Original Word: מַחֲנַק
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: machanaq
Pronunciation: makh-an-awk'
Phonetic Spelling: (makh-an-ak')
NASB: suffocation
Word Origin: [from H2614 (חָנַק - killed)]

1. strangling

strangling

From chanaq: choking -- strangling.

see HEBREW chanaq

Word Origin
from chanaq
Definition
strangling, suffocation
NASB Translation
suffocation (1).

מַחֲנָק noun [masculine] strangling, suffocation, as a mode of death, וַתִּבְחַר מַחֲנָק נַפְשִׁי Job 7:15 and my soul chooseth strangling ("" מָוֶת).

חַנָּתֹן see sub. חִנן

Definition and Semantic Field

מַחֲנַק (machanaq) denotes the act or instrument of strangling—an image that evokes constriction, suffocation, and death. The wider Hebrew root group (חנק) embraces any tightening around the neck, whether by rope, noose, or hand, and can operate in literal or metaphorical registers.

Occurrence in Scripture

Job 7:15 is the single canonical occurrence: “so that I would prefer strangling and death to my bones” (Job 7:15). Here Job momentarily longs for the release that a noose would bring, graphically conveying the extremity of his anguish.

Literary Context

Chapter 7 is part of Job’s first response to Bildad. Having protested his innocence in Chapter 6, Job moves from rhetorical complaint to raw lament. The mention of מַחֲנַק functions as a literary climax: the imagery of strangling matches the earlier description of nights filled with tossing (Job 7:4) and flesh clothed with worms and scabs (Job 7:5). Job’s despair is so intense that a swift, violent death seems preferable to continued existence in a body racked by torment.

Historical and Cultural Background

1. Execution and suicide by hanging were known in the Ancient Near East. A suspended corpse could serve as a public deterrent (Deuteronomy 21:22–23).
2. In Mesopotamian legal texts, strangling appears among capital penalties, especially for adultery or sorcery.
3. Ropes and cords were everyday implements; thus the metaphor resonated with an agrarian audience accustomed to tethering animals or securing loads.
4. Hebrew law does not prescribe strangulation as a judicial method, which heightens Job’s shock value: he reaches outside Israel’s usual legal imagery to express the extremity of his misery.

Theological Insights

1. The sanctity of life: Scripture affirms humans as image-bearers (Genesis 1:27). Job’s wish for מַחֲנַק contradicts that dignity, underscoring how suffering can cloud theological certainty without nullifying it (Job 19:25–27).
2. Lament as faith-speech: Job addresses God directly, refusing silence. Even the contemplation of strangling is voiced within relationship, illustrating that honest lament is not unbelief but covenantal engagement (Psalm 62:8).
3. The tension of hope and despair: Elsewhere, saints despair of life—Moses (Numbers 11:15), Elijah (1 Kings 19:4), Jonah (Jonah 4:3)—yet each is met by divine intervention. Job’s request is denied, keeping him alive for fuller revelation.

Related Biblical Themes

• Curse and hanging: “for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23), later applied to Christ (Galatians 3:13). The noose motif foreshadows the redemptive reversal whereby another would willingly bear the curse of death to grant life.
• Betrayal and suicide: Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23) and Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:5) employ hanging. Their ends contrast with Job’s, whose integrity is vindicated.
• Divine deliverance from death: Psalm 116:8; 2 Corinthians 1:9–10. The God who “raises the dead” alone can answer the cry latent in Job 7:15.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

1. Addressing suicidal despair: Job legitimizes the reality of overwhelming affliction. The text encourages compassionate listening and gospel hope rather than quick rebuke.
2. The ministry of presence: Job’s friends fail through misapplied theology. Effective care involves silence, prayer, and practical support (Romans 12:15).
3. Proclaiming ultimate hope: Revelation 21:4 assures that every tear—and by extension every longing for מַחֲנַק—will be wiped away.

Christological and Eschatological Reflections

Jesus endured mortal anguish “to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38) yet surrendered to the Father’s will, transforming death from feared enemy into defeated foe (Hebrews 2:14–15). The isolated occurrence of מַחֲנַק in Job thus whispers of a coming Deliverer who would face death head-on and arise, providing the final answer to every cry for release.

Summary

מַחֲנַק paints a stark portrait of human despair, appearing only once yet echoing through Scripture’s themes of suffering, lament, and redemption. While Job’s fleeting wish for strangulation captures the depths of pain, the broader biblical narrative consistently moves from constriction to liberation, from noose to resurrection life.

מַחֲנָ֣ק מחנק ma·ḥă·nāq machaNak maḥănāqInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts