Lexical Summary zeqaph: To raise, to lift up Original Word: זְקַף 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 It depicts the forcible lifting of a condemned man onto a beam withdrawn from his own house, culminating in public impalement.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. 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). 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. Forms and Transliterations וּזְקִ֖יף וזקיף ū·zə·qîp̄ uzeKif ūzəqîp̄Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman'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 |
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