To decree
חָקַקStrong’s H2710chaqaq (cha-qaq)
Appears in 19 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Chaqaq is the Hebrew word usually translated “commander s staff my”, “when marked out he” and “ruler s staff”. It appears in 19 verses of the Old Testament.
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
Meaning
- To cut out, decree, inscribe, set, engrave, portray, govern(Qal) · (Poel) · (Pual) something decreed, the law (participle) · (Hophal) to be inscribed
How it's translated
- commander s staff my 2
- when marked out he 2
- and a ruler s staff 1
- with a ruler s staff 1
- a commander 1
- for commanders of 1
- commanders 1
- so they may be inscribed 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Isaiah 5
- Proverbs 4
- Judges 2
- Psalms 2
- Ezekiel 2
- Genesis 1
9 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Numbers 21:18The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
- Deuteronomy 33:21And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
- Judges 5:9My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.
- Judges 5:14Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.
- Job 19:23Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
- Psalms 60:7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Hebrew dictionary
חָקַק chaqaq · to decree
1) to cut out, decree, inscribe, set, engrave, portray, govern 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to cut in 1a2) to cut in or on, cut upon, engrave, inscribe 1a3) to trace, mark out 1a4) to engrave, inscribe (of a law) 1b) (Poel) 1b1) to inscribe, enact, decree 1b2) one who decrees, lawgiver (participle) 1c) (Pual) something decreed, the law (participle) 1d) (Hophal) to be inscribed
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “decree” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
DECREE, noun
[Latin To judge; to divide.]
- Judicial decision, or determination of a litigated cause; as a decree of the court of chancery.
- In the civil law, a determination or judgment of the emperor on a suit between parties.
- An edict or law made by a council for regulating any business within their jurisdiction; as the decrees of ecclesiastical councils.
- In general, an order, edict or law made by a superior as a rule to govern inferiors.“There went a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed” Luke 2:1
All definitions and other forms of “decree”
- Established law, or rule.“He made a decree for the rain” Job 28:26
- In theology, predetermined purpose of God; the purpose or determination of an immutable Being, whose plan of operations is, like himself, unchangeable.
DECREE, verb transitive
- To determine judicially; to resolve by sentence; as, the court decreed that the property should be restored; or they decreed a restoration of the property.
- To determine or resolve legislatively; to fix or appoint; to set or constitute by edict or in purpose.“Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established” Job 22:28
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.