לָכַד121 H3920
To capture, seize, or take — by military conquest, by lot, by snare, or by freezing together; covering active seizure, passive capture, entrapment, and cohesion
Lakad is the verb of decisive taking — the moment a city falls, a fugitive is seized, or a snare springs shut. Its Qal stem dominates the conquest narratives, where Joshua and the judges 'capture' city after city, while its Nifal surfaces dramatically in the lot-casting scene of Achan's exposure (Josh 7:14-18), where tribe, clan, and individual are progressively 'taken' until the guilty party stands revealed. The Arabic cognate lakida ('to stick, cleave to') illuminates two unusual occurrences in Job where the verb describes water freezing solid and scales locking together — physical cohesion rather than military seizure, a semantic thread hidden from readers who know only the conquest narratives.
1. capture, seize (Qal) — To capture or seize by military force (Qal active, 76x): the primary sense, covering the taking of cities, territories, and persons in war. Spanish capturó and German eroberte ('conquered') confirm the martial register. Dominates the conquest narratives — Joshua taking Ai (Josh 8:21), Caleb taking Debir (Judg 1:12), David taking the water-city of Rabbah (2 Sam 12:27-28) — and extends to kings seizing fortresses throughout the historical books (Num 21:32; Deut 2:34; 3:4). 76×
AR["أَخَذَ","فَأَخَذَ","وَ-أَخَذوها","وَ-أَخَذَها","وَ-أَسَرَ","وَأَخَذَ"]·ben["অধিকার-করল","অধিকার-করেছে","আর-দখল-করলেন","এবং-অধিকার-করল-তাকে","এবং-দখল-করল","এবং-দখল-করল-তা","এবং-দখল-করলেন","ও-অধিকার-করলেন","ও-হল","দখল-করল","দখল-করলেন","নিয়েছিল"]·DE["er-nahm-ein","eroberte","hatte-nahm-ein","nahm-ein","und-einnehmen","und-nahm-ein","und-nahm-ein-es"]·EN["and-captured","and-captured-it","captured","had-captured","he-captured"]·FR["avait-captura","captura","et-captura","et-captura-il","et-prendre","il-captura"]·heb["ו-ילכד","ו-לכדה","ו-לכדוה","לכד"]·HI["और-जीत-लिया-उसे","और-जीता","और-पकड़ा","और-पकड़ा-उसे","और-लिया","और-लिया-उसको","और-ली","और-ले-लिया","जीत-लिया","पकड़ा","पकड़ा-था","लिया","ले-लिया"]·ID["Dan-merebutnya","Dan-merebutnyalah","dan-menawan","dan-merebut","dan-merebut-itu","dan-merebutnya","direbut","merebut"]·IT["catturò","e-catturo","e-catturò-esso","e-prendere","ebbe-catturò","egli-catturò"]·jav["Lan-nawan","Lan-ngrebat-menika","Lan-ngrébat","Lan-rebut","lan-ngrampas","lan-ngrebat","lan-ngrebat-menika","lan-ngrembat","lan-ngrébat","ngrebat","sampun-rebut"]·KO["그리고-그가-점령했다-그것을","그리고-잡았다","그리고-점령하였다","그리고-점령하였다-그것을","그리고-점령했다","잡았다","점령하였다","점령했다"]·PT["E-a-capturou","E-capturou","E-conquistou-a","capturou","e-capturou","e-tomaram-a","e-tomou","e-tomou-a","tomou","¶ E-tomaram-a","¶ E-tomou-a"]·RU["И-захватил-его","И-захватили-его","взял","захватил","захватила","и-захватил","и-захватил-его","и-захватили-его"]·ES["Y-capturó","Y-la-capturó","Y-la-tomaron","Y-la-tomó","Y-tomó","capturó","había-tomado","tomó","y-capturó","y-la-tomaron","y-la-tomó","y-tomó"]·SW["alichukua","aliteka","alitwaa","na-akachukua","na-akaiteka","na-akaitwaa","na-akateka","na-wakaitwaa","na-wakauteka","waliteka"]·TR["Ve-aldı","Ve-aldı-onu","Ve-aldılar-onu","Ve-ele-geçirdi","aldı","ele-geçirdi","ve-aldı","ve-aldı-onu","ve-aldılar-onu","ve-ele-geçirdi"]·urd["اور-فتح-کیا","اور-فتح-کیا-اُسے","اور-قبضہ-کر-لیا","اور-لے-لیا","اور-لے-لیا-اُسے","اور-پکڑا","حاصل-کیا","فتح-کیا","لے-لیا"]
