נָכָה
to strike
also: smite, hit, beat, slay fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- Preposition
- A relational word (e.g. “in,” “to,” “from”) governing a noun.
Stem
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘smite’
- Hophal
- The passive counterpart of the Hiphil (“he was caused to…”). Here: ‘receive a blow Is 1’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
- Pual
- The passive counterpart of the Piel.
Form
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
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.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H5221 appears in the Book of Deuteronomy — 21 distinct verses. 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.
Deuteronomy
- Deuteronomy 1:4 הַכֹּת֗/וֹ Hiphil inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
- Deuteronomy 2:33 וַ/נַּ֥ךְ conj + Hiphil wimpf 1cp Yahweh our God delivered him up before us; and we struck him, and his sons, and all his people.
- Deuteronomy 3:3 וַ/נַּכֵּ֕/הוּ conj + Hiphil wimpf 1cp + sfx pers 3ms So Yahweh our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we struck him until none was left to him remaining.
- Deuteronomy 4:46 הִכָּ֤ה Hiphil pf 3ms beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel struck, when they came forth out of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 7:2 וְ/הִכִּיתָ֑/ם conj + Hiphil wpf 2ms + sfx pers 3mp and when Yahweh your God shall deliver them up before you, and you shall strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them: you shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them;
- Deuteronomy 13:15 הַכֵּ֣ה תַכֶּ֗ה Hiphil inf.abs Hiphil impf 2ms you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle of it, with the edge of the sword.
- Deuteronomy 19:4 יַכֶּ֤ה Hiphil impf 3ms This is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee there and live: whoever kills his neighbor unawares, and didn't hate him in time past;
- Deuteronomy 19:6 וְ/הִכָּ֣ה/וּ conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he didn't hate him in time past.
- Deuteronomy 19:11 וְ/הִכָּ֥ה/וּ conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him mortally so that he dies, and he flee into one of these cities;
- Deuteronomy 20:13 וְ/הִכִּיתָ֥ conj + Hiphil wpf 2ms and when Yahweh your God delivers it into your hand, you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword:
- Deuteronomy 21:1 הִכָּֽה/וּ Hiphil pf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms If one be found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it isn't known who has struck him;
- Deuteronomy 25:2 הַכּ֖וֹת וְ/הִכָּ֣ה/וּ Hiphil inf.cs conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms and it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.
- Deuteronomy 25:3 יַכֶּ֖/נּוּ לְ/הַכֹּת֤/וֹ Hiphil impf 3ms + sfx pers 3ms prep + Hiphil inf.cs + sfx pers 3ms Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then your brother should seem vile to you.
- Deuteronomy 25:11 מַכֵּ֑ה/וּ Hiphil ptcp.act ms cs + sfx pers 3ms When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draws near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him who strikes him, and puts forth her hand, and takes him by the secrets;
- Deuteronomy 27:24 מַכֵּ֥ה Hiphil ptcp.act ms cs Cursed be he who strikes his neighbor in secret. All the people shall say, Amen.
- Deuteronomy 27:25 לְ/הַכּ֥וֹת prep + Hiphil inf.cs Cursed be he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person. All the people shall say, Amen.
- Deuteronomy 28:22 יַכְּ/כָ֣ה Hiphil impf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh will strike you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.
- Deuteronomy 28:27 יַכְּ/כָ֨ה Hiphil impf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh will strike you with the boil of Egypt, and with the tumors, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.
- Deuteronomy 28:28 יַכְּ/כָ֣ה Hiphil impf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh will strike you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;
- Deuteronomy 28:35 יַכְּ/כָ֨ה Hiphil impf 3ms + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh will strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
- Deuteronomy 29:7 וַ/נַּכֵּֽ/ם conj + Hiphil wimpf 1cp + sfx pers 3mp When you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we struck them:
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.
At its core, נכה (nâkâh) means “to strike.” The King James Version usually renders it “smote,” while modern versions prefer “struck down” (Berean Standard Bible) and “struck” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) — see the renderings breakdown. Spanning 461 verses in 31 books, it ranks among the common words of the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 4:15. The verb spans 4 stems, from Niphal to Pual. Dig into 461-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5221 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 →
- 461
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 461 distinct verses.
