Original Word: עָתַק
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: `athaq
Pronunciation: aw-thake'
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-thak')
KJV: copy out, leave off, become (wax) old, remove
NASB: become old, continue, failed, moved, moved away, moves, proceeded
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to remove (intransitive or transitive) figuratively, to grow old
2. specifically, to transcribe

copy out, leave off, become wax old, remove

A primitive root; to remove (intransitive or transitive) figuratively, to grow old; specifically, to transcribe -- copy out, leave off, become (wax) old, remove.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to move, proceed, advance
NASB Translation
become old (1), continue (1), failed (1), moved (1), moved away (1), moves (1), proceeded (1), removes (1), transcribed (1).

[עָתֵק] verb move, proceed, advance (Late Hebrew Hiph`il; Assyrian etêku as H., also transitive bring, move; Arabic , precede, pass forth, become free, grow old; Aramaic , עֲתַק grow old, Palmyrene adjective עתק old); —

Qal Perfect3feminine singular עָֽתְקָה Psalm 6:8, 3plural עָֽתְקוּ Job 21:7; Imperfect3masculine singular יֶעְתַּק Job 14:18; Job 18:4; —

1 move מִמְּקֹמוֺ ׳וְצוּר יֶע Job 14:18, so Job 18:4.

2 advance (in years; Aramaic sense) Job 21:7 ("" יִחְיוּ); hence = grow old and weak Psalm 6:8 (of eye, "" עָֽשְׁשָׁה).

Hiph`il Perfect3plural הֶעְתִּיקוּ Job 32:16 (Gi; van d. H. Baer Job 32:15), Proverbs 25:1; Imperfect3masculine singular וַיַּעְתֵּק Genesis 12:8; Genesis 26:22; Participle מַעְתִּיק Job 9:5; —

1 move forward (that is, tent) = proceed Genesis 12:8 (מִשָּׁם, ה locative), Genesis 26:22 (מִשָּׁם); so figurative Job 32:16 (see above) words have moved away from them (מֵהֶם), but see probably gloss (Bu and others).

2 Job 9:5 he who removeth mountains.

3 very late Proverbs 25:1 transcribe (remove from one book or roll to another; ᵐ5 ἐξεγράψαντο, ᵑ9 transtulerunt; so in mediaeval Hebrew: Zunz^{ZMG xxv (1871), 447 f. = Ges. Schr. iii. 66 f.}).

Semantic Range and Thematic Threads

עָתַק carries the idea of shifting from one state or place to another. The movement can be physical (“moved on,” Genesis 12:8), geological (“He moves mountains,” Job 9:5), temporal (“grow old,” Job 21:7), emotional (“words have left them,” Job 32:15), or literary (“copied,” Proverbs 25:1). The single root thus unites diverse scenes under a shared motif of transition—whether of patriarch, terrain, lifespan, conversation, or Scripture itself.

Patriarchal Journeys and Divine Guidance

Genesis twice employs the verb when the covenant family changes location:

• Genesis 12:8—“From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel…”
• Genesis 26:22—“Then he moved on from there and dug another well…”

In both cases relocation follows conflict or constraint and is answered by God’s continued favor. The verb highlights obedient responsiveness rather than restless wandering. Ministry application: obedient transition, not aimless drift, marks faith-filled pilgrimage.

Sovereign Power Over Physical Creation

Job’s poetry turns the verb toward cosmic scale:

• Job 9:5—“He moves mountains without their knowledge…”
• Job 14:18—“But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place,”
• Job 18:4—“…or the rocks be moved from their place?”

Here עָתַק underscores divine omnipotence. What humanity views as immovable lies at the mercy of the Creator. The same root that described a tent shift for Abram now pictures tectonic upheaval, reinforcing continuity between the God of history and the God of nature.

Reflections on Human Life and Mortality

The verb also touches frailty:

• Job 21:7—“Why do the wicked live on, grow old, and become mighty in power?”
• Psalm 6:7—“My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.”
• Job 32:15—“They are dismayed and have no more to say; words have left them.”

Ageing, failing eyesight, and evaporating speech portray lives inevitably moving toward decline. The same term that celebrates patriarchal progress now signals human limitation, reminding hearers that every advance meets eventual exhaustion apart from divine renewal.

Transmission of Wisdom Literature

Proverbs 25:1—“These are more proverbs of Solomon, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah.”

In its final occurrence the verb records scribes transferring earlier wisdom into a fresh setting. The act of copying is itself a “removal” from oral memory to written page, ensuring durability. Scripture’s preservation rests on holy transitions, and faithful copying becomes an act of worship.

Theological Insights

1. Continuity of Purpose—Whether relocating a patriarch or preserving proverbs, God uses movement to further covenant purposes.
2. Transience of Creation—Mountains shift; rocks are dislodged. What seems permanent is provisional under divine rule.
3. Mortality and Hope—Human faculties age and fail, but the God who authors movement also promises resurrection life (implicitly foreshadowed by His power over creation).
4. Reliability of Revelation—Because men “copied” the proverbs, the church today inherits an unbroken testimony. The same Lord who moves mountains safeguards His word.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Encourage believers facing relocation or vocational change: obedient movement can be part of God’s design (Genesis 12:8; 26:22).
• Preach divine sovereignty amid natural disasters, drawing on Job’s imagery to anchor hope in the Lord who “moves mountains.”
• Minister to the aging by acknowledging decline (Psalm 6:7) while pointing to God’s sustaining grace.
• Uphold careful transmission of Scripture—whether in teaching, translation, or digital archiving—as a modern echo of Hezekiah’s scribes (Proverbs 25:1).

Summary

עָתַק threads through Scripture as a verb of transition. From tents to texts, from mountains to mortal bodies, it declares that nothing remains static under the hand of the living God. Every shift—geographical, geological, personal, or textual—ultimately serves His redemptive plan.

הֶ֝עְתִּ֗יקוּ הֶעְתִּ֖יקוּ הַמַּעְתִּ֣יק המעתיק העתיקו וְיֶעְתַּק־ וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק וַיַּעְתֵּ֨ק ויעתק ויעתק־ יֶעְתַּ֥ק יעתק עָ֝תְק֗וּ עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה עתקה עתקו ‘ā·ṯə·qāh ‘ā·ṯə·qū ‘āṯəqāh ‘āṯəqū ateKah ateKu ham·ma‘·tîq hamma‘tîq hammaTik he‘·tî·qū he‘tîqū heTiku vaiyaTek veyetak way·ya‘·têq wayya‘têq wə·ye‘·taq- wəye‘taq- ye‘·taq ye‘taq yeTakInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts