Lexical Summary shaqa: To sink, to subside, to abate Original Word: שָׁקַע Strong's Exhaustive Concordance make deep, let down, drown, quench, sink (abbreviated Am. 8:8); a primitive root; to subside; by implication, to be overflowed, cease; causatively, to abate, subdue -- make deep, let down, drown, quench, sink. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to sink, sink down NASB Translation died (1), press down (1), settle (1), sink down (1), subside (1), subsides (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [שָׁקַע] verb sink, sink down (so Late Hebrew שָׁקַע, Aramaic שְׁקַע; Arabic has ![]() Qal Perfect3feminine singular consecutive וְשָֽׁקְעָה; Amos 9:5 it shall sink like the Nile (of land; opposed to עָלַה); 3 feminine singular וַתִּשְׁקַע Numbers 11:2 (JE), of fire, it sunk down, died out; תִּשְׁקַע Jeremiah 51:64, of Babylon (like stone in water; opposed to קוּם). Niph`al3feminine singular נִשְׁקְעָה Amos 8:8 Qr, of land, sink (opposed to עָלָה; = Qal Amos 9:5; Kt erroneous נשקה, compare WSG287). Hiph`il Imperfect1singular אַשְׁקִיעַ מֵימֵיהֶם Ezekiel 32:14 I will make their waters sink, (settle, grow clear); 2 masculine singular וּחְֶבֶל תַּשְׁקִיעַ לְשׁוֺנוֺ Job 40:25 with a cord wilt thou make his tongue sink (? pull or press it down; of crocodile; MichSuppl,2349 cited Thes 1477, compare Samaritan Topical Lexicon Overview The Hebrew verb שָׁקַע (Strong’s 8257) portrays the act of sinking, subsiding, settling, or being caused to sink. Across its six canonical occurrences the word functions as an evocative image of divine control: the Lord restrains destructive forces, brings proud nations low, quiets turbulent waters, and ultimately ensures that everything finds its proper level beneath His sovereign hand. Key Old Testament Occurrences and Motifs 1. Numbers 11:2 – National Preservation “When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.” Israel’s camp had been scorched by holy fire, but Moses’ intercession caused the flames to “sink down.” שָׁקַע here highlights God’s willingness to temper judgment in response to mediation, prefiguring the greater Mediator who quenches wrath on behalf of His people. 2. Job 41:1 – Human Limitation before Leviathan “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?” Within the wider Leviathan poem (Job 41:1–34), שָׁקַע underscores humanity’s inability to subdue the primordial monster. Only the Creator can make such a terror sink into submission, reinforcing Job’s lesson concerning creaturely humility. 3. Jeremiah 51:64 – The Doom of Babylon “Thus Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her.” The symbolic drowning of a prophetic scroll in the Euphrates dramatizes the irreversible collapse of an oppressive empire. שָׁקַע marks the decisive end of idolatrous power and affirms that no nation can stand against Yahweh’s purpose. 4. Ezekiel 32:14 – Millennial Tranquility “Then I will let their waters settle and will make their streams flow like oil, declares the Lord GOD.” Following Egypt’s fall, the verb describes waters becoming calm. Here שָׁקַע pictures eschatological peace: after judgment, creation itself rests, anticipating the future restoration when “creation itself will be set free” (Romans 8:21). 5–6. Amos 8:8; 9:5 – Cosmic Quaking and Return to Order In both texts the earth “will rise like the Nile… then sink like the Nile of Egypt.” The prophetic refrain uses seasonal flooding and recession to illustrate cataclysmic upheaval followed by divine re-stabilization. שָׁקַע therefore functions as a theological metronome, marking a return to order after the Lord’s shaking. Theological Trajectory • Divine Judgment: Babylon, Egypt, and the whole earth are brought low; nothing remains buoyant in defiance of God. Historical and Cultural Setting Ancient Near Eastern peoples viewed flooding rivers and engulfing waters as signs of both blessing and chaos. Prophets tapped into this imagery to address nations accustomed to Nile and Euphrates cycles. When Jeremiah hurled his scroll into the river, listeners would have grasped the gravity of a kingdom doomed to sink like an unmoored stone. Likewise, Amos’ audience in agrarian Israel understood the Nile’s annual rise and fall; the verb שָׁקַע connected God’s cosmic judgments to phenomena they experienced firsthand. Ministry Implications 1. Intercession Matters: Like Moses, believers are invited to stand in the gap, trusting that God still causes consuming fires to subside (1 Timothy 2:1–4). Summary שָׁקַע gathers diverse scenes—flames quenched, monsters subdued, empires drowned, rivers calmed—into a single testimony: the Lord alone raises up and causes to sink. His judgments are sure, His mercies real, and His final word is peace. Forms and Transliterations אַשְׁקִ֣יעַ אשקיע וְנִשְׁקְעָ֖ה וְשָׁקְעָ֖ה וַתִּשְׁקַ֖ע ונשקעה ושקעה ותשקע תִּשְׁקַ֨ע תַּשְׁקִ֥יעַ תשקיע תשקע ’aš·qî·a‘ ’ašqîa‘ ashKia taš·qî·a‘ tashKia tašqîa‘ tiš·qa‘ tishKa tišqa‘ vattishKa venishkeAh veshakeAh wat·tiš·qa‘ wattišqa‘ wə·niš·qə·‘āh wə·šā·qə·‘āh wənišqə‘āh wəšāqə‘āhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Numbers 11:2 HEB: אֶל־ יְהוָ֔ה וַתִּשְׁקַ֖ע הָאֵֽשׁ׃ NAS: to the LORD and the fire died out. KJV: unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. INT: to the LORD died and the fire Job 41:1 Jeremiah 51:64 Ezekiel 32:14 Amos 8:8 Amos 9:5 6 Occurrences |