Lexical Summary ataph: To cover, to envelop, to faint, to be feeble Original Word: עָטַף Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cover over, fail, faint, feebler, hide self, be overwhelmed, swoon A primitive root; to shroud, i.e. Clothe (whether transitive or reflex.); hence (from the idea of darkness) to languish -- cover (over), fail, faint, feebler, hide self, be overwhelmed, swoon. Brown-Driver-Briggs I. [עָטַף] verb turn aside (Syriac  turn, return; Arabic  incline, bend); — Qal Imperfect3masculine singular יַעֲטֹף turn aside (so Ew Di De BaeKau and others), Job 23:9 he turneth aside to the right (יָמִין; "" שְׂמאֹול בַּעֲשׂתוֺ), read probably 1 singular אֶעֱטֹף Me Bu Du, I turn... and do not see him ( and "" בִּקַּשְׁתִּו ׳שׂ). II. [עָטַף] verb envelop oneself (Aramaism) (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic עֲטַף, Qal Imperfect3masculine singular יַעֲטָףֿ Psalm 73:6; 3masculine plural יַעַטְפוּ Psalm 65:14; — envelop oneself: Psalm 65:15; the valleys cover themselves with corn ("" לָבַשׁ); שִֿׁית חָמָס לָ֑מוֺ׳יַ Psalm 73:6 they put on for themselves (each) a garb of violence. III. [עָטַף] verb be feeble, faint (BaES 27 compare Arabic Qal Imperfect3masculine singular יַעֲטֹף Psalm 102:1, יַעֲטוֺף Isaiah 57:16; Infinitive construct עֲטֹף Psalm 61:3; Passive participle (Ges§ 50f) plural עֲטֻפִים Genesis 30:42, עֲטוּפִים Lamentations 2:19; — literally be feeble Genesis 30:42 (J; opposed to קְשׁוּרִים); הָעֲטוּפִים בְּרָעָב Lamentations 2:19; figurative ׳רוּחַ מִלָּפָנַי יַע Isaiah 57:16 the spirit would faint before me (׳י); בַּעֲטֹף לִבִּי Psalm 61:3; Psalm 101:2 (title). Niph`al Infinitive construct בֵּעָטֵף עוֺלֵל Lamentations 2:11 when infants faint (for ׳בְּהֵע; but read perhaps בַּעֲטֹף Qal, so Buhl). Hiph`il Infinitive construct בְּהַעֲטִיף הַצּאֹן Genesis 30:42 when the flock shewed feebleness. Hithpa`el Imperfect3feminine singular תִּתְעַטֵף Psalm 77:4, ׳וַתִּת Psalm 143:4, תִּתְעַטָ֑ף Psalm 107:5; Infinitive construct הִתְעַטֵּף Psalm 142:4; Jonah 2:8, suffix הִתְעַטְּפָם Lamentations 2:12; — faint, faint away, Lamentations 2:12 (כֶּחָלָל like the wounded); subject רוּחַ Psalm 77:4; Psalm 142:4 (+ עָלַי, see עַל II 1 d), Psalm 143:4 (+ id.); subject נֶפֶשׁ Jonah 2:8 (+ id.), Psalm 107:5 (+ בָּהֶם). Topical Lexicon Overview The verb עָטַף is woven through Scripture with two complementary streams of thought: (1) the outward act of being wrapped, clothed, or covered, and (2) the inward experience of growing weak, faint, or overwhelmed. Together they portray the human condition under trial and the gracious provision of God to sustain and clothe His people. Range of Meaning: Covering and Fainting 1. Physical or visual covering: meadows “clothed with flocks” (Psalm 65:13), violence “covering” the wicked like a garment (Psalm 73:6). The same Hebrew form thus paints both an external scene of wrapping and an internal crisis of collapse, reminding the reader that body and soul alike need the Lord’s upholding. Distribution in the Canon • Torah: Genesis 30:42 (twice) — the “weaker” animals illustrate physical frailty. Sixteen occurrences span pastoral poetry, wisdom, lament, prophecy, and narrative, underscoring a timeless pattern of weakness met by divine mercy. Literal Uses: Weaker Livestock and Garments of the Land Genesis 30:42 employs the verb in animal husbandry; Jacob strategically withholds rods “when the weaker of the flock were breeding,” allowing the fragile to be identified. In Psalm 65:13, fertile valleys are “clothed with grain,” illustrating Creation’s lavish covering, while Psalm 73:6 pictures the arrogant wrapped in their own violence, a dark inversion of God’s intended