וָאֶקְחָה Zc 11:13; 1 pl. נִקַּח Gn 34:6 +, נִקְחָה 1 S 4:3 +; וַנִּקַּח Dt 3:8; 29:7; Imv. לְקַח Ex 29:1 Pr 20:16 + Ez 37:16 (Co וְלָקַחְתָּ֫, after 𝔊); fs. לִקְחִי 1 K 17:11; usually קַח Gn 6:21 +, קְחָה 15:9, sf. 3 ms. קָחֶנּוּ 1 S 16:11 + 2 times; sf. 3 fs. קָחֶנָּה Je 36:14; sf. 3 mpl. קָחֶם־נָא Gn 48:9 (cf. Köi. 330 Ges§ 61, 2); fs. קְחִי Is 23:16 + 3 times; mpl. קְחוּ Gn 42:33 +, sf. 3 ms. קָחֻהוּ 1 K 20:33; Inf. abs. לָקוֹחַ Je 32:14 + 2 times, לָקֹחַ Dt 31:26; cstr. קַחַת Je 5:3 +; קְחַת־ 2 K 12:9 (Köi. 318); usually c. prep. לָקַ֫חַת Gn 4:11 +, מִקַּ֫חַת 1 K 22:3 +, etc.; sf. קַחְתִּי Ez 24:25, קַחְתֵּךְ Gn 30:15 +, etc.; Pt. act. לֹקֵחַ 27:46 +, etc.; pass. pl. לְקֻחִים Pr 24:11;— e.g. Genesis 2:22
- 1. take, take in the hand, sq. acc. rei, Ex 7:15 (J), 17:5 (E), Nu 25:7 (P), 2 K 4:29 (all c. בְּיַד) 2 S 18:14 (c. בְּכַף), cf. Gn 8:9 (J), Ex 4:17; 12:22 (JE), Dt 15:17 + often; Gn 40:11 (E; of plucking grapes. 2 S 4:6 read סֹקְלָה for לֹקְחֵי v. חִטָּה, p. 334 supra, and סקל). This easily passes into e.g. Exodus 7:15
- 2. take and carry along with oneself, כֶּסֶף קְחוּ בְיֶדְכֶם Gn 43:12 (J), Jos 9:11 (JE), 1 K 14:3; 2 K 5:5; 8:8, 9; 9:1 Pr 7:20 (all c. בְּיַד); cf. Gn 43:15 Jos 9:4 (both JE), +. e.g. Genesis 43:12
- 3.
- a. take from, or out of, sq. acc. rei vel pers., + מִן loc.: Gn 2:22 (rib from man), 3:22 (man from ground; both J); Dt 19:12; 1 S 17:49; 1 K 17:19 +; וַיִּקַּה אֶת־הַחֶרֶב מֵעַל יֶרֶךְ יְמִינוֹ Ju 3:21 (i.e. drew it); c. ב instr. בְּמֶלְקָחַיִם ל׳ מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ Is 6:6; sq. מִן partit. 2 S 12:4. e.g. Genesis 2:22
- b. take, carry away: Ez 3:14 spirit lifted me up and carried me away; fig. of passion carrying one away Jb 15:12. e.g. Ezekiel 3:14
- c. take away from, so as to deprive of, sq. acc. Gn 42:36 (E); sq. acc. + מִן, Gn 44:29 (מֵעִם; J), 1 K 11:34 ψ 51:13; י׳ לֹקֵחַ אֶת־אֲדֹנֶיךָ מֵעַל רֹאשֶׁ֑ךָ 2 K 2:3 י׳ is about to take away thy lord from over thy head, so v 5; cf. abs. אֵינֶנּוּ כִּי־ל׳ אֹתוֹ אלהים Gn 5:24 (P); more often without מִן, Gn 27:36(×2); 30:15(×2); 31:1 (all J), Ju 11:13, 15; 15:6; 18:24 1 S 12:3(×2) 2 S 12:4; 1 K 11:34 Jb 12:20; abs. Jb 1:21; אֶתֶּן־לְךָ מֶלֶךְ בְּאַפִּי וְאֶקַּח בְּעֶבְרָתִי Ho 13:11; of the sword, taking away its victims Ez 33:4, 6; fig. of taking away understanding Ho 4:11. e.g. Genesis 42:36
- d. especially take away life 1 K 19:10, 14 ψ 31:14; Pr 1:19 Jon 4:3. e.g. 1 Kings 19:10
- 4. take to or for a person:
- a. for oneself, sq. acc. + לְ, = appropriate to oneself Dt 7:25 Nu 8:16 (P), Dt 22:7; 2 K 12:6; c. לְ as dat. comm., Zc 11:7; ל׳ אֶת־שְׁנֵי יְלָדַי לוֹ לַעֲבָדִים 2 K 4:1 to take my two sons for himself for slaves; so (without לְ reflex.), תִּקָּחֶנּוּ לְעֶבֶד עוֹלָם Jb 40:28 wilt thou take him as slave for ever? e.g. Deuteronomy 7:25
- b. = procure, get, sq. acc. + לְ, קְחוּ לָכֶם תֶּבֶן Ex 5:11 (J) get you straw; לֹקֵחַ לוֹ קָלוֹן Pr 9:7 getteth to himself shame; so often, especially קַח לְךָ, etc., Gn 6:21; 12:19; 16:21; 45:19 +; without לְ, Ne 5:2 let us procure corn, and eat and live; of acquiring a field Pr 31:16. e.g. Exodus 5:11
- c. take possession of, sq. acc., of land Dt 29:7 Jos 11:16, 23 (all D), 2 Ch 16:5; cf. פְּקֻדָּתוֹ יִקַּח אַחֵר ψ 109:8 his office let another take; fig. הַלַּיְלָה הַהוּא יִקָּחֵהוּ אֹפֶל Jb 3:6 that night—let darkness take possession of it! e.g. Deuteronomy 29:7
- d. = select, choose, וְאֶתְכֶם ל׳ י׳ Dt 4:20, cf. v 34 (+ לוֹ), 1 K 11:37; of men Dt 1:15 Jos 3:12 (JE; + לָכֶם); + מִן Dt 1:23 Jos 4:2 (JE). e.g. Deuteronomy 4:20
- e. especially take in marriage: (1) for another, especially a son, c. לְ, וְלָקַחְתָּ֫ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי Gn 24:4 and thou shalt take a wife for my son, so v 7, 38, 40, 48 (all J), 21:21 (E), Je 29:6b; (2) more often for oneself, usually c. לְ reflex. (sometimes + לְאִשָּׁה), Gn 4:19; 6:2; 11:29; 12:19 (all J), + often; without לְ Gn 20:2, 3 (E), etc. e.g. Genesis 24:4
- f. = receive, accept, especially a bribe, gift, ransom, etc., 1 S 8:3; 12:3c, 4 (both sq. מִן), Am 5:12; 2 K 5:15, 16, 20, 23, 26(×2) ψ 15:5; interest-money Ez 18:13, 17; 22:12; inheritance Jos 13:8; 18:7 (both D), Nu 34:14(×2), 15 (P); of earth, receiving Abel’s blood Gn 4:11 (J); chastisement Is 40:2; of perceiving a sound, Jb 4:11 mine ear received a whisper of it; receive mentally: וְלָקַח בְּעָלָיו Ex 22:10 (E) i.e. shall accept the oath as satisfactory; בָּרֵךְ לָקַחְתִּי Nu 23:20 (JE), i.e. I have received (commandment by revelation) to bless; receive instruction Pr 24:32 Je 2:30 +; entanglements of temptation Pr 22:25. e.g. 1 Samuel 8:3
- g. take, as preliminary to further action: Gn 31:34 (E), she took them and put them; Ju 3:25 take key and open; Jos 2:4 she took the two men and hid them; 1 K 18:4 Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them; 19:21 Elisha took the yoke of oxen and slew them, cf. 2 S 17:19; 18:18; sometimes wholly redundant, קְחוּ וַעֲשׂוּ עֲגָלָה חֲדָשָׁה 1 S 6:7 take and prepare a new cart, etc.; sq. ל pers. Je 40:2; differently הַלֹּקְחִים לְשׁוֹנָם וַיִּנְאֲמוּ נְאֻם Je 23:31, they take (= use) their own tongues, and talk oracles. e.g. Genesis 31:34