- 31 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 31 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #100
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 100 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 461 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 461 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 297 verses · 64%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 92 verses · 20%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 72 verses · 16%
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).
- King James Version: Smote 130×, Slew 41×, Smite 38×
- American Standard Version: Smote 124×, Smite 32×, He smote 25×
- Berean Standard Bible: Struck down 33×, Struck 22×, Strike 18×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Struck 68×, He struck 61×, And 50×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5221 across 501 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 103 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5221 across 498 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 109 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 H5221 across 496 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 166 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 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5221 across 565 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 105 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
26 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) and Hophal (the passive of Hiphil).
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 26 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.
Niphal
- Pf. וְנִכָּה וָמֵת consec. 2 S 11:15 and he shall be smitten [struck by weapon in battle] and die. e.g. 2 Samuel 11:15
Pual
- Pf. 3 fs. נֻכָּ֑תָה Ex 9:31; 3 pl. נֻכּוּ v 32 (J), both be smitten down by the hail. e.g. Exodus 9:31
Hiphil
- Pf. 3 ms. הִכָּה Ex 9:25 +; sf. וְהִכַּ֫נִי consec. Gn 32:12, הִכָּם Je 5:6; 2 ms. הִכִּ֫יתָ Ex 17:5 +; 1 s. הִכֵּיתִי Ju 15:16 +, וְהִכֵּיתִ֫י Ex 3:20 +; 3 pl. הִכּוּ Gn 19:11 +; 2 mpl. הִכִּיתֶם Je 37:10 + 3 times consec.; etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יַכֶּה Ex 21:20 +, יַךְ Ho 6:1 (but read וַיַּךְ We Now GASm); וְיַךְ Ho 14:6 (v. infr.); וַיַּכֶּה Jos 10:40 +, usually וַיַּךְ Ex 2:12 +; sf. 2 ms. יַכֶּ֫כָּה Je 40:15 + 2 times, 3 ms. וַיַּכּוֹ 2 S 14:6 (but read וַיַּךְ 𝔊 𝔖 𝔙 Th We Dr Klo Kit Bu HPS), יַכֶּ֫נּוּ 1 S 17:25 + 2 times; usually וַיַּכֵּ֫הוּ Nu 21:24 +; 3 fs. וַתַּךְ Jon 4:7.8; 2 ms. תַּכֶּה Ex 2:13 +; sf. 3 ms. תַּכֶּ֫נּוּ Pr 23:13, 14; 1 s. אַכֶּה 1 S 18:11 +; וָאַכֶּה Ne 13:25, וָאַךְ Ex 9:15; 3 mpl. יַכּוּ Mi 4:14; usually וַיַּכּוּ Gn 14:5 + (1 S 4:2 read prob. Hoph. q.v.); 1 pl. נַכֶּה־ Nu 22:6; וַנַּךְ Dt 2:33, etc.; Imv. הַכֵּה Ez 6:11; הַךְ Am 9:1 +; mpl. הַכּוּ 2 S 13:28, etc.; Inf. abs. הַכֵּה Dt 3:16 +; הַכּוֹת 2 K 3:24 (Ges§ 75 ff); cstr. הַכּוֹת Gn 4:15 +, etc.; Pt. מַכֶּה Ex 2:11 +; cstr. מַכֵּת Ex 21:12 +; pl. מַכִּים 1 S 4:8 +, etc.;— e.g. Exodus 9:25
- 1.
