הוקיע

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
י־ק־ע (y-q-ʿ)
3 terms

Causative of יָקַע (yaká, “to become dislocated”) with its meaning being narrowed down to dislocating or breaking the neck. The modern sense derives from Numbers 25:4, where Moses is ordered to hang the people's leaders in the open, so as to publicly shame them and their behavior and thus prevent others from following their footsteps. Cognate with Arabic أَوْقَعَ (ʔawqaʕa, “to cause”).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(h)oˈkia/

Verb

הוֹקִיעַ • (hokía) (hif'il construction, passive counterpart הוּקַע)

1. (Biblical Hebrew) to hang
   • Tanach, Numbers 25:4, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה קַח אֶת־כׇּל־רָאשֵׁי הָעָם וְהוֹקַע אוֹתָם לַיהֹוָה נֶגֶד הַשָּׁמֶשׁ וְיָשֹׁב חֲרוֹן אַף־יְהֹוָה מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל׃

     And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the LORD in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.’

   • Tanach, 2 Samuel 21:9a, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיִּתְּנֵם בְּיַד הַגִּבְעֹנִים וַיֹּקִיעֻם בָּהָר לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיִּפְּלוּ (שבעתים) [שְׁבַעְתָּם] יָחַד

     And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before the LORD, and they fell all seven together;

2. (Modern Israeli Hebrew) to condemn, stigmatize

   אנחנו מוקיעים את מעשיו. ― We condemn his actions.

Conjugation

Conjugation of הוֹקִיעַ (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

non-finite forms		to-infinitive		לְהוֹקִיעַ
		action noun		הוֹקָעָה
finite forms		singular		plural
		m	f	m	f
past	first	הוֹקַעְתִּי		הוֹקַעְנוּ
	second	הוֹקַעְתָּ	הוֹקַעְתְּ	הוֹקַעְתֶּם	הוֹקַעְתֶּן
	third	הוֹקִיעַ	הוֹקִיעָה	הוֹקִיעוּ
present		מוֹקִיעַ	מוֹקִיעָה	מוֹקִיעִים	מוֹקִיעוֹת
future	first	אוֹקִיעַ		נוֹקִיעַ
	second	תּוֹקִיעַ	תּוֹקִיעִי	תּוֹקִיעוּ	תּוֹקַעְנָה1
	third	יוֹקִיעַ	תּוֹקִיעַ	יוֹקִיעוּ	תּוֹקַעְנָה1
imperative		הוֹקֵעַ	הוֹקִיעִי	הוֹקִיעוּ	הוֹקַעְנָה1

¹ Rare in Modern Hebrew.

Synonyms

• תָּלָה (talá, “to hang”)

References

• H3363 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) “יקע”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 263c