Lexical Summary beqia or baqia: Cleaving, breaking, bursting Original Word: בְּקִיעַ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance breach, cleft From baqa'; a fissure -- breach, cleft. see HEBREW baqa' NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom baqa Definition fissure, breach NASB Translation breaches (1), fragments (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [בְּקִיעַ, בָּקִיעַ] noun [masculine] fissure, breach, Amos 6:11 בְּקִעִים, into which the small house is to be smitten ("" רְסִיסִים); בְּקִיעֵי עִירדָּֿוִד Isaiah 22:9. Topical Lexicon Occurrences and Context The noun appears twice in the Old Testament, each time describing physical gaps in defensive structures that symbolize a deeper vulnerability. Isaiah 22:9 speaks to the leaders of Jerusalem: “You saw that there were many breaches in the wall of the City of David, and you collected water from the Lower Pool”. Amos 6:11 issues judgment on complacent Samaria: “For the LORD gives a command: ‘The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble’ ”, where the “pieces” denote shattered sections—breaches—of once-secure dwellings. Historical Setting In Isaiah, the word surfaces during the Syro-Ephraimite and looming Assyrian crises of the eighth century BC. Jerusalem’s officials busied themselves with engineering projects to stem the Assyrian threat but failed to turn to the LORD who could truly secure the city. In Amos, roughly a generation earlier in the northern kingdom, a period of economic prosperity had lulled Israel’s elite into presumption. The prophet uses the same word to declare that every level of society, “great house” and “small house,” will experience gaping holes when divine judgment arrives. Theological Themes 1. Human Fragility. Breaches expose the limits of human fortifications (Psalm 127:1). Both passages remind readers that no wall or house stands if God withdraws His protecting hand. Prophetic Significance The prophets often employ architectural language to warn of impending invasion (Ezekiel 13:5; Joel 2:9). By choosing a term for “breach,” Isaiah and Amos draw on communal memory of siege warfare to underscore urgency. Breaches were the point of entry for an enemy; spiritually, they represent the moral and theological fissures through which destruction enters a community. Practical Ministry Application • Watchfulness. Leaders today must discern spiritual breaches—areas where sin, false teaching, or negligence erode the church’s defenses (Acts 20:28-30). Christological Reflections While Isaiah and Amos expose breaches, the gospel reveals the ultimate Restorer. At the cross, Jesus Christ bore the judgment our breaches deserved (Isaiah 53:5), and in His resurrection He became the unbreakable cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22). The church, built on Him, is now called to proclaim reconciliation that mends every rift between God and humanity (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Devotional Insights Personal breaches—compromise, bitterness, neglect of prayer—invite spiritual defeat. The psalmist prays, “Repair its breaches, for it is quaking” (Psalm 60:2). Confession and reliance on God’s faithfulness close gaps the enemy would exploit. Related Biblical Imagery • Wall-building and repair: 2 Kings 12:12; Isaiah 58:12. The word therefore serves as both a sobering reminder of sin’s consequences and a gracious summons to seek the only sure defense—the LORD who repairs every breach and dwells among a restored people. Forms and Transliterations בְּקִיעֵ֧י בְּקִעִֽים׃ בקיעי בקעים׃ bə·qî·‘ê bə·qi·‘îm bekiEi bekiIm bəqî‘ê bəqi‘îmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 22:9 HEB: וְאֵ֨ת בְּקִיעֵ֧י עִיר־ דָּוִ֛ד NAS: And you saw that the breaches In the [wall] of the city KJV: Ye have seen also the breaches of the city INT: the breaches the city of David Amos 6:11 2 Occurrences |
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