כָּתַשׁ (ka.tash)
ka.tash
to pound
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb katas means to crush or pound something into a fine consistency. It describes a physical action of breaking down material through force and pressure, such as grinding grain or pounding herbs. This is not a gentle mixing but a vigorous process intended to reduce solid objects to powder or paste.
Its single biblical appearance in Proverbs 27:22 illustrates this vividly. The text states that even if you crush a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, their folly will not depart from them. Here, the word emphasizes the intensity of the effort required, yet also highlights the stubbornness of the subject, who remains unchanged despite the thorough pounding.
The image relies on the ancient practice of using a stone mortar and heavy pestle to process food. By choosing this specific verb, the proverb contrasts the physical effectiveness of crushing grain with the spiritual ineffectiveness of trying to correct a foolish person through harsh discipline alone. The word underscores that some traits are deeply ingrained, resisting even the most forceful external attempts at refinement.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word katas describes the vigorous pounding of grain in a stone mortar, reducing solid kernels to fine flour through intense pressure and force. This image appears in Proverbs 27:22, where it illustrates that even such thorough physical destruction cannot remove the folly from a foolish person. The text uses this concrete action to show that some deep-seated traits resist external correction, no matter how hard we try to break them down.
For your faith life, this offers a gentle reminder about patience and humility. When you encounter difficult people or stubborn situations, remember that force alone rarely changes hearts. Instead of striving to crush others into compliance, focus on cultivating wisdom and grace in your own response. This passage invites you to trust God’s work over time, rather than relying on harsh methods that may leave everyone exhausted.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- you will pound1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תִּכְתּֽוֹשׁ\־1×
Key Verses
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Proverbs 27:22
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.
This verse uses katas to contrast the physical effectiveness of grinding grain with the spiritual inability to remove folly through force.