Lexical Summary
cheq: Bosom, lap, embrace
Original Word:חֵיק
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:cheyq
Pronunciation:khake
Phonetic Spelling:(khake)
KJV: bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within
NASB:bosom, base, cherishes, lap, arms, bottom, care
Word Origin:[from an unused root, apparently meaning to inclose]
1. the bosom (literally or figuratively)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within
Or cheq {khake}; and chowq {khoke}; from an unused root, apparently meaning to inclose; the bosom (literally or figuratively) -- bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitionbosom
NASB Translationarms (1), base (3), bosom (26), bottom (1), care (1), cherish (1), cherishes (2), lap (2), within (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] ,
Psalm 74:11 Kt (but read Qr , see following).
, (Late Hebrewid.) — absoluteEzekiel 43:17;Proverbs 16:33 +Ezekiel 43:13 (Co , compare ZKW1883, pp. 67ff.; DrSm xxxi),Proverbs 21:14; construct1 Kings 22:35 3t. +Ezekiel 43:14 (Co )Proverbs 5:20 (omitted by accident in Baer, compare Stron the passage)Proverbs 17:23 suffix1 Kings 3:20;Psalm 89:51;Job 19:27 etc.; elsewhere always plene with suffix; KtPsalm 74:11 (Qr ); —bosom, specifically
Exodus 4:6 (twice in verse);Exodus 4:7 (3 t. in verse) (all J),Proverbs 6:27;Proverbs 16:33, metaphor ofPsalm 74:11;Proverbs 21:14 is ahidden reward (concealed in bosom; "" );Proverbs 17:23 is agift secretly given; figurative,requite into bosomIsaiah 65:6,7;Psalm 35:13;Psalm 79:12;Jeremiah 32:18.
carry ()in bosom, Moses the peopleNumbers 11:12 (JE); Naomi, Ruth's childRuth 4:16, compare1 Kings 3:20 (twice in verse);1 Kings 17:19; ewe lamb2 Samuel 12:3;Isaiah 40:11 (metaphor);Lamentations 2:12 of infants dying in their mothers' arms; figurative of carrying insults in one's bosomPsalm 89:51 (read probably for , see Bi Che).
bosom as part of body:
,lie in bosom, of wifeMicah 7:5, compare2 Samuel 12:8; concubineGenesis 16:5 (J) compare1 Kings 1:2;Deuteronomy 13:7;Deuteronomy 28:54, compare alsoProverbs 5:20 ;Deuteronomy 28:56.
Ecclesiastes 7:9;Job 19:27my reins are consumed within me;Job 23:12 (read for , so Ol Me Stu Di)in my breast have I hidden the words of his mouth (comparePsalm 119:11); figurative of interior of chariot1 Kings 22:35 ; of hollow bottom of altarEzekiel 43:13,14,17 (SmRinne; CoGrundeinfassung).
Topical Lexicon
Overview of Meaning in Scriptureחֵיק (cheq) denotes the hollow formed by the arms when bent—the bosom, lap, or fold of a garment. From this literal sense grow rich figurative nuances: intimacy, nurture, possession, concealment, reward, and retribution. Approximately thirty-seven Old Testament occurrences shape a coherent theology of closeness and recompense.
Family Intimacy and Domestic Life
InGenesis 16:5 Sarai speaks of giving Hagar “into your bosom,” expressing exclusive marital privilege.Ruth 4:16 pictures Naomi laying Obed “in her bosom,” a tender scene of adoptive motherhood. The poor man’s ewe-lamb in Nathan’s parable “lay in his bosom” (2 Samuel 12:3), capturing affectionate ownership. Such uses portray the bosom as the normal place where love is both offered and received.
Parental Nurture and Protection
Moses pleads, “Did I conceive all this people? … that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a suckling child’ ” (Numbers 11:12). Isaiah magnifies the Lord’s shepherd-heart: “He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11). The bosom is thus the seat of gentle custody—parental and divine.
Conjugal Affection
“The wife you embrace” (literally, “the wife of your bosom,”Deuteronomy 13:6) and “Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your futile life” (Ecclesiastes 9:9) assign cheq to marital delight. The Hebrew idiom safeguards covenant fidelity; only the spouse belongs in one’s bosom.
Repository of Secrets and Schemes
A bribe “from the bosom” perverts justice (Proverbs 17:23). Under the cloak the corrupt man hides his payoff, illustrating the bosom as a covert pocket. Likewise, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). Human plans may sit in the lap, but divine sovereignty overrules.
Seat of Deep Emotion
Job laments, “My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me … My inward parts boil and are not still” (Job 30:27–28). In Hebrew idiom the bosom houses the heart; emotions surge there.Psalm 89:50 prays that reproach “I bear in my bosom” would be remembered by God.
