4455. malqowach

Lexical Summary

malqowach: Spoil, plunder, prey

Original Word: מַלְקוֹחַ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: malqowach
Pronunciation: mal-KOH-akh
Phonetic Spelling: (mal-ko'-akh)
KJV: booty, jaws, prey
Word Origin: [from H3947 (לָקַח - take)]

1. transitively (in dual) the jaws (as taking food)
2. intransitively, spoil (and captives) (as taken)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

booty, jaws, prey

From laqach; transitively (in dual) the jaws (as taking food); intransitively, spoil (and captives) (as taken) -- booty, jaws, prey.

see HEBREW laqach

Brown-Driver-Briggs

I. מַלְקוֺחַ noun masculine^{Isaiah 49:25} booty, prey (compare לָקַח

9); — ׳הֲיֻקַּח מִגִּבּוֺר מ Isaiah 49:24 ("" שְׁבִי), compare Isaiah 49:25 ("" id.); Numbers 31:26 ("" id.), Numbers 31:11 ("" שָׁלָל), Numbers 31:12 ("" id. + שְׁבִי, i.e. here, only, distinguished from captives), Numbers 31:32 ("" יֶתֶר הַבָּ֔ז), Numbers 31:27.

II. [מַלְקוֺחַ] noun [masculine] jaw (as taking, seizing food); — dual suffix וּלְשׁוֺנִי מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֺחָ֑י Psalm 22:16 and my tongue is made to cleave to my jaws, i.e. my gums.

Topical Lexicon

Overview of מַלְקוֹחַ (malqoach)

The noun pictures “that which is taken”—whether human captives or material goods—after a successful assault. It therefore stands at the intersection of conflict, just distribution, and eventual deliverance, providing an instructive window on the mercy and justice of God in the midst of warfare and oppression.

Occurrences

• Numbers 31:11, 12, 26, 27, 32
• Psalm 22:15
• Isaiah 49:24, 25

Material Spoils in Covenant Warfare (Numbers 31)

Israel’s only narrative use of malqoach lies in the Midianite campaign. Having executed the Lord’s vengeance, “They took all the plunder and all the spoils, including both people and animals” (Numbers 31:11). The passage stresses:

1. Accountability: Moses, Eleazar, and the tribal leaders must “take a count of what was captured” (Numbers 31:26).
2. Equity: “Divide the plunder between the soldiers who fought in the battle and the rest of the congregation” (Numbers 31:27).
3. Worship: A tribute from the warriors’ share is dedicated to the Lord (Numbers 31:28–29).

Malqoach here is not raw greed but a regulated stewardship. War’s profits become a vehicle for supporting sanctuary ministry, illustrating that victory and its proceeds belong to God and must serve His purposes.

Figures of Human Helplessness and Messianic Suffering (Psalm 22)

David’s lament employs malqoach metaphorically, portraying himself as prey in the jaws of ruthless attackers. The psalm climaxes in a prophetic portrait of the crucified Messiah, whose apparent “seizure” by violent men becomes the very means of universal praise (Psalm 22:22–31). Malqoach, therefore, foreshadows the paradox of the cross: the One seemingly taken is actually securing eternal spoils—redeemed lives.

Promise of Zion’s Deliverance (Isaiah 49)

The prophetic pair of questions and answers magnifies divine redemption:

“Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?” (Isaiah 49:24)

“For this is what the LORD says: ‘Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the fierce will be retrieved…’” (Isaiah 49:25).

Here malqoach turns from end-product of oppression to trophy of God’s salvation. No power—political or spiritual—can permanently hold what He resolves to reclaim.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Ownership—Spoils belong to the One who grants victory.
2. Justice and Compassion—Captives are not commodities; God mandates their humane treatment or release.
3. Redemption Pattern—Physical rescue of malqoach prefigures spiritual deliverance in Christ.
4. Stewardship—Material gain must be brought under covenant accountability and generosity.

