רֵיק
rêyq · H7386 · Hebrew · 14 occurrences
Meanings
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empty
State in which a container does not contain anything
ExamplesGenesis 37:24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
Genesis 41:27 “The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.
Judges 7:16 And he divided the three hundred men into three units, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.
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Literally: empty; hence: state in which humans have lost their possessions (to be emptied out, to be stripped (of one's possession))
ExamplesNehemiah 5:13 I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the LORD. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.
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vain
Literally: empty; hence: state in which words or actions have no purpose
ExamplesDeuteronomy 32:47 “For it is not a trivial matter for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
Proverbs 12:11 One who works his land will have plenty of bread, But one who pursues worthless things lacks sense.
Proverbs 28:19 One who works his land will have plenty of food, But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
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hungry
Literally: empty throat; hence: state in which humans are in need of food
ExamplesIsaiah 29:8 It will be as when a hungry person dreams— And behold, he is eating; But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, Or as when a thirsty person dreams— And behold, he is drinking, But when he awakens, behold, he is faint And his thirst is not quenched. So will the multitude of all the nations be Who wage war against Mount Zion.
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worthless, good-for-nothing
State in which humans live as if they have no useful purpose in life, as a result of which they are not respected by others
ExamplesJudges 9:4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.
Judges 11:3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless men gathered around Jephthah, and they went wherever he did.
2 Samuel 6:20 But when David returned to bless his own household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel dignified himself today! For he exposed himself today in the sight of his servants’ female slaves, as one of the rabble shamelessly exposes himself!”
How it’s used In 5 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אֶחָדone 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- גָּלָהto uncover, to reveal, to go into exile 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- רָדַףto pursue, to chase 2
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
Second object ofSecond object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- עָמַדto stand 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- נֶפֶשׁsoul, life 1
- בּוֹרpit, cistern 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- חָסֵר châçêr · H2638 · lacking, short of
- Both words denote states of lacking or being without: חָסֵר (châçêr, H2638) "destitute, lack, want" and רֵיק (rêyq, H7386) "emptied, empty," overlapping in absence or non-possession.
In the other Testament 1 word
- κενός kenós · G2756 · without anything, empty, empty-handed
- Greek κενός directly translates Hebrew רֵיק in its core semantic range of physical emptiness and metaphorical vanity/worthlessness, serving as the standard LXX rendering for this Hebrew root across both literal and figurative contexts.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- Non-Contain002002001004
- Genesis 37:24 describes the pit into which Joseph was thrown as "empty, without any water," and Judges 7:16 describes Gideon's men carrying "empty pitchers," both directly attesting the sense of literal physical emptiness.
- Non-Possess002003002018
- This word's sense of emptiness can extend to lacking material substance or resources, though the sampled citations here attest literal empty vessels rather than a state of poverty specifically.
- Fail002003003013
- The emptiness this word denotes can carry a sense of futility or fruitlessness in its broader usage, though the sampled citations attest literal emptiness (a pit, pitchers) rather than failed effort specifically.
- Hunger002004001001002
- An emptied vessel or an empty stomach can be associated with hunger in this word's wider range, though the sampled citations do not themselves attest a hunger sense.
- Insignificant002001002015
- Judges 9:4 hires "worthless and reckless men" to follow Abimelech, and Deuteronomy 32:47 insists God's law is "not an idle word," both attesting the sense of a person or thing of no worth or substance.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7386. req [רֵיק], רֵק adjective empty, vain — masculine absolute רֵק Gen 37:24 Gen…
[רֵיק], רֵק adjective empty, vain — masculine absolute רֵק Gen 37:24 Gen 37:2t.; feminine דֵקָה feminine דֵקָה Eze 24:11; Isa 29:8; masculine plural רֵ(י)קִים Jdg 7:16 +; feminine plural רֵקוֺת Gen 41:27; —
1 empty, of vessels 2Ki 4:3; Jdg 7:16; Eze 24:11 +? Jer 14:3 (רֵיקִים for דֵיקָם), Jer 51:34 (רֵיק for רִיק); of pit Gen 37:24 (J), lap Neh 5:13, ears of grain Gen 41:27 (E; דֵּקּוֺת Gen 41:6; Gen 41:7; Gen 41:23; Gen 41:24); נַפְשׁוֺ רֵקָה Isa 29:8 (compare Isa 32:6 √ 1).
2 empty, idle, worthless, ethically; ריקים אנשׁים worthless fellows Jdg 9:4; Jdg 11:3; 2Ch 13:7, so הָרֵקִים alone(as substantive) 2Sa 6:20; רֵיקִים מְרַדֵּף Pro 12:11 AV RV of persons; < vain, unprofitable things, Pro 28:19 (see Toy); ר ׳דָּבָר מִן Deu 32:47 (D) a thing too empty (of significance) for you; + (probably) Psa 4:3 (רֵיק for רִיק ᵑ0) love an empty thing (|| כזב), of abortive course of action.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 5 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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