6375. piq

Lexical Summary

piq: Opening, aperture

Original Word: פִיק
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: piyq
Pronunciation: peek
Phonetic Spelling: (peek)
KJV: smite together
NASB: knocking
Word Origin: [from H6329 (פּוּק - obtains)]

1. a tottering

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

a tottering, smite together

From puwq; a tottering -- smite together.

see HEBREW puwq

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from puq
Definition
tottering, staggering
NASB Translation
knocking (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

מִּיק, מִּק noun [masculine] id. literal; — מִּק בִּרְכַּיִם Nahum 2:11 tottering of knees (so Baer Gi; מִּיק van d. H).

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Setting

The single appearance of פִיק occurs in Nahum 2:10, inside the prophet’s vision of Nineveh’s overthrow:

“Desolation, decimation, devastation! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale.” (Berean Standard Bible)

The word pictures knees that give way under sheer terror. Placed between “hearts melt” and “bodies tremble,” it amplifies the total collapse of human strength when the LORD’s judgment crashes in on an unrepentant empire.

Literary Imagery

1. Physical collapse – Knees were a cultural symbol of stability (Job 4:4) and blessing (Genesis 30:3). When they buckle, every other member follows.
2. Public humiliation – Warriors famed for courage are shown quivering. The empire that once shook nations now shudders before the Almighty.
3. Echoes in Scripture – Though expressed with other Hebrew terms, the same image recurs: “All knees will become weak as water” (Ezekiel 7:17); “Then the king’s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints gave way and his knees began knocking together” (Daniel 5:6). Both reinforce the motif introduced by Nahum: no earthly power can stand when God arises.

Historical Significance

Nahum prophesied c. 663–612 BC, during Assyria’s zenith. Assyrian records thrill over conquests accomplished through iron discipline. The prophet’s lone use of פִיק strikes that self-advertisement at its core: the knees of Assyria’s elite will clatter like loose door-hinges. Archaeological excavations of Nineveh’s fall in 612 BC verify a swift, fiery collapse, matching the prophet’s portrayal of instant panic.

Theological Significance

1. Sovereign judgment – פִיק dramatizes total inability: human resolve collapses before divine wrath.
2. Moral accountability – The trembling is not random terror but a direct answer to long-standing cruelty (Nahum 3:1).
3. Comfort for the oppressed – Judah, crushed under Assyrian tribute, hears that its tormentor will soon tremble. The same chapter closes with the promise, “For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob” (Nahum 2:2).
4. Eschatological foreshadow – Final judgment carries the same imagery: “Then the kings of the earth… said to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’” (Revelation 6:15-16). Nahum’s snapshot previews that ultimate reckoning.

Applications in Ministry

• Preaching on divine justice – פִיק offers a vivid, concrete picture to awaken complacent hearts.
• Pastoral care – While judgment imagery can sober the arrogant, Isaiah 35:3 and Hebrews 12:12 call believers to “steady the knees that give way,” proving that the Lord who makes knees tremble in judgment also strengthens them in grace.
• Prayer and worship – Nahum’s oracle encourages humble awe: the same God who topples empires secures His people.

Related Biblical Themes

Weak knees: Isaiah 35:3; Ezekiel 7:17; Daniel 5:6; Hebrews 12:12

Fear of the LORD: Psalm 76:7-9; Jeremiah 10:10

Fall of proud nations: Isaiah 14:4-23; Obadiah 3-4

Together these references reinforce the message embodied in פִיק: when God speaks, every fortress—political, military, or personal—must yield, and every knee, literal or figurative, will acknowledge His supremacy.

Forms and Transliterations

וּפִ֣ק ופק ū·p̄iq uFik ūp̄iq

Englishman's Concordance

Nahum 2:10
HEB: וְלֵ֨ב נָמֵ֜ס וּפִ֣ק בִּרְכַּ֗יִם וְחַלְחָלָה֙
NAS: and knees knocking! Also anguish
KJV: and the knees smite together, and much pain
INT: Hearts are melting knocking and knees anguish

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 6375
1 Occurrence

ū·p̄iq — 1 Occ.