אָבַק ʼâbaq — to bedust, i.e. grapple
Translated in the KJV as wrestle.
a primitive root, probably to float away (as vapor), but used only as denominative from H80; to bedust, i.e. grapple.
ʼâbaq in each stem
Niph'al
Wayyiqtol 1Infinitive construct 1
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›