- 5. take up, upon = put upon, sq. עַל: וַתִּקַּח תָּמָר אֵפֶר עַל־רֹאשָׁהּ 2 S 13:19 and Tamar put ashes upon her head; וַיִּקָּחֶהָ עַל־הַחֲמוֹר Ju 19:28 cf. יִפְרשֹׁ כְּנָפָיו יִקָּחֵהוּ Dt 32:11 he spreadeth his wings, he taketh him up. e.g. 2 Samuel 13:19
- 6. = fetch: קְחִי־נָא לִי מְעַט־מַיִם 1 K 17:10 fetch me, pray, a little water, cf. v 11(×2), 2 K 2:20; 4:41; וְקַח־לִי מִשָּׁם שְׁנֵי גְּדָיֵי עִזִּים Gn 27:9 and fetch me thence two kids, cf. v 13 (J); + בְּיָדִי 1 S 21:9; an offering Lv 12:8 (P; ‖ הֵבִיא v 6); c. human obj. often nearly = summon, לָקֹב אֹיְבַי לְקַחְתִּיךָ Nu 33:11 (JE) to curse mine enemies did I summon thee, Ju 11:5; 1 S 16:11; שְׁלַח וְקַח אֹתוֹ אֵלַי 1 S 20:31 send and bring him unto me; 2 K 3:15; 6:13 +; of י׳, summoning his people from exile, מִשָּׁם יְקָּהֶ֑ךָ Dt 30:4. e.g. 1 Kings 17:10
- 7. take = lead, conduct (with or without contact): וַיִּקַּח אֶת־שְׁנֵי בָנָיו עִמּוֹ Gn 48:1; גַּם בְּקַרְכֶם קְחוּ Ex 12:32 (both E); וְאֶת־עַמּוֹ לָקַח עִמּוֹ Ex 14:6 (J) and his people he took with him; cf. v 7 (J), Jos 8:1 (JE), Ju 4:6; אֶקָּֽחֲךָ אֶל־מָקוֹם אַחֵר Nu 23:27 I will take the unto another place, cf. v 14, 28 (all JE); י׳ subj., וָאֶקַּח אֶת־אֲבִיכֶם Jos 24:3 (E) and I took your father Abraham from beyond the river; הַצֵּל לְקֻחִים לַמָּוֶת Pr 24:11 rescue those led to death. e.g. Genesis 48:1
- 8. take = capture, seize: לָקַחְתִּי בְחָזְקָה 1 S 2:16 I will take by force, sc. flesh; of spoils, בֶּצַע כֶּסֶף לֹא ל׳ Ju 5:19 gain of silver they took not; of capture of ark 1 S 5:1; bronze 2 S 8:8, etc.; territory Gn 48:22 (E), Dt 3:14; cities Nu 21:25 (JE), Dt 3:14 Jos 11:19 (D), 1 S 7:14 2 S 8:1; of capture of hippopotamus Jb 40:24; of seductions of woman, וְאַל־תִּקָּֽחֲךָ בְּעַפְעַפֶּיהָ Pr 6:25 and let her not capture thee with her eyelids. e.g. 1 Samuel 2:16
- 9. take = carry off:
- a. as booty Gn 14:11; 1 S 27:9; 30:16, 18, 19, 20; 1 K 14:26(×2). e.g. Genesis 14:11
- b. as prisoners Gn 14:12; 2 K 18:32 = Is 36:17, 2 K 23:34 = 2 Ch 36:4. e.g. Genesis 14:12
- 10. in phr. take vengeance: וְנִקְחָה נִקְמָתֵנוּ מִמֶּנּוּ Je 20:10 and we will take our vengeance upon him; abs. נָקָם אֶקַּה Is 47:3 vengeance will I take. e.g. Jeremiah 20:10