- a. lit., smite (with a single, non-fatal, blow), strike, sq. acc., ass Nu 22:23, 25, 27 (בְּמַקֵּל), v 28, 32 (all J); man Ex 21:15, 19 (E); cheeks Jb 16:10; man (on) cheek (2 acc.) La 3:30 ψ 3:8; man עַל־לְחִי Mi 4:14 (ב instr.), 1 K 22:24 = 2 Ch 18:23; eye Ex 21:26 (E); שֵׁבֶט מַכֵּךְ Is 14:26; with ב obj. Ex 17:6; with (ב) stone or fist Ex 21:18 (E), cf. (fig.) Is 58:4 (abs.); smite lion or bear 1 S 17:35; strike river (with rod מַטֶּה) 7:17 (c. עַל obj., + ב instr.), v 20 Ex 17:5 (E; ב instr.), also (with mantle) 2 K 2:8, 14(×2), cf. י׳ smiting Euphrates into (ל) seven streams Is 11:15; dust Ex 8:12, 13 (P); rock 17:6 (E), Nu 20:11 (P; ב instr.), ψ 78:20; fig. smite earth בְּשֵׁבֶט פִּיו Is 11:4 (of future Davidic kg.); strike on ground (אַ֫רְצָה; with arrows) 2 K 13:18, also (abs.) v 18, 19; strike weapons out of (מִן) hands, Ez 39:3 (י׳; fig. of making powerless); lintel of door Am 9:1; barley-loaf strikes tent Ju 7:13 (in dream); in fig. of regret, remorse וַיַּךְ לֵב דָּוִד אֹתוֹ 2 S 24:10 and David’s heart smote him, so 1 S 24:6 (+ עַל־אֲשֶׁר because); of goat smiting (butting with horn) the ram, so as to break its horns Dn 8:7 (in vision); smite = hit with missile, sling-stone 1 S 17:49 (c. acc. pers. + אֶל־מִצְחוֹ), cf. 2 K 3:25 (but text perhaps corrupt, v. Benz); arrow, 1 K 22:34 = 2 Ch 18:33 (c. acc. pers. + בֵּין), 2 K 9:24 (c. id.); of piercing, הַכּוֹת בַּחֲנִית בְּדָוִד וּבַקִּיר 1 S 19:10 smite with the dart into D. and into the wall, pin D. to the wall, וַיַּךְ אֶת־הַח׳ בַּקִּיר v 10, cf. 18:11, אַכֶּנּוּ בַחֲנִית וּבָאָרֶץ 26:8. e.g. Numbers 22:23
- b. smite repeatedly, beat, a man Ex 2:11, 13 (E), 5:16 (J), Ne 13:25 (מִן partit.), cf. Dt 25:11; here prob. also 1 K 20:35(×2), 37(×2) (הַכֵּה וּפָצֹעַ beating and bruising him); of Assyrian under fig. of task-master Is 10:24; beat a woman so as to bruise her (פָּצַע) Ct 5:7; beat by authority, scourge Je 20:2; 37:15 Dt 25:2, 3 (c. acc. pers. + acc. cogn. מַכָּה רַבָּה), v 3 cf. בִּן הַכּוֹת v 2 i.e. worthy of scourging, bastinado, (cf. Dr); 2 Ch 25:16; Pr 17:10; 19:25; 23:13, 14 (ב instr.); cf. גֵּוִי נָתַתִּי לְמַכִּים Is 50:6; of hail, beat down herbage etc. Ex 9:25(×2) (cf. Pu.). e.g. Exodus 2:11
- c. וַיַּכּוּ כַף 2 K 11:12 and they clapped hands (in applause); elsewhere only Ezek., in mockery; כַּף אֶל־כַּף Ez 21:19, 22; בְּכַפְּךָ 6:11 (‖ רְקַע בְּרַגְלְךָ); acc. כַּפִּי 22:13. e.g. 2 Kings 11:12
- d. give a thrust (with fork) into (ב) pot 1 S 2:14; strike roots Ho 14:6 (in fig., but וַיֵּלְכוּ We Now). e.g. 1 Samuel 2:14
- e. rarely smite (in battle) so as (merely) to wound 2 K 8:28, so (+ acc. cogn. מַכָּה) v 29; 9:15 = 2 Ch 22:6; fig. of י׳’s wounding Isr. Ho 6:1 (opp. חָבַשׁ, bind up), Je 30:14 (c. acc. cogn.). Cf. smite with (ב) the tongue Je 18:18. e.g. 2 Kings 8:28
- f. smite, of sun, etc., c. acc. pers. Is 49:10 ψ 121:6; c. עַל Jon 4:8. e.g. Isaiah 49:10
- 2. Smite fatally:
