2211. zeqaph
Lexical Summary
zeqaph: To raise, to lift up

Original Word: זְקַף
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: zqaph
Pronunciation: zeh-KAHF
Phonetic Spelling: (zek-af')
KJV: set up
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H2210 (זָקַף - raises)]

1. to hang, i.e. impale

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
set up

(Aramaic) corresponding to zaqaph; to hang, i.e. Impale -- set up.

see HEBREW zaqaph

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to zaqaph
Definition
to raise, lift up
NASB Translation
impaled* (1).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

This rare verb occurs only once in canonical Scripture, appearing in Ezra 6:11. It depicts the forcible lifting of a condemned man onto a beam withdrawn from his own house, culminating in public impalement. Though a single attestation, the term vividly illustrates the gravity with which Persian authorities—and, by divine providence, Scripture—underscored obedience to the decree permitting the rebuilding of the temple.

Usage in Scripture

Ezra 6:11 records King Darius’s edict: “I hereby decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled from his house and he will be lifted up and impaled on it; and his house shall be made into a pile of rubble.” The verb expresses two ideas at once: (1) the physical elevation of the offender and (2) the penalty of death by impalement. The action is immediate, public, and irreversible, reinforcing the king’s resolve and the sanctity of the temple project.

Historical Setting in Ezra

After the exile, opposition to rebuilding efforts in Jerusalem was fierce (Ezra 4). Darius’s response in Ezra 6 affirms Cyrus’s original decree and threatens severe punishment for interference. Persian practice attests to impalement as a common form of capital punishment for crimes against the state. By adopting that penalty, Darius binds imperial authority to Israel’s religious restoration. The verb under study encapsulates this blending of political power and divine purpose.

Legal and Social Implications

1. Retributive Justice: The offender’s own property supplies the beam, dramatizing poetic justice—his house becomes the source of his downfall.
2. Deterrence: Public impalement served to discourage rebellion, mirroring the function of public executions in many ancient societies.
3. Community Protection: The decree safeguards the returned remnant, allowing them to rebuild without fear, illustrating how God can use civil authority to advance His redemptive plan (Proverbs 21:1).

Symbolic and Theological Significance

• Curse Motif: Deuteronomy 21:22–23 associates hanging on a tree with divine curse. The impaled rebel in Ezra 6 experiences a similarly visible curse, prefiguring the ultimate “lifting up” of Christ, who “became a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).
• Sanctity of God’s House: The extremity of the penalty magnifies the holiness of the Second Temple project. God’s dwelling among His people warrants the highest protection, echoing Psalm 93:5, “Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, for all the days to come.”
• Sovereignty: The single occurrence underscores how even pagan rulers fulfill divine purposes. Daniel 4:17 affirms that “the Most High rules the kingdom of men,” and this event demonstrates that principle in action.

Connections to Other Biblical Passages

Esther 5–7: Haman meets death on a wooden structure he intended for Mordecai, paralleling the punitive irony in Ezra 6.

Acts 5:29–33: The apostles acknowledge higher allegiance to God, even under threat of capital punishment, contrasting righteous suffering with the just retribution described by the verb in Ezra 6.

John 12:32: Jesus says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” The dreadful “lifting up” in Ezra foreshadows the redemptive “lifting up” of the cross, where judgment and mercy converge.

Practical Ministry Insights

• Upholding God-given mandates often encounters opposition, but divine sovereignty can turn even secular edicts into instruments of blessing.
• Leaders today should recognize the seriousness of hindering God’s work, whether through open hostility or passive obstruction.
• The severity portrayed by the verb calls believers to reverent obedience, yet it also points forward to the grace offered at the cross, where the curse is borne by another for our salvation.

Forms and Transliterations
וּזְקִ֖יף וזקיף ū·zə·qîp̄ uzeKif ūzəqîp̄
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ezra 6:11
HEB: מִן־ בַּיְתֵ֔הּ וּזְקִ֖יף יִתְמְחֵ֣א עֲלֹ֑הִי
NAS: from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house
KJV: his house, and being set up, let him be hanged
INT: from his house up him be hanged account

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 2211
1 Occurrence


ū·zə·qîp̄ — 1 Occ.

2210
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