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חָנַק chânaq — to be narrow

pronounced khaw-nak' · Strong's H2614 · 2 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible · 2 stems: Niph'al, Pi'el

Translated in the KJV as hang self, strangle.

a primitive root (compare H2596); to be narrow; by implication, to throttle, or (reflex.) to choke oneself to death (by a rope).

chânaq in each stem

Niph'al

Simple · passive — the plain action; the subject has it done to them

Wayyiqtol 1

וַיֵּחָנַ֑ק 2Sam 17:23 Wayyiqtol, 3rd person masculine singular

And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. (KJV)

Pi'el

Intensive · active — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it

Participle (active) 1

וּמְחַנֵּ֖ק Nah 2:13 Participle (active), masculine singular

Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. (KJV)

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 ›

Open in Hebrew Explorer with Verb Anatomy on →

In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. chânaq in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

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