- a. (subj. man) smite, c. acc., + word of killing (dying):—obj. lion and bear 1 S 17:35; man Ex 21:12, 20 (E), Jos 10:26 (JE), 11:17 (D), 1 S 17:50; 2 S 1:15; 2:31 (מִן partit. + ב among), 4:7; 14:6; 18:15; 21:17; 1 K 16:10; 2 K 12:22; 15:30; 25:21 = Je 52:27, 2 K 25:25 Je 41:2; Nu 35:16, 17, 18, 21 (P; all c. ב instr.); c. acc. + אֶל־חֹמֶשׁ + ב instr. 2 S 2:23 smote him (fatally) in the belly with (v. HPS), 20:10, cf. 3:27 (+ 2 acc.) 4:6 (but del. 𝔊 Ew Th We Dr Bu HPS); וְהִכָּהוּ נֶפֶשׁ Dt 19:11 and he smite him in his life (mortally), and he die, cf. (without word of dying) v 6 Gn 37:21 (J), Je 40:14, 15 [otherwise Lv 24:17.18 Nu 35:11, 15, 30; Dt 27:25; Jos 20:3, 9]; with prolepsis לְהַכּוֹת חֲלָלִים smite the slain Ju 20:31, 39; + אַ֫רְצָה smite to the ground i.e. kill 2 S 2:22; 18:11. e.g. 1 Samuel 17:35
- b. smite, of worm gnawing or boring so as to kill plant Jon 4:7. e.g. Jonah 4:7
- c. very often = kill, slay, man or beast (c. 150 times): Gn 4:15; 8:21 (exterminate; both J), Ex 2:12; Nu 21:35 (E), Jos 7:5 (מִן partit.), v 5 (JE), Dt 19:6; 21:1; 27:24, 25; Jos 11:10 (ב instr.; all D), Lv 24:17, 18, 21(×2) (H), Nu 35:11, 15, 21, 24, 30; Jos 9:18; 20:3, 9 (all P), Ju 15:16; 1 S 17:9(×2), 36; 2 S 12:9 (ב instr.), 2 K 9:7 (exterminate), etc.; c. ב among 1 S 6:19; 23:5, מִן partit. Ju 14:19; 20:45; c. ב partit. slay at, work slaughter among 2 S 23:10 (ins. also in ‖ 1 Ch 11:13 v Bead loc. Dr 2 S 23:10), but also ב of dir. obj. 1 S 18:7; 21:12 = 29:5; subj. lion 1 K 20:36(×2) cf. Je 5:6 (fig. of judgment); י׳ subj. 1 S 6:19b (ב among, + acc. cogn.; 1 S 6:19a וַיַּךְ crpt. v. 𝔊 Th We Dr Kl Kit Bu HPS); slay firstborn Ex 12:12 (J), v 29 Nu 3:13; 8:17; 33:4 (all P), ψ 78:51; 105:36; 135:8; God slays for (עַל) sin 2 S 6:7 = 1 Ch 13:10 (עַל־אֲשֶׁר); slay לְפִי־חֶרֶב Dt 13:16; 20:13 Jos 11:11, 12, 14 (all D), Ju 18:27; 21:10; 1 S 22:9; 2 K 10:25 Je 21:7 Jb 1:15, 17; kill, slay, c. acc. cogn. (מַכָּה) 1 S 14:14; 1 K 20:21 (ב among), 2 Ch 13:17 (בָּחֶם), 25:13 (מֵהֶם); c. acc. pers. + acc. cogn. Jos 10:20 (JE), Est 9:5, etc.; kill unwittingly, unintentionally הִכָּה בִבְלִי דַ֫עַת Dt 19:4; Jos 20:5 (both D). e.g. Genesis 4:15
- 3. Smite = attack, attack and destroy a company Gn 32:9, 12; 34:30; Jos 8:21 Ju 8:11; 9:43; 2 K 8:21; 2 Ch 21:9; attack and capture a city Ju 1:8 v 12 = Jos 15:16 (JE), Jos 7:3; 10:4 (JE), 1 S 30:1; 1 K 15:20 = 2 Ch 16:4, 2 K 15:16(×2) 1 Ch 20:1; 2 Ch 14:13; Je 47:1; tents 1 Ch 4:41; 2 Ch 14:14; = sack a city לְפִי־חֶרֶב (slaying inhab.), Jos 8:24; 19:47 (both JE), 10:28, 30, 32, 35, 37 cf. v 39 (all D), Ju 1:25; 20:37; 2 S 15:14; especially defeat kg. or army (involving often overthrow, pursuit and slaughter),—c. 95 times,—Gn 14:5, 15, 17; Nu 14:45; 21:24 (JE), Jos 8:12; 10:10 (+ acc. cogn.), v 10 (עַד loc.), 11:8(×2) (all JE), Dt 1:4; 2:33; 3:3; 4:46; 7:2; 29:6; Jos 10:33, 40 (ועד—מִן loc.), 12:1, 6, 12; 13:12 (all D); Ju 1:5, 17; 1 S 11:11 (עד temp.), 2 K 13:17 (עַד־כְּלֵּה), 2 K 3:24a + v 24b (where read וַיָּבֹאוּ בוֹא וְהַכּוֹת and they went on defeating), Is 10:20; Je 37:10, etc.; ins. וַיַּךְ or הִכָּה in 2 S 8:13 Th Ke Kit Bu cf. Dr, after 𝔊; c. ב obj. 1 S 14:31; 23:2(×2) (ה loc.