7386. req
Lexical Summary
req: empty, worthless, emptied

Original Word: רֵיק
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: reyq
Pronunciation: rayk
Phonetic Spelling: (rake)
KJV: emptied(-ty), vain (fellow, man)
NASB: empty, worthless, emptied, foolish ones, idle, satisfied
Word Origin: [from H7324 (רוּק - To empty)]

1. empty
2. (figuratively) worthless

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
emptied, vain fellow, man

Or (shorter) req {rake}; from ruwq; empty; figuratively, worthless -- emptied(-ty), vain (fellow, man).

see HEBREW ruwq

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from riq
Definition
empty, vain
NASB Translation
emptied (1), empty (6), foolish ones (1), idle (1), satisfied (1), worthless (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[רֵיק], רֵק adjective empty, vain — masculine absolute רֵק Genesis 37:24 2t.; feminine דֵקָה feminine דֵקָה Ezekiel 24:11; Isaiah 29:8; masculine plural רֵ(י)קִים Judges 7:16 +; feminine plural רֵקוֺת Genesis 41:27; —

1 empty, of vessels 2 Kings 4:3; Judges 7:16; Ezekiel 24:11 #NAME? Jeremiah 14:3 (רֵיקִים for דֵיקָם), Jeremiah 51:34 (רֵיק for רִיק); of pit Genesis 37:24 (J), lap Nehemiah 5:13, ears of grain Genesis 41:27 (E; דֵּקּוֺת Genesis 41:6; Genesis 41:7; Genesis 41:23; Genesis 41:24); רֵקָה נַפְשׁוֺ Isaiah 29:8 (compare Isaiah 32:61).

2 empty, idle, worthless, ethically; אנשׁים ריקים worthless fellows Judges 9:4; Judges 11:3; 2Chronicles 13:7, so הָרֵקִים alone(as substantive) 2 Samuel 6:20; מְרַדֵּף רֵיקִים Proverbs 12:11 AV RV of persons; < vain, unprofitable things, Proverbs 28:19 (see Toy); מִן ׳דָּבָר ר Deuteronomy 32:47 (D) a thing too empty (of significance) for you; + (probably) Psalm 4:3 (רֵיק for ᵑ0 רִיק) love an empty thing ("" כזב), of abortive course of action.

Topical Lexicon
Overview of Biblical Usage

The Hebrew adjective רֵיק appears fourteen times and consistently conveys the notion of “emptiness” or “worthlessness,” whether describing physical objects that contain nothing, people who lack moral substance, or pursuits that prove fruitless. Across its occurrences the word highlights the contrast between human barrenness and the sufficiency of God’s provision, admonishing the covenant community to seek true fullness in the LORD rather than in hollow substitutes.

Physical Emptiness: pits, vessels, and storehouses

Genesis 37:24 depicts Joseph’s plight: “the pit was empty; there was no water in it.” The image of a waterless cistern underscores utter helplessness and foreshadows Israel’s later captivity experiences.
• In the famine dream of Pharaoh, “the seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind” (Genesis 41:27) visualize agricultural sterility that only divine wisdom can remedy.
• Gideon arms his three hundred with “empty clay jars with torches inside” (Judges 7:16). Emptiness becomes the very instrument through which God demonstrates that victory comes “not by might nor by power” but by His hand.
• Elisha directs the widow to “Borrow as many empty vessels from your neighbors as you can” (2 Kings 4:3). The miracle of multiplying oil transforms emptiness into sufficiency, teaching that God fills what faith presents to Him.
Ezekiel 24:11 commands the setting of “the pot empty on the coals” so that impurity might be burned away. The vacant vessel symbolizes Jerusalem stripped of defenses, exposed to purifying judgment.

Moral Emptiness: worthless and idle men

Judges 9:4 and Judges 11:3 label certain followers as “worthless men.” Abimelech and Jephthah both attract those devoid of honorable purpose, illustrating how ungodly leadership fosters a fellowship of futility.
• “Worthless scoundrels” also rally to King Rehoboam’s rival in 2 Chronicles 13:7, portraying national division as the fruit of moral vacuum.
2 Samuel 6:20 uses the term when Michal rebukes David for dancing, likening his behavior to that of an “empty” or “vulgar” man. The accusation reveals how spiritual fervor can be misinterpreted by hearts that prize decorum over devotion.

Emptiness in economic and social life

• Twice Proverbs contrasts diligent labor with “those who chase fantasies”: “He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who chases worthless pursuits lacks judgment” (Proverbs 12:11; see also Proverbs 28:19). The sage warns against the seductive, empty promise of quick gain.
Nehemiah 5:13 records the governor’s symbolic act: “I shook out the folds of my robe and said, ‘May God likewise shake out every man from his house and property who does not keep this promise—so may he be shaken out and emptied.’” Social injustice leaves oppressors spiritually and materially bankrupt.

Illusory satisfaction and divine judgment

Isaiah 29:8 likens the assailants of Zion to a dreamer who “awakens hungry still.” Their conquest ends in emptiness, for God alone can satisfy.
Deuteronomy 32:47 reminds Israel that the words of the law “are not empty for you,” stressing that obedience is life itself—even when appearances suggest otherwise.

Historical and Cultural Notes

In agrarian Israel, a pit without water, a granary robbed of grain, or a jar devoid of oil signaled crisis. Likewise, a retinue of “empty men” jeopardized tribal stability. The term thus served as a vivid everyday warning: where God’s blessing or righteous character is absent, only futility remains.

Theological and Ministry Implications

1. Divine Filling: Whether in Joseph’s dungeon, Gideon’s jars, or the widow’s vessels, God delights to fill what is empty when faith and obedience present the need.
2. Warning against Vanity: From Proverbs’ lazy dreamer to Isaiah’s famished aggressor, the word exposes the lie of pursuits detached from God’s purposes.
3. Community Health: Leaders attract their likeness. Churches and families that tolerate “worthless” patterns invite collective impoverishment (Judges 9:4; 2 Chronicles 13:7).
4. Gospel Fulfillment: Emptiness finds its ultimate remedy in the One who “came that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness” (John 10:10). Ministry that exposes the vacuum of sin must quickly point to the Savior who fills with His Spirit.

Pastoral Application

• Challenge believers to identify “empty jars” in personal devotion, relationships, and service, inviting God to pour in His grace.
• Confront complacency and escapist fantasies with the diligence commended in Proverbs.
• Encourage worship that, like David’s dance, may appear foolish to spectators yet overflows with substance before God.
• Remind the oppressed, as Nehemiah did, that the LORD will shake out the unjust and vindicate those who trust Him.

In every text where רֵיק appears, Scripture sets emptiness before the reader—sometimes as threat, sometimes as opportunity—so that hearts may turn from vanity to the abundance found in covenant faithfulness.

Forms and Transliterations
הָרֵק֔וֹת הָרֵקִֽים׃ הרקות הרקים׃ וְרֵיקָ֣ה וָרֵ֑ק וריקה ורק רֵ֔ק רֵ֝קִ֗ים רֵ֥ק רֵיקִ֔ים רֵיקִ֣ים רֵיקִים֙ רֵקִ֔ים רֵקִ֖ים רֵקִים֙ רֵקָ֑ה ריקים רק רקה רקים hā·rê·qîm hā·rê·qō·wṯ hareKim hareKot hārêqîm hārêqōwṯ rê·qāh rê·qîm reiKim Rek reKah reKim rêq rêqāh rêqîm vaRek vereiKah wā·rêq wārêq wə·rê·qāh wərêqāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 37:24
HEB: הַבֹּ֑רָה וְהַבּ֣וֹר רֵ֔ק אֵ֥ין בּ֖וֹ
NAS: Now the pit was empty, without
KJV: and the pit [was] empty, [there was] no water
INT: the pit now the pit was empty without water

