8243. shaq

Lexical Summary

shaq: To drink, to give to drink

Original Word: שָׁק
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: shaq
Pronunciation: shäk
Phonetic Spelling: (shawk)
KJV: leg
NASB: legs
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H7785 (שׁוֹק - thigh)]

1. the leg

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

leg

(Aramaic) corresponding to showq; the leg -- leg.

see HEBREW showq

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to shoq
Definition
(lower) leg
NASB Translation
legs (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[שָׁק] noun [masculine] lower leg; — plural suffix שָׁקוֺ֫הִי Daniel 2:33.

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Single Occurrence

Strong’s Hebrew (Aramaic) 8243 שָׁק designates the “leg” or “thigh.” It appears only once, in Daniel 2:33, within the Aramaic section that records Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statue.

Scriptural Setting

Daniel 2:33: “Its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.”

The verse belongs to the prophet Daniel’s explanation of the statue’s four successive parts—gold, silver, bronze, iron/clay—representing a succession of earthly kingdoms ultimately superseded by the eternal kingdom of God (Daniel 2:44-45).

Symbolic Significance of the Legs of Iron

1. Strength and Military Might
• Iron, the hardest known metal of the ancient Near East, conveys unprecedented military power (compare Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27).
• Rome, historically famed for its iron weaponry and disciplined legions, fits the imagery of unyielding legs that bear the weight of the statue.

2. Support and Continuity
• Legs are load-bearing; they sustain the body’s stature. Likewise, the fourth kingdom carried forward and extended the influence of its predecessors.
• The duality (two legs) has often been connected to the eventual East–West division of the Roman Empire (e.g., Constantinople and Rome).

3. Transition to Vulnerability
• While iron legs appear invincible, the mixed iron-and-clay feet reveal intrinsic weakness and fragmentation—an empire strong yet internally brittle.
• This prepares for the “stone cut without hands” that crushes the feet, toppling the entire image (Daniel 2:34-35), underscoring that human dominion, however strong, cannot endure before God’s kingdom.

Theological Themes

• Sovereignty of God: The vision demonstrates that every kingdom—even one of iron—exists only by divine permission and will fall at His appointed time (Daniel 2:21).
• Eschatological Hope: The impermanent legs point forward to the indestructible “mountain” filling the whole earth (Daniel 2:35), a foreshadowing of Messiah’s reign.
• Human Limitation: Though technologically advanced, iron ultimately yields to the divine stone, reminding believers that worldly strength is finite (Isaiah 40:15-17).

Related Biblical Imagery of Legs and Thighs

• Strength and Speed – “He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man” (Psalm 147:10); true power is in the Lord, not human prowess.
• Beauty and Stability – “His legs are pillars of marble” (Song of Solomon 5:15) speaks of enduring splendor.
• Moral Walk – Lame legs in Proverbs 26:7 mirror spiritual inconsistency; healthy legs symbolize upright conduct (Hebrews 12:12-13).

Historical Reception

Early church fathers (e.g., Jerome) and Reformers alike recognized the iron legs as Rome. Premillennial interpreters view the mixed feet as a revived yet fragile confederation preceding Christ’s return, while amillennial readers see them as emblematic of the ongoing instability of worldly rule. All agree on the climactic victory of the Stone.

Ministry Application

1. Discipleship and Worldview: Teaching Daniel 2 through שָׁק encourages believers to see history as linear, purposeful, and God-directed.
2. Evangelism: The vision contrasts fleeting earthly power with the everlasting gospel, providing a bridge to proclaim Christ’s kingdom.
3. Personal Stability: As the statue’s iron gives way to clay, Christians are admonished to anchor their confidence in the unshakable Rock (Matthew 7:24-25).

Summary

Though שָׁק appears only once, it stands at a strategic hinge of biblical prophecy. The iron legs symbolize formidable yet finite human empire, underscoring God’s sovereignty and pointing inexorably to the establishment of an eternal kingdom that will “never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44).

Forms and Transliterations

שָׁק֖וֹהִי שקוהי šā·qō·w·hî šāqōwhî shaKohi

Englishman's Concordance

Daniel 2:33
HEB: שָׁק֖וֹהִי דִּ֣י פַרְזֶ֑ל
NAS: its legs of iron, its feet
KJV: His legs of iron, his feet
INT: legs forasmuch of iron

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 8243
1 Occurrence

šā·qō·w·hî — 1 Occ.