—מִן); + לְפִי חֶרֶב Ju 20:48, etc.; of gods causing defeat 2 Ch 28:23; smite land = conquer, subjugate, sometimes ravage, Gn 14:7; Jos 10:40 (D), 1 S 27:9; Je 43:11; 46:13, cf. Is 14:6 (acc. cogn.); subj. י׳ Nu 32:4 (P); of י׳ smiting sea וְהִכָּה בַיָּם גַּלִּים Zc 10:11 (BevJPh. xviii. 35 (1889), 88 proposes גבלים). e.g. Genesis 32:9
- 4. Of God,
- a. smite with (ב) a plague, disease, etc.:—blindness Gn 19:11 (J), 2 K 6:18(×2) cf. Zc 12:4(×2) (symbol.); of Egyptian plagues Ex 3:20; 9:15 (both J), 1 S 4:8, without ב Ex 7:25 (J), 12:13 (P), ψ 136:10 (acc. + בִּבְכוֹרֵיהֶם); other plagues Nu 14:12 (JE), Dt 28:22, 27, 28, 35; 1 S 5:6; 2 S 24:17; Jb 2:7; Am 4:9; Hg 2:17; Mal 3:24; 1 S 5:6, 9; 2 K 19:35 = Is 37:36 (+ ב in); Nu 11:33 (JE; בָּעָם + acc. cogn.); smite vines with (ב) blight ψ 105:33. e.g. Genesis 19:11
- b. smite = chastise, or send judgment upon, usually c. acc., 1 K 14:15; 1 Ch 21:7; Is 5:25; 9:12; 27:7 (הַכְּמַכַּת מַכֵּהוּ הִכָּהוּ), 30:31 (ב instr.) 57:17; 60:10 (opp. רִחַם) Je 2:30; 5:3; 14:9; Ez 32:15 (𝔊 Co זֵרָה scatter); c. עַל punish for, (sin) Lv 26:24 (H). e.g. 1 Kings 14:15
- c. of God’s destroying palaces Am 3:15; 6:11 (2 acc.), cf. Zc 9:4. e.g. Amos 3:15
Hophal
- Pf. הֻכָּה Ho 9:16; Nu 25:14. הוּכָּה ψ 102:5; וְהֻכָּת consec. Ex 22:1; 3 fs. הֻכְּתָה Ez 33:21; 40:1; 1 s. הֻכֵּ֫יתִי Zc 13:6; 3 pl. הֻכּוּ 1 S 5:12; Impf. 3 mpl. וַיּכֻּוּ Ex 5:14; 2 mpl. תֻּכּוּ Is 1:5; Pt. מֻכֶּה Nu 25:14, cstr. מֻכֵּה Is 53:4; f. מֻכָּה Nu 25:15, 18; pl. מֻפִּים Ex 5:16, cstr. מֻכֵּי־ Je 18:21;—be smitten: e.g. Hosea 9:16
- 1. = receive a blow Is 1:5 (Judah under fig. of man). e.g. Isaiah 1:5
- 2. be wounded Zc 13:6. e.g. Zechariah 13:6
- 3. be beaten Ex 5:14, 16 (J). e.g. Exodus 5:14
- 4. be (fatally) smitten + vb. of dying Ex 22:1 (E); be killed, slain Nu 25:14(×2), 15, 18 (c. עַל, for), מֻכֵּי־חֶרֶב Je 18:21 (‖ הֲרֻגֵי מָ֑וֶת); so also (abs.) prob. 1 S 4:2 (read וַיֻּכּוּ 𝔊 𝔖 𝔙 Th Dr Klo Kit, for MT וַיַּכּוּ). e.g. Exodus 22:1
- 5. be attacked and captured, of city Ez 33:21; 40:1. e.g. Ezekiel 33:21
- 6. be smitten with disease (by God) 1 S 5:12; abs., of י׳’s servant Is 53:4. e.g. 1 Samuel 5:12
- 7. be blighted, of plant (in fig.) Ho 9:16 (Ephr.), ψ 102:5 (heart, כָּעֵשֶׂב; both + יָבַשׁ). e.g. Hosea 9:16
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
vb. smite (not in Qal) (NH Hiph. id.; Pf. 3 pl. הכו SI 4, Inf. להך[ת] ib. 2; Syriac ܢܟܳܐ, laesit, nocuit, repugnavit; Aph. laesit, vulneravit; Ethiopic ነከየ laesit, nocuit; cf. Arabic نَكَى be defeated, نِكَايَةٌ the inflicting of injury on an enemy Lane3038);—
— 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.