covering. Figurative Uses: The Soul Overwhelmed • Psalm 61:2: “From the ends of the earth I call to You when my heart grows faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” The fainting heart can be produced by exile, illness, hunger, or spiritual perplexity. In every setting the Psalmists move from honest confession of weakness to renewed trust. Exilic and Post-Exilic Lament Lamentations concentrates the verb in a context of siege and starvation. Infants “faint in the streets” (Lamentations 2:11), cry for bread (2:12), and “faint at every street corner” (2:19). The vocabulary of collapse intensifies the theological question of covenant judgment and hope. Isaiah 57:16 echoes this tension: God will not contend forever, “for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me,” revealing His redemptive restraint. Prophetic Typology and Salvation History Jonah 2:7 situates the verb inside the fish: “As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD.” Jonah’s near-death weakness foreshadows resurrection imagery fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who likewise entered the depths yet was not abandoned. Theological Themes 1. Human frailty is universal and multi-faceted—physical, emotional, spiritual. Pastoral and Devotional Implications • Ministry to the weary: Christians can normalize seasons when “my spirit grows faint” (Psalm 142:3) and guide sufferers toward the Rock higher than themselves. Historical Notes Ancient Near Eastern shepherding, harvest festivals, and siege conditions all frame the occurrences. The polyvalent verb would resonate with agrarian Israel: the same term describing livestock health could depict the failing heart of a besieged mother. Christological Reflection In Gethsemane and on the cross the Messiah embodied every shade of עָטַף. His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Yet through His resurrection He now “clothes” believers with power from on high (Luke 24:49) and guarantees that though hearts may faint, they will not fail eternally (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). Ministerial Takeaways 1. Preach the God who both exposes and covers weakness. Thus the verb עָטַף invites the church to confess weakness, rest beneath God’s covering, and wait for the day when frailty is finally swallowed up by life. Forms and Transliterations בְּהִֽתְעַטְּפָ֤ם בְּהִתְעַטֵּ֤ף בְּהִתְעַטֵּ֬ף בֵּֽעָטֵ֤ף בַּעֲטֹ֣ף בהתעטף בהתעטפם בעטף הָעֲטֻפִים֙ הָעֲטוּפִ֥ים העטופים העטפים וְתִתְעַטֵּ֖ף וַתִּתְעַטֵּ֣ף וּבְהַעֲטִ֥יף ובהעטיף ותתעטף יַֽעֲט֔וֹף יַֽעַטְפוּ־ יַעְטֹ֥ף יַעֲטָף־ יַעֲטֹ֑ף יעטוף יעטף יעטףש־ יעטפו־ תִּתְעַטָּֽף׃ תתעטף׃ ba‘ăṭōp̄ ba·‘ă·ṭōp̄ baaTof bê‘āṭêp̄ bê·‘ā·ṭêp̄ bə·hiṯ·‘aṭ·ṭə·p̄ām bə·hiṯ·‘aṭ·ṭêp̄ beaTef bəhiṯ‘aṭṭêp̄ bəhiṯ‘aṭṭəp̄ām behitatTef behitatteFam hā‘ăṭup̄îm hā‘ăṭūp̄îm hā·‘ă·ṭu·p̄îm hā·‘ă·ṭū·p̄îm haatuFim tiṯ‘aṭṭāp̄ tiṯ·‘aṭ·ṭāp̄ titatTaf ū·ḇə·ha·‘ă·ṭîp̄ ūḇəha‘ăṭîp̄ uvehaaTif vattitatTef vetitatTef wat·tiṯ·‘aṭ·ṭêp̄ wattiṯ‘aṭṭêp̄ wə·ṯiṯ·‘aṭ·ṭêp̄ wəṯiṯ‘aṭṭêp̄ ya‘·ṭōp̄ ya‘ăṭāp̄ōši- ya‘ăṭōp̄ ya‘ăṭōwp̄ ya‘aṭp̄ū- ya‘ṭōp̄ ya·‘ă·ṭā·p̄ō·ši- ya·‘ă·ṭō·wp̄ ya·‘ă·ṭōp̄ ya·‘aṭ·p̄ū- yaatafoShi yaatfu yaaTof yaTofLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 30:42 HEB: וּבְהַעֲטִ֥יף הַצֹּ֖אן לֹ֣א NAS: but when the flock was feeble, he did not put KJV: But when the cattle were feeble, he put [them] not in: INT: was feeble the flock did not Genesis 30:42 Job 23:9 Psalm 61:2 Psalm 65:13 Psalm 73:6 Psalm 77:3 Psalm 102:1 Psalm 107:5 Psalm 142:3 Psalm 143:4 Isaiah 57:16 Lamentations 2:11 Lamentations 2:12 Lamentations 2:19 Jonah 2:7 16 Occurrences |
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; Ethiopic 
covered, also noun web, texture); — 
perish, flag); —