עַכָּבִישׁ (ak.ka.vish)
ak.ka.vish
spider
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 akkabiš refers to a spider, appearing only twice in the Old Testament: in Job 8:14 and Isaiah 59:5. In both passages, it serves as a vivid metaphor for fragility and futility. The word describes not just the creature itself, but specifically its web or dwelling place, highlighting how delicate and easily destroyed these structures are.
Its root likely relates to words meaning "to delay" or "to be slow," perhaps reflecting the spider’s patient waiting for prey or the slow, intricate process of spinning a web. This etymology adds depth to its biblical usage: just as a spider’s home is built with careful slowness yet offers no real protection against wind or destruction, so too are human hopes built on unstable foundations. In Job, it illustrates how the wicked trust in something that will give way; in Isaiah, it shows how false schemes produce nothing but worthless offspring.
Translators typically render akkabiš as "spider" or "web," capturing its dual sense of creature and creation. The image reminds readers that what appears intricate and purposeful may lack enduring strength—a poignant warning against placing confidence in anything other than God’s steadfastness.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When we face uncertainty, it is natural to look for structures that offer stability. The Hebrew word akkabiš reminds us that some of our most carefully built plans are as fragile as a spider’s web. In Job 8:14, Bildad uses this image to show how quickly confidence can vanish when it rests on anything other than God. What looks intricate and secure from the outside may lack the strength to hold us when pressure comes.
This word does not mock our efforts but invites honest reflection. We often spend time weaving solutions that seem clever but cannot withstand life’s storms. The text encourages us to examine where we place our trust, knowing that human schemes are temporary while God’s character remains constant. It is a gentle nudge to seek a foundation that does not break.
There is comfort in this warning because it frees us from the burden of having to be perfectly secure on our own. When we acknowledge our limitations, we can turn toward the One who provides true shelter. This perspective helps us build our lives with humility, relying on divine steadiness rather than our own fragile constructions.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- a spider2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עַכָּבִ֖ישׁ1×
- עַ֝כָּבִ֗ישׁ1×
Key Verses
-
Job 8:14
whose confidence will break apart, whose trust is a spider’s web.
This verse uses the spider’s web to illustrate how the confidence of the wicked is fragile and destined to break apart under pressure.
-
Isaiah 59:5
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web. He who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
Here the imagery combines adders’ eggs with the weaving of a spider’s web to depict schemes that are both dangerous and ultimately futile, producing nothing but harm.