נָכָה
- , v. נכי
נֵכֶה
- crippled, נְכֵה רגלים paralyzed, lame. Yalk. Deut. 933. משל לנ׳ ר׳ וכ׳ like a lame person that disturbed the peace of &c., opp. שָׁלֵם.—Pl. נֵכִים. Pesik. R. s. 13, v. צָלַע.
נְכֹה
- (b. h.) pr. n. m. Pharaoh Necho (II), King of Egypt. Sot. 9ᵃ; a. e.
נכי
- (b. h.) to be lessened.—[Lev. R. s. 33 אלא נכה, some ed., v. אָנָךְ.]
- to deduct. Ḥull. X, 3 ואינו מְנַכֶּה לו וכ׳ and the seller is not bound to allow him a reduction for the priest’s share. B. Bath. VII, 2, sq. יְנַכֶּה he must make an allowance for what there is less than specified in the contract. Num. R. s. 20 (ref. to נכה, ib. XXII, 6) כמי שמְנַכֶּה אחד מכ"ד לסאה as one (purchasing grain) is prepared for a deficiency of one twenty-fourth for each S’ah (allowance for chaff, v. טִינֹּופֶת); Tanḥ. Balak 4 (not למאה); ed. Bub. 6; a. fr.—[Cant. R. to III, 4 שנכה מסנחריב some ed., read שנָכַת, v. נְכִיתָה.]
- 1. to injure, knock, strike. B. Kam. VIII, 1 הִכָּהוּ חייב וכ׳ if he hit him (created a sore), he must pay for curing him. Ib. 3 המַכֶּה את וכ׳ if a person strikes his father &c. Snh. IX, 2 נתכוין להַכֹּותוֹ וכ׳ if he intended to hit him on his loins. Y. Peah I, 16ᵃ bot. (ref. to Ps. CXX, 3, sq.) כל כלי זיין מַכִּין וכ׳ all weapons strike in their place, but this (calumny) strikes at a distance; a. v. fr.—Part. pass. מוּכֶּה; f. מוּכָּה; pl. מוּכִּים, מוּכִּין; מוּכֹּות. Keth. VII, 10, a. fr. מוּכֵּה שהין afflicted with leprosy. Ib. I, 3, a. fr. מוּכַּת עץ one who lost her hymen through an accidentallesion. Par. VIII, 9; Mikv. I, 8, v. מַיִם. e.g. Psalms 120:3
- 2. (trnsf.) to strike, produce sound, play. Yoma I, 7 מַכִּין לפניו באצבע וכ׳ snap their middle-fingers. Arakh. II, 3, v. חָלִיל; a. fr.
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 289 distinct written forms H5221 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; 229 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5221, 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
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 431 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 461 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 4:15
- Exodus 2:11
- Leviticus 24:17
- Numbers 3:13
- Deuteronomy 1:4
- Joshua 7:3
- Judges 1:4
- 1 Samuel 2:14
- 2 Samuel 1:1
- 1 Kings 11:15
- 2 Kings 2:8
- 1 Chronicles 4:41
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.
