דָּקַק (da.qaq)
da.qaq
to crush
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 12 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb daqaq describes the physical act of crushing something into fine particles or dust. It appears in twelve verses, with a notable concentration in the books of Isaiah and Chronicles. The word captures the process of breaking down solid material until it loses its original form, whether through threshing grain or pulverizing objects.
In its basic sense, it conveys thoroughness in destruction. When used in the Hiphil stem, it emphasizes the result: making something into dust. This imagery often carries theological weight, symbolizing the removal of pride or power. For instance, Isaiah uses it to describe how God will crush the proud eyes of humanity (Isaiah 3:16-26), reducing human arrogance to nothingness.
The word’s force lies in its finality. It is not merely damaging; it is reducing to a state where the original structure no longer exists. This makes it a powerful metaphor for divine judgment, where human strength or status is completely dismantled. The text does not soften this image; it presents crushing as an inevitable outcome when opposing God’s will.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word daqaq describes a thorough crushing, reducing something solid into fine dust. In Scripture, this imagery appears in contexts of both judgment and purification. When God judges pride or idolatry, He does not merely dent the structure; He dismantles it completely, leaving no room for the old form to remain. This finality reassures us that no power stands permanently against His will.
Yet this same verb also describes the preparation of holy incense and the threshing of grain. The crushing is purposeful, breaking down hardness to reveal what lies beneath or to make something usable for worship. For your faith, this suggests that seasons of pressure are not random suffering but a divine process. God breaks down our self-reliance so that we might rely on Him alone.
Even in our hardest moments, the Creator holds the threshing floor. What feels like destruction is often the necessary work of refinement. We can trust that He uses these pressures to shape us, turning our rigid pride into humble dust, ready for His purpose.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 12 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- it was fine2×
- and/ he crushed [it]2×
- to/ pulverize1×
- so/ you may crush [them]1×
- it is crushed1×
- he crushes/ it1×
- he crushed [it]1×
- finely <pulverize>1×
- and/ you will crush1×
- and/ he pulverized [them]1×
- I pulverized/ them1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- לְ/הֵדַ֔ק1×
- יוּדָ֔ק1×
- יְדֻקֶּֽ/נּוּ\׃1×
- וַ/יָּ֣דֶק1×
- וַ/יָּ֕דֶק1×
- וַ/הֲדִקּ֖וֹת1×
- וְ/תָדֹ֔ק1×
- וְ/הֵדַ֔ק1×
- הָדֵק֒1×
- הֵדַ֥ק1×
- דָּ֑ק1×
- דַּ֖ק1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 30:36
You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy.
This verse shows daqaq used in a positive context where crushing creates holy incense, indicating that the act can be preparatory for worship rather than purely destructive.
-
Isaiah 41:15
Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff.
Here God promises to make His people into a sharp threshing instrument, using the imagery of crushing mountains to show how He empowers them to overcome great obstacles.
-
Micah 4:13
Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze. You will beat in pieces many peoples. I will devote their gain to Yahweh, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.
The call to 'thresh' and beat peoples in pieces illustrates God’s ultimate sovereignty over nations, transforming His people from victims into instruments of His justice.