Lexical Summary araq: To flee, to escape, to run away Original Word: עָרַק Strong's Exhaustive Concordance fleeing, sinew A primitive root; to gnaw, i.e. (figuratively) eat (by hyberbole); also (participle) a pain -- fleeing, sinew. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to gnaw NASB Translation gnaw (1), gnawing (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [עָרַק] verb gnaw (Arabic  id.; Syriac  Pa`el); **Syriac in Lexicons, and Pa`el; but Syriac usually flee, as ᵑ7. — Qal Participle plural הַעֹרְקִים צִיָּה Job 30:3 they who gnaw the dry (ground; figurative of scanty subsistence); suffix עֹרְקַי Job 30:17 my gnawing (pains) do not sleep. Topical Lexicon Semantic and Symbolic Significance ערק paints a picture of something being steadily eaten away from within. Its nuance is not a single bite but a relentless, abrasive grinding—whether of teeth against painfully dry food or of pain against weary bones. The term therefore speaks of protracted misery rather than sudden calamity, and of inner depletion rather than outward assault. Occurrences in Job 1. Job 30:3 — Job recalls outcasts who “gnawed the parched land, in the desolation and ruin.” Their hunger is so severe that the very landscape is figuratively chewed to survive. The verb underscores both their skeletal thinness and the remorseless struggle for existence. Literary Function in Wisdom Literature By employing a term of constant erosion, the book of Job intensifies its contrast between past prosperity and present desolation. The verb links external deprivation (hunger) with internal torment (pain) and thus allows Job to present a holistic picture of suffering. It also fits the broader Wisdom theme that righteousness does not guarantee immunity from sustained affliction. Historical Background The iron-age Near Eastern world knew drought-induced famines and wasting diseases. ערק evokes the grim realism of those crises: barren soil, broken bodies, slow death. Job’s description would resonate with ancient readers familiar with both actual famine conditions and the medical reality of chronic pain without modern relief. Theological Implications • Human frailty: The image of “gnawing” reminds the reader that even the strongest flesh is subject to gradual decay (Psalm 103:14). Ministry Applications 1. Empathy toward chronic sufferers — The term validates the legitimacy of long-term, low-grade agony. Pastors and caregivers should recognize that not all pain is acute; some “gnaws.” Christological Perspective The imagery finds ultimate resolution in the Messiah’s own experience. Isaiah 53:5 portrays wounds that secure our healing; the cross absorbs the cumulative, gnawing consequence of sin’s curse. Thus Hebrews 4:15–16 calls believers to bring every lingering pain to a High Priest who has felt the persistent bite of suffering yet triumphed over it. Summary ערק encapsulates the slow, grinding aspect of human affliction. In Job it frames both social misery and personal agony, pushing readers to grapple with questions of justice, endurance, and hope. The verb’s bleak realism is not the last word; Scripture places it inside a redemptive arc in which the God who allows the gnawing also promises to end it. Forms and Transliterations הַֽעֹרְקִ֥ים הערקים וְ֝עֹרְקַ֗י וערקי ha‘ōrəqîm ha·‘ō·rə·qîm haoreKim veoreKai wə‘ōrəqay wə·‘ō·rə·qayLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 30:3 HEB: וּבְכָפָ֗ן גַּ֫לְמ֥וּד הַֽעֹרְקִ֥ים צִיָּ֑ה אֶ֝֗מֶשׁ NAS: they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry KJV: [they were] solitary; fleeing into the wilderness INT: and famine are gaunt gnaw the dry night Job 30:17 2 Occurrences |
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