Niphal
- Pf. נִלְקַח 1 S 4:22; נִלֳקָ֑ח 4:11 Ez 33:6; 3 fs. נִלֳק֑חָה 1 S 4:17; Impf. 3 fs. וַתִּלָּקַח Est 2:8, 16; 1 s. אֶלָּקַח 2 K 2:9; Inf. cstr. הִלָּקַח 1 S 4:19, 21, sf. הִלָּֽקְחוֹ 1 S 21:7;— e.g. 1 Samuel 4:22
- 1. be captured, of ark 1 S 4:11, 17, 19, 21, 22. e.g. 1 Samuel 4:11
- 2. be taken away, removed, of shewbread 1 S 21:7; of removal by death Ez 33:6; of translation of Elijah 2 K 2:9 (c. מֵעִם pers.) e.g. 1 Samuel 21:7
- 3. be taken, brought unto (אֶל־), only Est 2:8, 16. e.g. Esther 2:8
Pual
- Pf. לֻקַּח Gn 3:23 +, 3 fs. לֻקָֿחָה־ 2:23, 2 ms. לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ 3:19 (Ges§ 53 e, s);— e.g. Genesis 3:23
- 1. be taken from, out of (מִן of source) Gn 2:23; 3:19, 23 (all J); cf. וְלֻקַּח מֵהֶם קְלָלָה Je 29:22 and there shall be taken from them (derived from their case) a curse-formula. e.g. Genesis 2:23
- 2. = be stolen from, Ju 17:2 (ל pers.) e.g. Judges 17:2
- 3. be taken captive, Je 48:46, cf. Is 52:5. e.g. Jeremiah 48:46
- 4. be taken away, removed (= Niph. 2), of Elijah’s translation 2 K 2:10 (c. מֵאֵת pers.), of death Is 53:8 (c. מִן, prob. instr.) e.g. 2 Kings 2:10
Hophal
- Impf. יֻקַּח Gn 18:4 + (Ges§ 53 u);— e.g. Genesis 18:4
- 1. be taken, brought unto Gn 12:15 (J; sq. בֵּית to the house of), 18:4 (abs.). e.g. Genesis 12:15
- 2. be taken out of Jb 28:2 (מִן of source), from, of Ez 15:3 (מִן partit.) e.g. Job 28:2
- 3. be taken away from Is 49:24 (מִן pers.); abs. v 25. e.g. Isaiah 49:24
Hithpael
- Pt. fs. אֵשׁ מִתְלַקַּ֫חַת lit. fire taking hold of itself, of lightning Ex 9:24 (JE), Ez 1:4, exact signif. dub.; in close succession, incessant Di Sm, infolding itself, i.e. a mass of fire, Thes RobGes AV VB SS, > of quivering flashes Buhl, of forked or zigzag lightning Da. e.g. Exodus 9:24
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
לָקַח965 vb. take (NH id., especially buy, and (Niph.) be taken in marriage; MI17, 20 Impf. ואקח; Ph. לקח; Assyrian liḳû, laḳû DlHWB 384; Arabic لَقِحَ conceive (of female), iv. impregnate; Ethiopic ለቅሐ receive; Zinj. לקח DHMSendsch. 59; Aramaic also Inscr. of Carpentr.3 (Imv. קחי); cf. CookGloss. Aramaic Inscr.);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
לָקַח
- (b. h.)
- 1. to take, receive. B. Kam. 119ᵃ גבאי צדקה לוֹקְחִין וכ׳ collectors of charity may receive from them small contributions. Ex. R. s. 3 ל׳ את שלו he received his due (punishment). Tanḥ. Korah 3 ל׳ טליתו he took up his cloak; a. fr.