Instrument of Reward and Retribution
Cheq frames the principle of recompense. “Repay our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom” (Psalm 79:12). “You repay the iniquity of fathers into the laps of their children after them” (Jeremiah 32:18). Isaiah: “I will measure into their laps full payment for their former deeds” (Isaiah 65:6-7). Blessing also returns this way: “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap” (Luke 6:38, echoing the Hebrew concept).
Imagery of Security and Rest
1 Kings 1:2 sought Abishag “that she may lie in your bosom” to warm aged David—a picture of restorative comfort. Lazarus rests “in Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:23), continuing the Old Testament sense of serene refuge.
Prophetic and Liturgical Use
Lamentations 2:12 records children crying for bread “as their life pours out in their mothers’ bosom,” dramatizing covenant curses. Conversely, “As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you, and you will be comforted in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 66:13), promising eschatological solace.
Christological Echoes
John 1:18 reveals the Son “who is at the Father’s side” (literally, “in the bosom of the Father”). The Gospel lifts the Old Testament image to its highest fulfillment: the eternal, loving intimacy within the Godhead from which redemption flows.
Ministry Implications
1. Shepherding: Pastors emulate the Lord by gathering lambs into their metaphorical bosom—personal care, sacrificial protection, patient nurture.
2. Marriage Counseling: The exclusivity of the bosom underscores fidelity; any intrusion (Genesis 16:5) breeds conflict.
3. Justice and Integrity: Hidden bribes or secret sins lodged “in the bosom” will inevitably be exposed and repaid.
4. Comfort Ministry: In bereavement the promise of resting in God’s bosom offers profound hope (Isaiah 40:11;Luke 16:23).
Summary
חֵיק threads through Scripture as the locus of closest fellowship and the receptacle of divine recompense. Whether portraying a mother’s tenderness, a spouse’s embrace, secret intentions, or the Lord’s just repayment, the bosom images the nearness in which life is formed and from which blessing or judgment inevitably flows.
Forms and Transliterations
בְ֝חֵיקִ֗י בְּחֵ֥יק בְּחֵיק֑וֹ בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ בְּחֵיקָ֑הּ בְּחֵקִֽי׃ בְחֵיקִֽי׃ בְחֵיקֶ֔ךָ בְחֵיקֶ֗ךָ בְחֵיקָ֔הּ בַּ֝חֵ֗ק בַּ֭חֵיק בחיק בחיקה בחיקו בחיקי בחיקי׃ בחיקך בחק בחקי׃ וְהַֽחֵיק־ וְחֵ֨יק וּבְחֵיק֖וֹ וּבְחֵיק֣וֹ וּמֵחֵ֨יק ובחיקו והחיק־ וחיק ומחיק חֵ֖יק חֵ֣ק חֵ֥יק חֵיק֑וֹ חֵיק֔וֹ חֵיקִ֥י חֵיקֶ֔ךָ חֵיקֶ֗ךָ חֵיקָ֑ם חֵיקָ֔הּ חֵיקָֽם׃ חֵֽיקְךָ֣ חיק חיקה חיקו חיקי חיקך חיקם חיקם׃ חק מֵ֭חֵיק מֵֽחֵיק֔וֹ מֵחֵיקָ֗הּ מחיק מחיקה מחיקו ba·ḥêq Bacheik baChek baḥêq bə·ḥê·qāh ḇə·ḥê·qāh bə·ḥê·qe·ḵā ḇə·ḥê·qe·ḵā bə·ḥê·qî ḇə·ḥê·qî bə·ḥê·qōw bə·ḥêq beCheik becheiKah becheiKecha becheiKo becheKi bəḥêq bəḥêqāh ḇəḥêqāh bəḥêqeḵā ḇəḥêqeḵā bəḥêqî ḇəḥêqî bəḥêqōw cheik cheiKah cheiKam cheiKecha cheiKi cheiKo chek ḥê·qāh ḥê·qām ḥê·qe·ḵā ḥê·qə·ḵā ḥê·qî ḥê·qōw ḥêq ḥêqāh ḥêqām ḥêqeḵā ḥêqəḵā ḥêqî ḥêqōw mê·ḥê·qāh mê·ḥê·qōw mê·ḥêq Mecheik mecheiKah mecheiKo mêḥêq mêḥêqāh mêḥêqōw ū·ḇə·ḥê·qōw ū·mê·ḥêq ūḇəḥêqōw umeCheik ūmêḥêq uvecheiKo veCheik vecheiKah vecheiKecha vecheiKi vehacheik wə·ha·ḥêq- wə·ḥêq wəhaḥêq- wəḥêq
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