Lexical Summary aqob: Deceitful, crooked Original Word: עָקֹב Strong's Exhaustive Concordance crooked, deceitful, polluted From aqab; in the original sense, a knoll (as swelling up); in the denominative sense (transitive) fraudulent or (intransitive) tracked -- crooked, deceitful, polluted. see HEBREW aqab Brown-Driver-Briggs I. עָקֹב adjective 1 insidious, deceitful, Jeremiah 17:9 עָקֹב הַלֵּב מִכֹּל. 2 foot-tracked (denominative from I. עָקֵב) Hosea 6:8 גִּלְעָד קִרְיַת מֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן עֲֹקֻבָּה מִדָּם. II. עָקֹב adjective steep, hilly (see √; compare Topical Lexicon Semantic Nuance and Imagery While often rendered “crooked,” “deceitful,” or “polluted,” the term carries a single idea: that which is bent out of true alignment—whether a roadway, a human heart, or a covenant community. It evokes a concrete picture of twisting from God-given order, contrasting sharply with the straight, level, and pure paths that characterize righteousness (Proverbs 3:6; Isaiah 26:7). Canonical Occurrences 1. Isaiah 40:4: “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.” Here עָקֹב depicts rugged terrain awaiting divine re-grading. The prophet announces a royal highway for the coming glory of the LORD, portraying salvation history as the rectifying of all that is warped. Theological Themes • Divine Rectification: Only the LORD can transform the crooked (Isaiah 45:2; Luke 3:5), culminating in the work of the Messiah who declares, “I am the way” (John 14:6). Historical and Prophetic Significance All three texts arise during periods of covenant crisis—Assyrian threat (Isaiah, Hosea) and looming Babylonian exile (Jeremiah). The prophets employ עָקֹב to indict Israel yet simultaneously announce hope: the LORD intends to straighten hearts and histories, whether through remnant restoration (Isaiah 40), the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), or eventual messianic atonement (Hosea 3:5). Christological Fulfillment John the Baptist applies Isaiah 40:4 to his own ministry (Luke 3:4-6), presenting Jesus as the One who levels the crooked. At the cross, the deceitfulness of human hearts meets the sinless straightness of the Son of God (1 Peter 2:22). In resurrection power, He begins the cosmic renovation Isaiah foresaw (Romans 8:20-21). Practical Ministry Applications • Preaching: Expose the innate crookedness of the heart while exalting Christ as the only cure. Intertextual Echoes The vocabulary of crookedness finds New Testament counterparts: skolios (“crooked,” Philippians 2:15) and dolos (“deceit,” 1 Peter 2:1). The Septuagint often translates עָקֹב with these terms, linking Old and New Testament theology of integrity and truth. Conclusion עָקֹב functions as a mirror, a map, and a promise. It mirrors humanity’s distorted condition, maps the historical consequences of that distortion, and promises a future in which the crooked is forever made straight by the redeeming hand of God. Forms and Transliterations הֶֽעָקֹב֙ העקב עֲקֻבָּ֖ה עָקֹ֥ב עקב עקבה ‘ā·qōḇ ‘ă·qub·bāh ‘āqōḇ ‘ăqubbāh aKo akubBah he‘āqōḇ he·‘ā·qōḇ heaKoLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 40:4 HEB: יִשְׁפָּ֑לוּ וְהָיָ֤ה הֶֽעָקֹב֙ לְמִישׁ֔וֹר וְהָרְכָסִ֖ים NAS: be made low; And let the rough ground become KJV: shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, INT: be made become the rough A plain and the rugged Jeremiah 17:9 Hosea 6:8 3 Occurrences |
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difficult mountain path, Qor 90:11 
hill); —