Lexical Summary
raqa: To spread out, to beat, to stamp, to stretch
Original Word:רָקַע
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:raqa`
Pronunciation:rah-KAH
Phonetic Spelling:(raw-kah')
KJV: beat, make broad, spread abroad (forth, over, out, into plates), stamp, stretch
NASB:spread, hammered, stamped, beaten, plates, spreading, stamp
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to pound the earth (as a sign of passion)
2. (by analogy) to expand (by hammering)
3. (by implication) to overlay (with thin sheets of metal)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
beat, make broad, spread abroad forth, over, out, into plates, stamp, stretch
A primitive root; to pound the earth (as a sign of passion); by analogy to expand (by hammering); by implication, to overlay (with thin sheets of metal) -- beat, make broad, spread abroad (forth, over, out, into plates), stamp, stretch.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto beat, stamp, beat out, spread out
NASB Translationbeaten (1), hammered (2), plates (1), spread (3), spreading (1), stamp (1), stamped (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew
id.; Hiph`il, Aramaic Aph`el, both
spread out, and derivatives; Syriac
press down (Luke 6:38 ),
spread out, also
consolidate; Arabic
patch, put on a patch, repair, compare Christian-Palestinian Aramaic
patch,
swaddling-bands, Schw
Idioticon 90; Phoenician
platter, or
bowl, of gold CIS
i. 90, 1); —
Imperfect1singular suffix2 Samuel 22:43I will stamp them down (probably gloss to preceding, of. BaePs 18:43);ImperativeEzekiel 6:11beat (stamp) with thy foot, in token of contemptuous pleasure, compare Da ("" ); soInfinitive construct suffixEzekiel 25:6 ("" );Participle active as substantive construct (Ges§ 65d) (i.e. )he that (beateth out)spreadeth out the earthIsaiah 42:5,Isaiah 44:24,Psalm 136:6.
Imperfect3masculine singular suffixIsaiah 40:19 a goldsmithwith gold over-layeth it (literallybeateth it out3masculine pluralExodus 39:3they beat out the plates of gold; suffixNumbers 17:4they beat them out as plating.
ParticipleJeremiah 10:9silver beaten out.
Imperfect2masculine singularJob 37:18canst thou make with (= like)him a spreading for clouds (spread out clouds; cf, )?
Topical Lexicon
Semantic Range and Imageryרָקַע describes forceful flattening that produces a widened, level surface. Whether the object is precious metal, sky, earth, or an enemy underfoot, the word pictures the exertion of decisive power that reshapes what is struck.
Cultic and Artistic Craftsmanship
•Exodus 39:3 recounts the skilled artisans of the tabernacle who “hammered out gold leaf and cut it into threads to be woven” into priestly garments. The verb underscores the painstaking labor devoted to honoring the LORD’s holiness.
•Numbers 16:39 shows the censers of rebellious men hammered into a bronze overlay for the altar, turning an instrument of sin into a memorial of judgment and purification.
•Isaiah 40:19 andJeremiah 10:9 expose idol-making: “A goldsmith overlays it with gold.” The very technique that adorned Yahweh’s sanctuary is here hijacked for lifeless idols, sharpening the moral contrast between true worship and vain religion.
Creation Theology: God’s Cosmic Hammer
•Job 37:18 asks, “Can you, like Him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?” Creation is likened to a great metal plate beaten into place by the divine hand.
•Psalm 136:6 praises the LORD “who spread out the earth upon the waters—His loving devotion endures forever.” The earth’s stability rests on God’s initial act of razing and leveling.
•Isaiah 42:5 and 44:24 repeat the theme: God “spreads out the earth” without assistance. רָקַע affirms the effortless authority with which He fashions and sustains the cosmos.
Idolatry Exposed
The prophets exploit the word’s craftsmanship nuance to ridicule idols. Isaiah and Jeremiah present craftsmen laboring to hammer gold, yet the finished product cannot move or speak. By using the same verb that elsewhere celebrates God’s creative act, Scripture magnifies the futility of substituting creaturely skill for the Creator’s power.
Judgment and Warfare Imagery
•2 Samuel 22:43 (parallelPsalm 18:42) speaks of enemies reduced to dust: “I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.” David’s victory echoes divine re-creation—his foes are beaten flat as the sky was spread.
•Ezekiel 6:11; 25:6 command or describe “stamp your feet” in lament or derision. The prophetic sign-act dramatizes impending judgment: what is stamped will soon be leveled under the LORD’s wrath.
Pastoral and Devotional Insights
1. Worship that honors God is meticulous and costly, yet it rests on His prior work; human hammering in Exodus only adorns what He has ordained.
2. Every idol requires endless beating into shape, but the living God sovereignly spreads out heavens and earth by His word alone.
3. The believer’s confidence in divine judgment stems from the same power that formed creation; the LORD who flattens the skies can flatten opposition to His kingdom.
Canonical and Christological Trajectory
The cross becomes the ultimate reversal of the verb’s imagery: human hands “hammer” nails, intending defeat, yet God through that very act levels the barriers of sin and forges a new creation in Christ. The empty tomb proclaims a Creator who again spreads out life where death had reigned.
Summary
רָקַע weaves through Scripture as a thread of hammered gold: it adorns true worship, mocks false gods, forms the world, destroys evil, and anticipates redemption. The same sovereign hand that spread out the heavens now upholds every promise to His people.
Forms and Transliterations
אֶרְקָעֵֽם׃ ארקעם׃ וְרַקְעֲךָ֖ וַֽיְרַקְּע֖וּם וַֽיְרַקְּע֞וּ וּרְקַ֤ע וירקעו וירקעום ורקע ורקעך יְרַקְּעֶ֑נּוּ ירקענו לְרֹקַ֣ע לרקע מְרֻקָּ֞ע מרקע רֹקַ֥ע רקע תַּרְקִ֣יעַ תרקיע ’er·qā·‘êm ’erqā‘êm erkaEm lə·rō·qa‘ leroKa lərōqa‘ mə·ruq·qā‘ merukKa məruqqā‘ rō·qa‘ roKa rōqa‘ tar·qî·a‘ tarKia tarqîa‘ ū·rə·qa‘ ureKa ūrəqa‘ vayrakkeU vayrakkeUm verakaCha way·raq·qə·‘ū way·raq·qə·‘ūm wayraqqə‘ū wayraqqə‘ūm wə·raq·‘ă·ḵā wəraq‘ăḵā yə·raq·qə·‘en·nū yerakkeEnnu yəraqqə‘ennū
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