H2263 H2263
To clasp or embrace; used of greeting someone warmly in one's arms, or of folding the hands in idleness.
A verb expressing the physical act of wrapping one's arms around another person, primarily in contexts of affectionate greeting and reunion. Jacob embraces Laban (Gen 29:13), Esau embraces Jacob (Gen 33:4), and the aged Israel embraces Joseph's sons (Gen 48:10). The Piel intensive conveys warmth and deliberateness. A distinct idiomatic use appears in Ecclesiastes 4:5, where the fool 'folds his hands' in laziness, a metaphor attested across wisdom literature. Spanish 'abrazar' and Hindi 'gale lagaanaa' consistently render the interpersonal embrace, while the idleness idiom receives specialized vocabulary like English 'folding' and Spanish 'cruza.'
Senses
1. embrace a person — The primary sense of clasping a person in one's arms as an expression of greeting, love, or reunion. The Piel stem intensifies the action in the patriarchal narratives: Laban runs to embrace Jacob (Gen 29:13), Esau falls on Jacob's neck and embraces him (Gen 33:4), and Israel embraces Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen 48:10). The Elisha cycle uses the Qal participle for the Shunammite woman holding her promised son (2 Kgs 4:16). Proverbs 5:20 warns against embracing a foreign woman, and Song of Songs 2:6 and 8:3 use it for romantic embrace. Multilingual evidence is strikingly uniform: Spanish 'abrazar,' French 'embrasser,' and German 'umarmte' all denote the same warm physical gesture. 12×
AR["تُعَانِقُهَا", "تِحَبِّقِينِي", "حَاضِنَةٌ", "عَانَقُوا", "عَنِ-", "فَعَانَقَهُ", "لِلْعِنَاقِ", "وَ-تُعَانِقُ", "وَ-عانَقَ-هُ", "وَعَانَقَهُمَا", "يَحْضُنُونَ-", "يُعَانِقُنِي"]·ben["আমাকে-জড়িয়ে-ধরুক।", "আর-আলিঙ্গন-করল", "আর-জড়িয়ে-ধরল-তাকে", "আর-জড়িয়ে-ধরলেন", "আলিঙ্গন-করছ", "ও-জড়িয়ে-ধরবে", "জড়িয়ে-ধর-তাকে", "জড়িয়ে-ধরতে", "জড়িয়ে-ধরা-থেকে", "জড়িয়ে-ধরেছে", "তারা-জড়িয়ে-ধরে-"]·DE["embracing", "umarmte", "und-er-umarmte", "und-umarmte", "und-umarmte-", "und-umarmte-ihn"]·EN["and-embrace", "and-embraced", "and-he-embraced-him", "embrace", "embraces-me", "embracing", "from-embracing", "they-embrace", "to-embrace", "you-embrace-her"]·FR["[חבקו]", "de-embrasser", "embracing", "embrasser", "et-embrassa", "et-embrasser", "et-il-embrassa-lui", "m'embrasse.", "à-embrasser"]·heb["ו-יחבק", "ו-יחבקהו-ו", "ו-תחבק", "חובקת", "חיבקו", "ל-חבוק", "מ-חבק", "תחבקנה", "תחבקני"]·HI["और-गले-लगा", "और-गले-लगाया", "और-गले-लगाया-", "और-गले-लगाया-उसे", "गले-लगा-उसे", "गले-लगाए-मुझे", "गले-लगाती", "गले-लगाते-हैं", "गले-लगाने-का", "गले-लगाने-से", "गोद-में-लेगी", "वे-गले-लगाते-हैं"]·ID["akan-memeluk", "dan-memeluk", "dan-memeluk-", "dan-memeluk-nya", "dari-merangkul", "engkau-memeluknya", "memeluk", "memeluk-aku", "mereka-memeluk", "untuk-merangkul"]·IT["[חבקו]", "abbracciare", "abbracciare-mio", "da-abbracciare", "e-abbracciare", "e-egli-embraced-lui", "e-embraced", "embracing", "per-abbracciare"]·jav["kangge-ngrangkul", "lan-ngrangkul", "lan-piyambakipun-ngaras", "lan-piyambakipun-ngrangkul-piyambakipun", "nggendhong", "ngrangkul-kula", "ngrangkul-punika", "piyambakipun-ngerangkul-", "saking-ngrangkul", "sami-nganggep", "sarta-ngrangkul"]·KO["그녀-를-포옹하면", "그리고-께안았다", "그리고-안았다", "그리고-포옷하겠느냐", "꺼안나니-", "껴안았네", "나-를-껴안네", "안고-있겠다", "포옹하기-위한", "포옹함-에서"]·PT["a-abraçares", "abraçam", "abraçando", "de-abraçar", "e-abraçarias", "e-abraçou", "e-abraçou-", "e-abraçou-o", "me-abraça", "para-abraçar"]·RU["и-обнимать", "и-обнял", "и-обнял-его", "обнимает-меня.", "обнимаешь", "обнимать,", "обнимают", "обнимают-", "обнимешь-её.", "от-объятий."]·ES["abrazan", "abrazan-", "abrazando", "de-abrazar", "la-abraces", "me-abrace", "me-abraza", "para-abrazar", "y-abrazarás", "y-abrazó", "y-abrazó-le"]·SW["akamkumbatia", "na-akamkumbatia", "na-akawakumbatia", "na-kukumbatia", "na-u-kumbatie", "u-i-kumbatie", "utashika", "wa-kukumbatia", "wanakumbatia", "wananibusu"]·TR["kucakladılar", "kucakladığında-onu", "kucaklamadan", "kucaklamak-icin", "kucaklar-beni", "kucaklayan", "sarılırlar-", "ve-kucakladı", "ve-kucakladı-onu", "ve-kucaklarsın"]·urd["اور-گلے-لگائے-گا", "اور-گلے-لگایا", "اور-گلے-لگایا-اُسے", "لپٹتے ہیں-", "لگاتے-ہیں", "گلے-لگائے-گا-اُسے", "گلے-لگاتا-ہے-مجھے", "گلے-لگانے-سے", "گلے-لگانے-کا", "گود-میں-لیے-ہوگی"]
2. fold or clasp hands — A specialized idiomatic usage in Ecclesiastes 4:5 where the fool 'clasps his own hands,' meaning he folds his arms and does nothing, consuming his own flesh through laziness. The translation evidence diverges sharply from sense 1: English renders 'folding' rather than 'embracing,' and Spanish uses 'cruza' (crosses) rather than 'abraza.' French and German, interestingly, retain the embrace vocabulary ('embrasser,' 'umarmte'), perhaps reflecting the literal morphology even where the idiom is figurative. This sense connects to the wisdom tradition's recurring motif of the sluggard (cf. Prov 6:10; 24:33). 1×
AR["يَطْوِي"]·ben["জড়িয়ে-ধরে"]·DE["umarmte"]·EN["folding"]·FR["embrasser"]·heb["חובק"]·HI["बाँधता-है"]·ID["melipat"]·IT["abbracciare"]·jav["ngrangkul"]·KO["깰다"]·PT["cruza"]·RU["складывает"]·ES["cruza"]·SW["anakunjia"]·TR["kavusturur"]·urd["باندھتا-ہے"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [חָבַק] vb. clasp, embrace (NH id.; 𝔗 חַבֵּקֹ; Mand.. ܚܒܰܩ, NSyr. ܚܦܩ; Arabic حَبَقَ ii. collect one’s possessions, etc., Frey)— Qal Inf. לַחֲבוֹק Ec 3:5; Pt. חֹבֵק Ec 4:5; חֹבֶקֶת 2 K 4:16;—embrace, c. acc. בֵּן 2 K 4:16; יָדָיו Ec 4:5 (said of הַכְּסִיל = fold his arms, i.e. be idle; cf. חִבֻּק); no obj. expr. Ec 3:5 (‖ Pi). Pi. Pf. חִבְּקוּ Jb 24:8 La 4:5; Impf. וַיְחַבֵּק Gn 48:10;…