Genesis 41:27
HEB: וְשֶׁ֤בַע הַֽשִׁבֳּלִים֙ הָרֵק֔וֹת שְׁדֻפ֖וֹת הַקָּדִ֑ים
KJV: and the seven empty ears
INT: and the seven ears empty scorched the east

Deuteronomy 32:47
HEB: לֹֽא־ דָבָ֨ר רֵ֥ק הוּא֙ מִכֶּ֔ם
NAS: For it is not an idle word
KJV: For it [is] not a vain thing
INT: not word an idle he at

Judges 7:16
HEB: כֻּלָּם֙ וְכַדִּ֣ים רֵקִ֔ים וְלַפִּדִ֖ים בְּת֥וֹךְ
NAS: trumpets and empty pitchers
KJV: in every man's hand, with empty pitchers,
INT: of all pitchers and empty torches inside

Judges 9:4
HEB: אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ אֲנָשִׁ֤ים רֵיקִים֙ וּפֹ֣חֲזִ֔ים וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ
NAS: hired worthless and reckless
KJV: hired vain and light
INT: Abimelech persons worthless and reckless along

Judges 11:3
HEB: יִפְתָּח֙ אֲנָשִׁ֣ים רֵיקִ֔ים וַיֵּצְא֖וּ עִמּֽוֹ׃
NAS: of Tob; and worthless fellows
KJV: and there were gathered vain men
INT: Jephthah men and worthless went with

2 Samuel 6:20
HEB: נִגְל֖וֹת אַחַ֥ד הָרֵקִֽים׃
NAS: as one of the foolish ones shamelessly
KJV: as one of the vain fellows shamelessly
INT: uncovers one of the foolish

2 Kings 4:3
HEB: ק) כֵּלִ֥ים רֵקִ֖ים אַל־ תַּמְעִֽיטִי׃
NAS: your neighbors, [even] empty vessels;
KJV: of all thy neighbours, [even] empty vessels;
INT: inhabitant vessels empty not get

2 Chronicles 13:7
HEB: עָלָ֗יו אֲנָשִׁ֤ים רֵקִים֙ בְּנֵ֣י בְלִיַּ֔עַל
NAS: and worthless men gathered
KJV: And there are gathered unto him vain men,
INT: about men and worthless the son of Belial

Nehemiah 5:13
HEB: יִהְיֶ֥ה נָע֖וּר וָרֵ֑ק וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ כָֽל־
NAS: may he be shaken out and emptied. And all
KJV: even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation
INT: become may he be shaken and emptied said and all

Proverbs 12:11
HEB: לָ֑חֶם וּמְרַדֵּ֖ף רֵיקִ֣ים חֲסַר־ לֵֽב׃
NAS: But he who pursues worthless [things] lacks
KJV: but he that followeth vain [persons is] void
INT: of bread pursues worthless lacks sense

Proverbs 28:19
HEB: לָ֑חֶם וּמְרַדֵּ֥ף רֵ֝קִ֗ים יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־ רִֽישׁ׃
NAS: But he who follows empty [pursuits] will have
KJV: but he that followeth after vain [persons] shall have poverty enough.
INT: of food follows empty plenty poverty

Isaiah 29:8
HEB: אוֹכֵ֗ל וְהֵקִיץ֮ וְרֵיקָ֣ה נַפְשׁוֹ֒ וְכַאֲשֶׁ֨ר
NAS: his hunger is not satisfied, Or as when
KJV: and his soul is empty: or as when
INT: is eating awaketh satisfied his hunger after

Ezekiel 24:11
HEB: עַל־ גֶּחָלֶ֖יהָ רֵקָ֑ה לְמַ֨עַן תֵּחַ֜ם
NAS: Then set it empty on its coals So
KJV: Then set it empty upon the coals
INT: on coals empty So may be hot

14 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7386
14 Occurrences


hā·rê·qîm — 1 Occ.
hā·rê·qō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
rê·qîm — 3 Occ.
rêq — 2 Occ.
rê·qāh — 1 Occ.
rê·qîm — 4 Occ.
wā·rêq — 1 Occ.
wə·rê·qāh — 1 Occ.

7385b
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