נָקַם nâqam — to grudge, i.e. avenge or punish
Translated in the KJV as avenge(-r, self), punish, revenge, × surely, take vengeance.
a primitive root; to grudge, i.e. avenge or punish.
nâqam in each stem
Qal (Pa'al)
Participle (active) 5Imperfect (yiqtol) 3Infinitive construct 2Infinitive absolute 1Imperative 1Sequential perfect (weqatal) 1
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Niph'al
Infinitive construct 3Imperfect (yiqtol) 2Perfect (qatal) 2Imperative 2Sequential perfect (weqatal) 1Cohortative 1Wayyiqtol 1
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Hitpa'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 3Participle (active) 2
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Hoph'al
Imperfect (yiqtol) 3
And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
Pi'el
Sequential perfect (weqatal) 2
And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.
Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
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 ›