Weak
רָפֶהStrong’s H7504rapheh (ra-pheh)
Appears in 4 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Rapheh is the Hebrew word usually translated “slack”, “feeble” and “slack of”. It appears in 4 verses of the Old Testament.
“And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;”
Meaning
- Slack
How it's translated
- slack 2
- feeble 1
- and slack of 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Numbers 1
- 2 Samuel 1
- Job 1
- Isaiah 1
4 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- 2 Samuel 17:2And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
- Job 4:3Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
- Isaiah 35:3Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Hebrew dictionary
רָפֶה rapheh · weak
slack
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “weak” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
WEAK, adjective
[G. The primary sense of the root is to yield, fail, give way, recede, or to be soft.]
- Having little physical strength; feeble.
- Infirm; not healthy; as a weak constitution.
- Not able to bear a great weight; as a weak bridge; weak timber.
- Not strong; not compact; easily broken; as a weak ship; a weak rope.
All definitions and other forms of “weak”
- Not able to resist a violent attack; as a weak fortress.
- Soft; pliant; not stiff.
- Low; small; feeble; as a weak voice.
- Feeble of mind; wanting spirit; wanting vigor of understanding; as a weak prince; a weak magistrate.
- Not much impregnated with ingredients, or with things that excite action, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; as weak broth; weak tea; weak toddy; a weak solution; a weak decoction.
- Not politically powerful; as a weak nation or state.
- Not having force of authority or energy; as a weak government.
- Not having moral force or power to convince; not well supported by truth or reason; as a weak argument.
- Not well supported by argument; as weak reasoning.
- Unfortified; accessible; impressible; as the weak side of a person.
- Not having full conviction or confidence; as weak in faith.
- weak land is land of a light thin soil. [I believe never used in New England.]
WEAK, verb transitive
To make weak [Not used.]
WEAK, verb intransitive
To become weak [Not used.]
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.