Lexical Summary zakak: To be pure, to be clear, to be clean Original Word: זָכַךְ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance be make clean, be purer A primitive root (compare zakah); to be transparent or clean (phys. Or morally) -- be (make) clean, be pure(-r). see HEBREW zakah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to be bright, clean or pure NASB Translation cleanse (1), pure (2), purer (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [זָכַךְ] verb be bright, clean, pure (kindred with foregoing. Only Lamentations, Job) — Qal Perfect only 3 masculine plural זַכּ֫וּ; — 1 be right, shining, figurative of splendour of nobles נְזִירִים מִשֶּׁלֶג ׳ז Lamentations 4:7 ("" מֵחָלָב צַחוּ). 2 be clean, pure in God's sight, of heavens Job 15:15, of stars Job 25:5 ("" יַאֲהִיל of moon; compare also יִזְכֶּה Job 15:14; Job 25:4). Hiph`il cleanse, only Perfect1singular וַהֲזִכּוֺתִי בְּבֹר כַּמָּֽי׃ Job 9:30, figurative of making morally spotless ("" הִתְרָחַצְתִּי). Topical Lexicon Semantic Range and Imagery The verbal root זָכַךְ portrays the processes of being made pure, clean, or resplendent. Each occurrence links external brightness with inward moral or spiritual integrity. The term evokes the refining of metals, the laundering of garments, and the unobscured brilliance of celestial bodies—pictures familiar in Ancient Near Eastern life and liturgy. Occurrences in Scripture • Job 9:30 – Job, grasping for vindication, protests: “If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,” yet he remains unconvinced that such self-effort can render him truly pure. The verb underscores the futility of human strategies to obtain righteousness before the Almighty. Historical and Cultural Background In patriarchal and exilic settings, cleansing rituals—whether through washing, sacrifice, or ritual fire—served as concrete signs of covenant fidelity. Snow water (Job 9:30) was prized for its presumed sterility; lye (natron) was a costly imported cleanser. Stars and moon, central to agrarian calendars, signified order and purity. When prophets declare these luminaries “not pure,” they overturn cultural assumptions, teaching that perceived purity is derivative and contingent upon God’s holiness. Theological Significance 1. Total Depravity Highlighted: Every occurrence denies the adequacy of created goodness. If snow, heavens, stars, princes, or Job himself cannot be “pure,” the text drives readers toward divine grace rather than human merit. Christological Foreshadowing The repeated negations form a backdrop for the Messiah, “who had no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus embodies the unattainable purity longed for in Job and lamented in Lamentations. His transfiguration—“His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2)—visually realizes the brighter-than-snow imagery and fulfills the yearning for a truly pure human before God. Relation to New Testament Revelation Hebrews 1:3 proclaims the Son as “the radiance of God’s glory,” echoing the celestial motifs of Job. Believers participate in His purity: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). The Johannine exhortation pivots on the same conceptual field as זָכַךְ, now empowered by the indwelling Spirit. Practical Ministry Application • Preaching: Use Job’s failed attempts at self-cleansing to expose legalism and to point to the gospel. Summary זָכַךְ threads through Scripture as a subtle yet powerful witness: purity belongs to God, cannot be manufactured by mankind, and is granted through divine initiative. The root’s sparse occurrences magnify each scene, weaving together lament, wisdom, and prophetic memory into a unified testimony that finds its fulfillment in the spotless Lamb who makes His people “without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). Forms and Transliterations וַ֝הֲזִכּ֗וֹתִי והזכותי זַכּ֤וּ זַכּ֥וּ זכו vahazikKoti wa·hă·zik·kō·w·ṯî wahăzikkōwṯî zak·kū zakKu zakkūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 9:30 HEB: שָׁ֑לֶג ק) וַ֝הֲזִכּ֗וֹתִי בְּבֹ֣ר כַּפָּֽי׃ NAS: myself with snow And cleanse my hands KJV: and make my hands never so clean; INT: should wash waste and cleanse lye my hands Job 15:15 Job 25:5 Lamentations 4:7 4 Occurrences |
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