Lexical Summary ki: for, because, when, if, surely, indeed Original Word: כִּי Strong's Exhaustive Concordance burning From kavah; a brand or scar -- burning. see HEBREW kavah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom kavah Definition a burning, branding NASB Translation branding (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs כִּי noun [masculine] burning, branding (for form, compare רִי from רָוָה, אִי, צִי, עִי: Köii. 1. 64) — only כִּי תַּחַת יֹ֑פִי Isaiah 3:24 branding instead of beauty, in judgment on women of Jerusalem. II. כִּי, branding, see below כוה. Topical Lexicon Occurrence Appears once in the Old Testament, Isaiah 3:24. Biblical Setting Isaiah 3:16-26 pronounces judgment on the proud “daughters of Zion.” The climactic line reads, “So it will be: Instead of fragrance there will be a stench, instead of a belt, a rope, instead of well-styled hair, baldness, instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty” (Isaiah 3:24). כִּי marks the final, most humiliating reversal—beauty ravaged by a permanent brand. Historical and Cultural Background • Branding in the Ancient Near East was inflicted on slaves, prisoners of war, and criminals, leaving an indelible scar of ownership and disgrace. Semantic Nuances Though a hapax legomenon, the noun carries the idea of a scorch or burn that produces a lasting mark. It signals: Symbolic and Theological Import Judgment and Reversal Isaiah’s five-fold “instead of” pattern ends with כִּי, spotlighting the most severe humiliation. External beauty—once a sign of divine favor—is replaced by visible evidence of sin’s consequences. Holiness and Defilement Branding declares a person unclean and excluded from the sphere of holiness. The verse exposes the futility of outward adornment without inner obedience (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Peter 3:3-4). Foreshadowing Redemption Later Isaiah reverses every loss: the Lord grants “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3). The disfigurement anticipated by כִּי finds its ultimate remedy in the Servant whose visage was “marred more than any man” (Isaiah 52:14), enabling His people’s restoration. Echoes in the New Testament • Romans 6:16-18 contrasts slavery to sin with slavery to righteousness, echoing the ownership motif. Practical Ministry Reflections 1. Warning against pride: outward splendor cannot shield from God’s discipline. Related Hebrew Terms אוֹת (“sign,” Genesis 4:15); שָׁרֵט (“incision,” Leviticus 19:28); צָרַב (“burn/scorch,” Isaiah 43:2). See Also Isaiah 61:3; Deuteronomy 28:27-37; Galatians 6:17; Revelation 14:1 Forms and Transliterations כִּי־ כי־ ki kî-Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 3:24 HEB: מַחֲגֹ֣רֶת שָׂ֑ק כִּי־ תַ֖חַת יֹֽפִי׃ NAS: of sackcloth; And branding instead KJV: of sackcloth; [and] burning instead of beauty. INT: A donning of sackcloth and branding instead of beauty |
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