- 2. to carry away; to persuade. Ib. 1 (ref. to Num. XVI, 1) אין ויקח אלא משיכת וכ׳ vayikkaḥ means attraction by soft words; ib. 2 אין ויקח אלא לשון פליגה שלבו לְקָחוֹ vayikkaḥ has the meaning of separation, for his heart (pride) carried him away; Num. R. s. 18. e.g. Numbers 16:1
- 3. to buy, acquire. Dem. IV, 5 קַח לי וכ׳ buy (provision) for me of one who is reliable &c. Ib. הלך לִיקַּח … ולָקַחְתִּי לך וכ׳ if he went to buy of him (of the designated person), and … not finding him I bought of &c. Ib. V, 1 הלוֹקֵחַ מן וכ׳ he who buys of a baker. B. Mets. 16ᵇ לכשאֶקָּחֶנָּה when I shall have bought it; a. v. fr.—לוֹקֵחַ buyer. Ib. 15ᵇ bot. דמית ל׳ when the buyer is dead. Ber. 5ᵃ ול׳ שמח and the purchaser is glad; a. v. fr.—Part. pass. לָקוּחַ, f. לְקוּחָה; pl. לְקוּחִים, לְקוּחִון; לְקוּחוֹת. Y. Pes. II, 29ᵇ הל׳ בכסף מעשר that which has been bought with tithe-money. B. Mets. 110ᵃ ל׳ היא בידי I have it as a purchased property. Y. Snh. IX, beg. 26ᵈ [read:] עד שתהא הראשונה ל׳ לו until the first wife has been legally acquired (betrothed) by him; (Y. Yeb. XI, 11ᵈ top זקוקה), v. לְקִיחָה; a. fr.—V. לְקוּחוֹת.
- , נִקַּח to be taken, bought, acquired. Maas. Sh. I, 3 אינו נל׳ בכסף מעשר must not be bought with tithe-money; Ḥull. I, 7 אינו ניקח. Men. 42ᵇ נִקְּחֵית; נִקְּחִין; a. fr.—Kidd. 2ᵇ (ref. to Deut. XXII, 13) it is not written כי תִלָּקֵחַ אשה לאיש if a woman is married (marries herself) to a man (Var. תִקַּח). e.g. Deuteronomy 22:13
- to be enclosed, squeezed in. Num. R. s. 12; Cant. R. to III, 11; Pesik. Vayhi, p. 4ᵃ (expl. מִתְלַקַּחַת, Ex. IX, 24), v. עֲשָׁשִׁיתָא. e.g. Exodus 9:24
*לְקַח
- Ithpe. אִלְּקַח to be taken, married. Keth. IV, 11 (52ᵇ) עד דתִלַּקְחוּן לגוברין Bab. ed. (Mish. a. Y. ed. דתינסבן) until they shall be married; ib. 53ᵇ דתִילַּקְחָן.
לֶקַח
- preced.) purchase; (acceptable) gift; lesson. Taan. 7a (ref. to לקחי, Deut. XXXII, 2) אין ל׳ אלא תורה lekaḥ means the Law (with ref. to Prov. IV, 2); Tanḥ. Haăz. 3; a. fr.—אבן הל׳ auction-stone. Yalk. Lev. 667, v. מֶקַח. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:2
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 415 distinct written forms H3947 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 355 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3947, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
- לקח leqach H3948 instruction
- מלקוח malqôwach H4455 prey
- מלקח melqâch H4457 snuffers
- מקח miqqâch H4727 receiving
- מקחה maqqâchâh H4728 ware
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 7 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 873 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 909 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:15
- Exodus 2:1
- Leviticus 4:5
- Numbers 1:17
- Deuteronomy 1:15
- Joshua 2:4
- Judges 3:6
- Ruth 4:2
- 1 Samuel 2:14
- 2 Samuel 1:10
- 1 Kings 1:33
- 2 Kings 2:3
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