Intercanonical Echoes

• Jesus’ parable of binding the strong man and “plundering his house” (Mark 3:27) echoes Isaiah 49, portraying the Messiah as the ultimate liberator of malqoach.
• Paul cites Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4:8, “When He ascended on high, He led captives on high, and gave gifts to men,” expanding the concept from military booty to spiritual gifts distributed to the church.
• Colossians 2:15 views the cross as God’s public stripping of hostile powers, turning believers into the victor’s malqoach.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Warfare imagery cautions against self-aggrandizement; victories and resources are to be consecrated for gospel advance.
• The church is called to seek justice for modern “captives”—human trafficking victims, the persecuted, and any oppressed group—mirroring God’s resolve in Isaiah 49.
• Personal deliverance accounts reflect the same pattern: what once served the enemy becomes reclaimed talent and testimony in service to Christ.

Summary

Malqoach traces a trajectory from battlefield spoil to spiritual liberation. Whether regulating Israel’s war gains, expressing David’s agony, or promising Zion’s vindication, the term ultimately points to the Lord who alone can seize back what the enemy holds and redistribute it for His glory and the good of His people.

Forms and Transliterations

הַמַּלְק֑וֹחַ הַמַּלְק֔וֹחַ הַמַּלְק֛וֹחַ המלקוח וּמַלְק֥וֹחַ ומלקוח מַלְק֑וֹחַ מַלְק֙וֹחַ֙ מַלְקוֹחָ֑י מלקוח מלקוחי ham·mal·qō·w·aḥ hammalKoach hammalqōwaḥ mal·qō·w·aḥ mal·qō·w·ḥāy malKoach malkoChai malqōwaḥ malqōwḥāy ū·mal·qō·w·aḥ umalKoach ūmalqōwaḥ

Englishman's Concordance

Numbers 31:11
HEB: וְאֵ֖ת כָּל־ הַמַּלְק֑וֹחַ בָּאָדָ֖ם וּבַבְּהֵמָֽה׃
NAS: and all the prey, both of man
KJV: all the spoil, and all the prey, [both] of men
INT: the spoil and all the prey of man beast

Numbers 31:12
HEB: הַשְּׁבִ֧י וְאֶת־ הַמַּלְק֛וֹחַ וְאֶת־ הַשָּׁלָ֖ל
NAS: the captives and the prey and the spoil
KJV: the captives, and the prey, and the spoil,
INT: of Israel the captives and the prey and the spoil to

Numbers 31:26
HEB: אֵ֣ת רֹ֤אשׁ מַלְק֙וֹחַ֙ הַשְּׁבִ֔י בָּאָדָ֖ם
NAS: a count of the booty that was captured,
KJV: the sum of the prey that was taken,
INT: take and the heads of the booty was captured of man

Numbers 31:27
HEB: וְחָצִ֙יתָ֙ אֶת־ הַמַּלְק֔וֹחַ בֵּ֚ין תֹּפְשֵׂ֣י
NAS: and divide the booty between
KJV: And divide the prey into two parts;
INT: and divide the booty between took

Numbers 31:32
HEB: וַיְהִי֙ הַמַּלְק֔וֹחַ יֶ֣תֶר הַבָּ֔ז
NAS: Now the booty that remained
KJV: And the booty, [being] the rest
INT: become and the booty the rest of the prey

Psalm 22:15
HEB: וּ֭לְשׁוֹנִי מֻדְבָּ֣ק מַלְקוֹחָ֑י וְֽלַעֲפַר־ מָ֥וֶת
NAS: cleaves to my jaws; And You lay
KJV: cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought
INT: and my tongue cleaves to my jaws the dust of death

Isaiah 49:24
HEB: הֲיֻקַּ֥ח מִגִּבּ֖וֹר מַלְק֑וֹחַ וְאִם־ שְׁבִ֥י
NAS: Can the prey be taken
KJV: Shall the prey be taken
INT: be taken the mighty the prey Or the captives

Isaiah 49:25
HEB: גִבּוֹר֙ יֻקָּ֔ח וּמַלְק֥וֹחַ עָרִ֖יץ יִמָּלֵ֑ט
NAS: will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant
KJV: shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible
INT: of the mighty will be taken and the prey of the tyrant will be rescued

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4455
8 Occurrences

ham·mal·qō·w·aḥ — 4 Occ.
mal·qō·w·aḥ — 2 Occ.
mal·qō·w·ḥāy — 1 Occ.
ū·mal·qō·w·aḥ — 1 Occ.