Lexical Summary qo: Line, measuring line Original Word: קוֹא Strong's Exhaustive Concordance spue out, vomit out, up, up again Or qayah (Jer. 25:27) {kaw-yaw'}; a primitive root; to vomit -- spue (out), vomit (out, up, up again). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originsee qi. Brown-Driver-Briggs [קִיא NöZMG xxxvii (1883), 539] verb vomit up, spue out, disgorge (Late Hebrew id., Hiph`il; Assyrian ‡â°u, spit MeissnSuppl.83; Arabic  vomit; Ethiopic [ ]  vomit); — Qal Participle f. קָאָה Leviticus 18:28, but read probably קָ֫אָה Perfect3feminine singular (Di Baen); Imperfect ( Qal or Hiph`il) 3 masculine singular וַיָּקֵא Jonah 2:11, suffix וַיְקִיאֶנוּ Job 20:15; 3feminine singular תָּקִיא Leviticus 18:28; Leviticus 20:22, וַתָּקִא Leviticus 18:25; 2masculine singular Sf. תְּקִיאֶנָּה Proverbs 23:8; Hiph`il Perfect suffix consecutive וַהֲקֵאתוֺ Proverbs 25:16; all vomit up: — with accusative, literal Proverbs 23:8; Proverbs 25:16; Jonah 2:11; figurative of land casting out inhabitants Leviticus 18:25,28 (twice in verse); Leviticus 20:22 (all H); of disgorging riches Job 20:15. [קָיָה] verb vomit (si vera lectio= קיא, Ges§ 76h Köii.1, 586); — Qal Imperative masculine plural וּקֵיוּJeremiah 25:27 Qr (Kt וקוו), be drunken and vomit (? error for וְקִיאוּ). קִיטוֺר see קטר. קִים, קִימָה see קוּם. קִימוֺשׁ see קִמּוֺשׂ קין (√ of following; compare Arabic Topical Lexicon Meaning and Imageryקוֹא depicts the involuntary act of vomiting. Scripture employs the term concretely for what the body expels and figuratively for what a person, a land, or a creature rejects in disgust. The picture is vivid: what is unclean or excessive cannot be retained but must be forcefully cast out. Occurrences in Scripture • Leviticus 18:25 – “The land has become defiled; so I am punishing it for its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.” Theological and Moral Themes 1. Divine Holiness and Judgment In Leviticus the land’s “vomit” dramatizes the unyielding holiness of God. Moral pollution is no passive matter; covenant violation provokes an active reaction in creation that mirrors the justice of its Creator (compare Genesis 3:17–19; Romans 8:20–22). 2. Wealth and Idolatry Job 20:15 reveals that ill-gotten gain cannot be digested. What the wicked hoard will be disgorged at God’s command (see Proverbs 11:4; Luke 12:20). קוֹא thus underlines the futility of trusting in riches. 3. Moderation and Self-Control Proverbs employs קוֹא to curb gluttony and sycophancy. Even honey, a good gift, becomes loathsome when consumed without restraint (Proverbs 25:16). True wisdom receives God’s gifts gratefully yet temperately. 4. Mercy in Mission Jonah’s expulsion from the fish is both judgment and grace. The prophet cannot remain in rebellion; nor is he destroyed. He is cast onto land for renewed obedience, foreshadowing resurrection life and Gospel proclamation to the nations (Matthew 12:40–41). Cultural and Historical Background Ancient Near Eastern texts occasionally picture land “vomiting” its offenders, but only Scripture grounds the metaphor in the moral character of God. Israel’s agrarian context heightened awareness that fertility and habitation depended on covenant faithfulness (Deuteronomy 28). The priests who taught Leviticus would therefore hear קוֹא as a sober covenant sanction, not mere rhetoric. Practical Application for Ministry • Preaching: Use the Levitical passages to press the reality of sin’s defilement and the necessity of repentance. Christological Reflection Jesus Christ, the sinless One, bore our uncleanness outside the camp (Hebrews 13:12–13). At Calvary He endured the ultimate rejection so that believers might never be spewed out. In Revelation 3:16 the risen Lord warns the lukewarm church, echoing קוֹא, yet even there He stands at the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). Thus the imagery of vomit, though graphic, finally magnifies grace: what should be cast away is cleansed and welcomed through the atoning work of Christ. Intertextual Echoes קוֹא links the Torah, Wisdom literature, Prophets, Gospels, and Apocalypse. Its recurrent motif of expulsion for sin and restoration for repentance showcases the unified witness of Scripture that “the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3) and intolerant of evil, yet yearning to be “set free from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21). Forms and Transliterations וַהֲקֵֽאתֽוֹ׃ וַיְקִאֶ֑נּוּ וַיָּקֵ֥א וַתָּקִ֥א והקאתו׃ ויקא ויקאנו ותקא קָאָ֛ה קאה תְקִיאֶ֑נָּה תָקִ֤יא תקיא תקיאנה kaAh qā’āh qā·’āh ṯā·qî taKi ṯāqî ṯə·qî·’en·nāh tekiEnnah ṯəqî’ennāh vahaKeTo vaiyaKe vattaKi vaykiEnnu wa·hă·qê·ṯōw wahăqêṯōw wat·tā·qi wattāqi way·qi·’en·nū way·yā·qê wayqi’ennū wayyāqêLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Leviticus 18:25 HEB: עֲוֹנָ֖הּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וַתָּקִ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ אֶת־ KJV: thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. INT: punishment and out the land inhabitants Leviticus 18:28 Leviticus 18:28 Leviticus 20:22 Job 20:15 Proverbs 23:8 Proverbs 25:16 Jonah 2:10 8 Occurrences |
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fit together, fabricate (make artificially), forge (compare WetzstSyr.Dreschtafel (1873) 297), whence 
worker in iron, Assyrian ‡inai (MeissnZA viii (1893), 82), ᵑ7 קֵינָאָה, Syriac 
, Palmyrene קיניא (plural) metal-worker, compare Biblical Hebrew תּוּבַל קַיִן; also Arabic 
slave-girl, and woman-singer, lute-player (from skill); compare Ethiopic 
song, singing, Syriac 
, hymn, elegy; Arabic verb IV Dozy; Late Hebrew קִינָה = Biblical Hebrew; compare also BuZAW ii (1882), 28).