Word

רָכַךְ

râkak · H7401 · Hebrew · 8 occurrences

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Meanings

to be softened

Causative process by which a hard surface is made soft

Examples
Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing healthy in it, Only bruises, slashes, and raw wounds; Not pressed out nor bandaged, Nor softened with oil.
to be timid

Literally: (one's) heart is soft; hence: process by which humans lose courage

Examples
Deuteronomy 20:3 “He shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or be terrified by them,
2 Kings 22:19 since your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become an object of horror and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,’ declares the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 34:27 “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,” declares the LORD.
to make timid

Literally: to make (someone's) heart soft; hence: causative process by which deities cause humans to lose courage

Examples
Job 23:16 “It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has terrified me,
to be soothing

Literally: to be soft; hence: state in which events take place with the intention to avoid conflicts and promote peace

Examples
Psalm 55:21 His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.

How it’s used In 4 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

8 occurrences in 4 groups

לֵבָבheart, mind 5
דָּבָרword, thing, matter 1
אֵלGod, god 1
Not stated: he, she or it 1

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

1 occurrences in 1 groups

לֵבheart, mind 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

2 occurrences in 2 groups

מִןfrom+ שֶׁמֶןoil 1
בin/on/with+ שֶׁמֶןoil 1

With adverbsAdverbs

3 occurrences in 2 groups

אַלnot, do not 2
לֹאnot 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 3 words

מָסַס mâçaç · H4549 · to melt, to dissolve, to lose heart: Both words overlap in the sense of fainting and discouragement, in softening or weakening.
מָסָה mâçâh · H4529 · to melt, to make (someone's) heart melt: Both words describe related processes of softening, from the physical to the psychological, that could substitute in context (melt or dissolve versus soften or become tender).
מוּג mûwg · H4127 · to melt, to make soft: This is a true same-language substitutable pair in the sense of physical softening and emotional/courage dissolution.

Semantic domains 3 entries

Soft002001001057: 2 Kings 22:19 and 2 Chronicles 34:27 both describe Josiah's "heart" as having become "tender" in penitent response to God's word, directly attesting a sense of softened, responsive disposition.
Afraid002001002001: Deuteronomy 20:3 tells soldiers not to be "fainthearted" or afraid before battle, and Job 23:16 laments that God "has made my heart faint" and terrified him, directly attesting the sense of becoming fearful or fainthearted.
Lax002001003012: This word's sense of softening can shade toward a loss of firmness or resolve, though the sampled citations here attest fearfulness and penitent tenderness rather than laxity specifically.

Word family 3 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

רָכַךְrâkak · H7401רַךְ rak · H7390 · timid, soft, delicate · 16×רֹךְ rôk · H7391 · gentleness · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7401. rakak [רָכַךְ] verb be tender, weak, soft (Arabic Aramaic רְכַךְ (in derived…

H7401. rakak
[רָכַךְ] verb be tender, weak, soft (Arabic Aramaic רְכַךְ (in derived species and derivatives), , id.); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular רַךְ 2Ki 22:19; 2Ch 34:27; 2Ch 34:3 plural רַכּוּ Psa 55:22; Imperfect יֵרַךְ (Ges§ 67p) Isa 7:4 +; —
1 be tender, weak, of heart :
a. be timid, fearful, || יַרֵא, Isa 7:4; Jer 51:46; Deu 20:3.
b. be softened, penitent, || כָּנַע Niph`al, 2Ki 22:19 2Ch 34:27.
2 be soft, of treacherous words Psa 55:22 (with מִן compare; || II. חָלַק).
Pu`al Perfect3feminine singular רֻכְּכָה Isa 1:6 it has not been softened, mollified, with oil (of wound, מַכָּךְ).
Hiph`il Perfect3masculine singular לִבִּי הֵרַךְ וְאֵל Job 23:16 (Ges§ 67v), causative of Qal 1 a.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 3 entries

Soft1 occurrence Afraid6 occurrences Lax1 occurrence

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