Num 21:32, Num 32:41, Num 32:42, Deut 2:34, Deut 3:4, Josh 6:20, Josh 7:14, Josh 7:14, Josh 7:14, Josh 8:19, Josh 8:21, Josh 10:1 (+38 more)
▼ 5 more senses below
Senses
2. be captured, be seized (Nifal) — To be captured, be taken (Nifal passive, 27x): the passive counterpart to sense 1, describing cities and persons falling to an enemy. French fut pris ('was taken') and German wurde eingenommen ('was captured') mark the passive orientation. Central to the Achan narrative, where the lot progressively narrows — tribe is taken, clan is taken, household is taken (Josh 7:15-18; 1 Sam 10:20-21) — and to prophetic warnings of cities being captured (Jer 48:1; 50:2). 27×
AR["أُخِذَتِ","أُخِذَتْ","اُخِذَتِ","اُخِذَتْ","فَ-أُخِذَ","وَ-أُخِذَ","وَ-انْقَبَضَ","وَ-انْقَبَضَتْ","وَ-يُقبَضُ-عَلَيهِم","وَأُسِرَتْ","وَأُمْسِكُوا"]·ben["অধিকৃত-হয়েছে","আক্রান্ত-হয়েছে","আর-অধিকৃত-হয়েছে","আর-ধরা-পড়ল","আর-নির্বাচিত-হল","এবং-তারা-ধরা-পড়েছে","এবং-ধরা-পড়বে","এবং-ধরা-পড়ল","দখল-হয়েছে","দখল-হল","ধরা-পড়েছে"]·DE["es-wurde-eingenommen","und-einnehmen","und-war-genommen","und-war-nahm-ein","war-eroberte"]·EN["and-are-captured","and-caught","and-they-will-be-captured","and-was-captured","and-was-taken","has-been-captured","is-captured","was-captured"]·FR["et-fut-pris","et-prendre","et-était-captura","fut-captura","prendre"]·heb["ו-נילכדו","ו-נלכד","ו-נלכדו","וַ-יִּלָּכֵד","וַ-תִּלָּכֵד","נלכדה"]·HI["और-चुना-गया","और-पकड़ा-गया","और-पकड़े-गए","और-पकड़े-जाएंगे","और-वे-पकड़े-गए","ली-गई","ले-लिए-गए","ले-लिया-गया","ले-ली-गई"]·ID["dan-ditawan","dan-terambillah","dan-terpilihlah","dan-tertangkap","direbut","telah-direbut"]·IT["e-conquistare","e-era-preso","e-fu-catturò","era-catturò","fu-conquistata"]·jav["dipun-rebat","dipun-rebut","dipunrebat","dipunrebut","lan-dicekel","lan-dipun-cekel","lan-kacandhak","lan-kapilih","lan-ketangkep","lan-piyambakipun-sami-kecekel","sampun-dipun-rebut"]·KO["그리고-붑히였다","그리고-붑힌다","그리고-사로잡혔다","그리고-잡혔다","잡혔다","잡히리라","점령당했다","점령되었는가","점령되었다"]·PT["Foi-tomada","e-foi-apanhada","e-foi-apanhado","e-foi-tomada","e-foi-tomado","e-foram-apanhados","e-foram-presos","e-serão-presos","foi-capturada","foi-tomada"]·RU["Взят","Взяты","был-взят","был-захвачен","взят","и-будут-уловлены","и-был-взят","и-был-уловлен","и-было-взято","и-было-уловлено","и-пойманы","и-схвачены"]·ES["Y-fue-tomado","capturada","fue-tomada","ha-sido-tomada","tomada","y-capturados","y-fue-tomada","y-fue-tomado","y-serán-apresados","y-serán-atrapados"]·SW["Imeshindwa","ilitekwa","imeshindwa","imetekwa","na-akachukuliwa","na-akakamatwa","na-akashikwa","na-alichaguliwa","na-likachukuliwa","na-likakamatwa","na-wamekamatwa","na-wametekwa","na-watakamatwa","ulitekwa","umechukuliwa"]·TR["alındı","alınmıştı","ele-geçirildi","ve-seçildi","ve-yakalanacaklar","ve-yakalandı","ve-yakalandılar"]·urd["اور-قرعہ-نکلا","اور-پکڑا-گیا","اور-پکڑے-جائیں-گے","اور-پکڑے-گئے","لیا-گیا","لیا-گیا-تھا","لے-لیا-گیا","پکڑا-گیا","پکڑی-گئی"]
Josh 7:15, Josh 7:16, Josh 7:17, Josh 7:18, 1 Sam 10:20, 1 Sam 10:21, 1 Sam 10:21, 1 Sam 14:41, 1 Sam 14:42, 1 Kgs 16:18, 2 Kgs 18:10, Ps 59:12 (+15 more)
3. be caught, be trapped (Nifal) — To be caught, ensnared, or trapped (Nifal, 9x): a figurative extension of the passive where the agent is not a military force but a trap, snare, or circumstance. Spanish atrapado ('trapped') and French capturer in snare contexts distinguish this from battlefield capture. The wicked are caught in their own devices (Ps 9:15; Prov 11:6), a person is snared by hasty words (Prov 6:2), and Qoheleth warns that the unwary are caught by the woman whose heart is 'snares and nets' (Eccl 7:26). Job 36:8 extends the image to those bound in fetters of affliction. 9×
