8257. shaqa
Lexical Summary
shaqa: To sink, to subside, to abate

Original Word: שָׁקַע
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: shaqa`
Pronunciation: shah-KAH
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-kah')
KJV: make deep, let down, drown, quench, sink
NASB: died, press down, settle, sink down, subside, subsides
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to subside
2. (by implication) to be overflowed, cease
3. (causatively) to abate, subdue

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 Origin
a 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 be smitten, prostrated, collapse ); —

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 = חבשׁ bind).

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.
• Divine Mercy: The same action that subdues evil may also spare the covenant community (Numbers 11:2), revealing judgment tempered by grace.
• Christological Foreshadowing: Moses’ successful plea anticipates the intercession of Jesus Christ, who quenches fiery wrath permanently (Hebrews 7:25).
• Eschatological Hope: Temporary turbulence gives way to settled peace, pointing toward the “new heavens and new earth” where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).

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).
2. Humility before Majesty: Job’s encounter with Leviathan warns against presuming control over divine mysteries. Preachers can employ שָׁקַע to remind congregations of their dependence on God’s power.
3. Assurance amid Upheaval: Whether facing political turmoil or personal trials, the faithful can rest in the truth that God makes turbulent waters settle in His timing (Psalm 46:1–3, 10).
4. Evangelistic Urgency: Babylon’s irreversible sinking urges proclamation of the gospel before judgment falls, echoing Revelation 18:2.
5. Hope of Restoration: Ezekiel’s serene rivers equip pastoral counseling with imagery of future shalom for wounded hearts.

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‘āh
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman'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
HEB: בְּחַכָּ֑ה וּ֝בְחֶ֗בֶל תַּשְׁקִ֥יעַ לְשֹׁנֽוֹ׃
NAS: with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue
KJV: with a cord [which] thou lettest down?
INT: angle A cord down his tongue

Jeremiah 51:64
HEB: וְאָמַרְתָּ֗ כָּ֠כָה תִּשְׁקַ֨ע בָּבֶ֤ל וְלֹֽא־
NAS: shall Babylon sink down and not rise
KJV: Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise
INT: and say Just sink shall Babylon and not

Ezekiel 32:14
HEB: אָ֚ז אַשְׁקִ֣יעַ מֵֽימֵיהֶ֔ם וְנַהֲרוֹתָ֖ם
NAS: I will make their waters settle And will cause their rivers
KJV: Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers
INT: Then settle their waters their rivers

Amos 8:8
HEB: [וְנִשְׁקָה כ] (וְנִשְׁקְעָ֖ה ק) כִּיא֥וֹר
NAS: And it will be tossed about And subside like the Nile
KJV: and it shall be cast out and drowned, as [by] the flood
INT: and everyone will be tossed make deep the Nile of Egypt

Amos 9:5
HEB: כַיְאֹר֙ כֻּלָּ֔הּ וְשָׁקְעָ֖ה כִּיאֹ֥ר מִצְרָֽיִם׃
NAS: up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile
KJV: wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as [by] the flood
INT: the Nile and all and subsides the Nile of Egypt

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8257
6 Occurrences


’aš·qî·a‘ — 1 Occ.
taš·qî·a‘ — 1 Occ.
tiš·qa‘ — 1 Occ.
wat·tiš·qa‘ — 1 Occ.
wə·niš·qə·‘āh — 1 Occ.
wə·šā·qə·‘āh — 1 Occ.

8256
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