נֹ֫קֶף (no.qeph)
no.qeph
shaking
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun noqeph denotes the act of striking off or shaking down. It appears only twice in the entire Old Testament, both times within the prophetic oracles of Isaiah (17:6; 24:13). The term describes a physical motion where fruit is detached from its branch, either by wind or by harvesters.
In these contexts, the word illustrates a scene of sparse recovery. It refers to the few remaining olives that are shaken from the tops of trees after the main harvest has passed. This imagery conveys a sense of thoroughness in judgment; even the overlooked remnants are gathered, leaving nothing behind.
The lexical data highlights its concrete nature as an action of separation. By focusing on this specific agricultural detail, the text emphasizes completeness. The few gleanings represent what is left after divine assessment has run its full course.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
Isaiah uses the image of a shaken olive tree to describe a time of severe judgment. The word noqeph refers to the final, thorough shaking that leaves only two or three olives on the highest branches. This was not a bountiful harvest but a remnant left after the main gathering was complete. It signifies that nothing is overlooked and the assessment is fully carried out.
Yet this picture of scarcity holds a quiet hope for believers. The fact that some fruit remains shows that judgment is not total destruction. God preserves a small group, a faithful remnant, even when circumstances seem barren. You can trust that He sees what is left and values those who remain steadfast through difficult seasons.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- like/ [the] beating of2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- כְּ/נֹ֣קֶף2×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 17:6
Yet gleanings will be left there, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or three olives in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outermost branches of a fruitful tree,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel.
This verse specifies the exact number of remaining olives, emphasizing how sparse the recovery is after the shaking.
-
Isaiah 24:13
For it will be so within the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done.
Here the term connects the shaking directly to the end of the vintage, marking a definitive conclusion to the harvest process.