Lexical Summary
berek: Knee
Original Word:בֶּרֶךְ
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:berek
Pronunciation:BEH-rek
Phonetic Spelling:(beh'-rek)
KJV: knee
NASB:knees, knee, lap
Word Origin:[fromH1288 (בָּרַך - blessed)]
1. a knee
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
knee
Frombarak; a knee -- knee.
see HEBREWbarak
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
barakDefinitionthe knee
NASB Translationfeeble* (1), knee (1), kneeled* (1), kneels* (1), knees (20), lap (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Isaiah 45:23 (Assyrian
birku COT
Gloss; Ethiopic
Aramaic
)
Isaiah 45:23; dual
Job 3:12 10t.; suffix etc.
Genesis 30:3 11t.; —
knee, knees: water reaching to the knees
Ezekiel 47:4;
Daniel 10:10;
Deuteronomy 28:35;
kneel on knees in worship
1 Kings 8:54;
Ezra 9:5 compare
Isaiah 45:23;
1 Kings 19:18; 2Chronicles 6:13, in entreaty
2 Kings 1:13, to drink of a fountain
Judges 7:5,6;
put his face between his knees in prayer
1 Kings 18:42;
upon the knees,
Genesis 30:3 (E; on see Ploss
Das Weib Aufi. 2. ii. 180 ff. Sta
ZAW 1886, 143 ff.)
Genesis 50:23 (E)
Job 3:12;
Judges 16:10;
2 Kings 4:20;
Isaiah 66:12;
Genesis 48:12 (E); knees as seat of strength, weak from terror
Job 4:4;
Isaiah 35:3;
Ezekiel 7:17;
Ezekiel 21:12;
Nahum 2:11; or fasting
Psalm 109:24.
Topical Lexicon
Physical and Familial ImageryThe first occurrences of בֶּרֶךְ present the knee as a place of life-receiving welcome. Rachel seeks to “bear children on my knees” (Genesis 30:3), identifying the knee with adoption and legal acknowledgment. Jacob’s grandsons are removed from “his father’s knees” (Genesis 48:12), and later Joseph nourishes a new generation “on Joseph’s knees” (Genesis 50:23). The same maternal picture re-emerges inIsaiah 66:12 where restored Jerusalem will have her children “dandled on her knees.” In daily life the knee receives the infant (Job 3:12) and the dead child of the Shunammite woman rests there until death (2 Kings 4:20). Thus בֶּרֶךְ marks the hinge between birth and death, nurture and surrender.
Posture of Prayer and Worship
To bend the knee is the instinctive gesture of petition and reverence. Solomon “had been kneeling with his hands spread toward heaven” (1 Kings 8:54;2 Chronicles 6:13), Ezra “fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God” (Ezra 9:5), and Elijah bows with his face between his knees in fervent intercession (1 Kings 18:42). Kneeling keeps the worshiper low while directing attention upward, framing prayer as dependence.
Symbol of Submission and Loyalty
Bowing the knee declares allegiance. Seven thousand in Israel “have not bowed the knee to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18), preserving the remnant. Conversely, a third captain “fell on his knees before Elijah” (2 Kings 1:13), pleading for mercy.Isaiah 45:23 announces the divine oath: “Every knee will bow to Me,” a proclamation echoed inPhilippians 2:10; the physical knee becomes the universal sign of absolute sovereignty.
Indicator of Strength and Weakness
Healthy knees permit standing; diseased or trembling knees betray frailty. Covenant disobedience brings “painful and incurable boils on your knees” (Deuteronomy 28:35). In siege language “knees knock” (Nahum 2:10) and “turn to water” (Ezekiel 7:17;Ezekiel 21:7). Yet God commands, “Strengthen the weak hands, and steady the feeble knees!” (Isaiah 35:3; cf.Job 4:4,Hebrews 12:12). Ministering to knees therefore involves restoring spiritual resolve.
Herald of Judgment
Feeble knees accompany national collapse. When Babylon attacks Nineveh, hearts melt and knees quake (Nahum 2:10). Ezekiel speaks of limp hands and water-knees as the Day of the LORD sweeps through Jerusalem (Ezekiel 7:17). Judgment unmasks idols; only knees anchored in the LORD endure.
Picture of Restoration and Peace
Ezekiel’s temple vision includes water “knee-deep” (Ezekiel 47:4), a stage between ankle security and waist immersion, encouraging believers to advance farther into divine life.Psalm 109:24 links fasting with weakened knees, yet this voluntary frailty seeks grace that ultimately strengthens.
Foreshadowing Universal Lordship of Christ
Isaiah 45:23 forms the backbone of New Testament Christology: every knee will bow to the risen Jesus (Philippians 2:10;Romans 14:11). The Hebrew text grounds the future reality; the knee that once resisted Baal now finds its true object in the Messiah.
Implications for Ministry and Discipleship
1. Intercession is inseparable from humility; Christian leaders do well to imitate Solomon, Elijah, and Ezra.
2. Pastoral care steadies “feeble knees” by encouragement, prayer, and practical aid, echoingJob 4:4 andIsaiah 35:3.
3. Discipleship prepares believers for the inevitable moment when every knee bows—willingly now in worship or forcibly in judgment.
4. Family ministry values the physical knee as a place of nurture; holding children on one’s knees reflects God’s own tenderness (Isaiah 66:12).
Summary
בֶּרֶךְ traces a theological arc from cradle to throne: the knee receives life, bends in prayer, trembles under wrath, steadies in hope, and finally bows before the Lord of Glory. In every setting Scripture presents the knee as a mirror of the heart’s posture toward God.
Forms and Transliterations
בִּ֭רְכַּי בִּרְכֵּ֥י בִּרְכֵיהֶ֖ם בִּרְכֶּ֔יהָ בִּרְכֶּ֛יהָ בִּרְכַּ֔י בִּרְכַּ֖י בִּרְכַּ֖יִם בִּרְכַּ֗יִם בִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙ בִּרְכָּ֑יִם בִּרְכָּ֑יו בִּרְכָּ֔יו בִּרְכָּ֖יו בִּרְכָּ֣יו ׀ בִּרְכָּיו֙ בִרְכָּ֑יִם בֶּ֔רֶךְ בִּרְכָּֽיו׃ ברך ברכי ברכיה ברכיהם ברכיו ברכיו׃ ברכים הַבִּרְכַּ֗יִם הַבִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙ הברכים וּבִרְכַּ֖יִם וּבִרְכַּ֥יִם וברכים be·reḵ Berech bereḵ bir·ka·yim bir·kā·yim ḇir·kā·yim bir·kāw bir·kay bir·kê bir·ke·hā bir·ḵê·hem bircheiHem birKai birKav birkāw birkay birkayim birkāyim ḇirkāyim birkê birkehā birḵêhem birKei birKeiha hab·bir·ka·yim habbirkayim ū·ḇir·ka·yim ūḇirkayim uvirKayim virKayim
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