AR["أُخِذْتِ","انْصَادَتْ","اُسِرْتَ","وَالخَاطِئُ","يُؤسَرونَ","يُؤْخَذُونَ","يُصْطادونَ","يُمْسَكُ"]·ben["অধিকৃত-হয়েছ","তারা-ধরা-হয়","ধরা-পড়বে","ধরা-পড়ে","ধরা-পড়েছে","বন্দী-হয়েছ"]·DE["[ילכד]","[ילכדו]","[ילכדון]","[נלכדת]","einnehmen","ist-caught"]·EN["is-caught","shall-be-caught","shall-be-taken","they-are-caught","will-be-captured","you-are-caught","you-were-caught"]·FR["capturer","prendre"]·heb["יילכד","יילכדו","יילכדון","ילכד","נלכדה","נלכדת"]·HI["तू-फंस-गई","पकड़ा-गया","पकड़ा-जाएगा","फँसेंगे","फँसेगा","फंस-गया","फंसे-हुए-हों","फंसेगा","वे-पकड़े-जाएँगे"]·ID["akan-tertangkap","engkau-tertangkap","mereka tertangkap","mereka-tertangkap","tertangkap"]·IT["catturare","conquistare","prese"]·jav["badhe-kajebat","badhé-dipun-cekel","dipun-cekel","kacekel","kecepeng","kejiret","panjenengan-kajebat","piyambak-ipun-katangkep"]·KO["그들이-잡힌다면","잡혀다","잡혔다-너가","잡혔도다","잡히다","잡히리니","잡히리라-그가","잡힌다","잡힘-것이다"]·PT["foi-apanhado","foste-apanhado","foste-presa","será-capturado","será-preso","serão-apanhados","são-amarrados"]·RU["будет-пойман","будут-взяты","будут-уловлены","поймалась-ты","пойман-будет","пойман-ты","попадёт","попалась","схвачены"]·ES["fue-atrapado","fuiste-atrapada","has-sido-apresado","será-atrapado","serán-atrapados","son-capturados"]·SW["atakamatwa","atanaswa","imenaswa","umekamatwa","wanakamatwa","wanashikwa","watakamatwa"]·TR["tutulacak","yakalanacaklar","yakalandı","yakalandın","yakalanir","yakalanmışlar"]·urd["وہ پکڑے جاتے ہیں","پکڑا-جائے-گا","پکڑا-گیا-ہے","پکڑے-جائیں-گے","پھنس-گئی-تو","پھنس-گیا"]
4. catch, trap (Qal) — To catch or trap actively (Qal, 7x): the hunter's or fowler's sense — setting a snare, catching an animal, or entrapping a person by cunning. Spanish atrapa ('catches') and German fangen confirm the trapping register distinct from military conquest. Samson catches three hundred foxes (Judg 15:4), God catches the wise in their own craftiness (Job 5:13, quoted by Paul in 1 Cor 3:19), and Amos asks rhetorically whether a bird falls into a snare without a trap being set (Amos 3:5). Jeremiah indicts those who set traps to catch people (Jer 5:26). 7×
AR["الآخِذُ","تَصْطادُهُ","صادَ","وَ-اصْطَادَ","وَ-صَيْدًا","يَصيدُ","يَصْطَادُونَ"]·ben["এবং-ধরতে","এবং-ধরলেন","ধরবে","ধরুক-তাকে","ধরে","ধরেছে","ধরেন"]·DE["[ולכוד]","[ילכוד]","[לכד]","einnehmen","lass-catch-ihn","und-caught"]·EN["and-catching","and-caught","catching","he-has-caught","it-catches","let-catch-him","they-catch"]·FR["capturer","et-caught","et-prendre","prendre"]·heb["ו-לָכוֹד","ו-לכד","ילכדו","ילכוֹד","לוכד","לכד","תלכד-אותו"]·HI["और-पकड़ना","और-पकड़ा","पकड़नेवाला","पकड़ा-हो?","फँसाए-उसे","वे-पकड़ते-हैं"]·ID["Menangkap","dan-menangkap","ia-menangkap","mereka-menangkap"]·IT["catturare","conquistare","e-afferrò","e-conquistare","prese"]·jav["lan-nyepeng","mugi-njupuk-piyambakipun","nyekel","nyepeng-","piyambakipun-nyekel","piyambakipun-nyepeng"]·KO["그리고-잡았다","그리고-잡음","붙잡는-자이시다","잡게-하소서","잡는가","잡는다","잡았으면"]·PT["apanham","apanhando","apanhou","e-apanhar","e-capturou","o-apanhe"]·RU["а-пойманного","да-захватит-его","и-поймал","ловят","поймает","поймал","улавливающего"]·ES["Que-atrapa","atrapan","atrapará","haya-capturado","lo-atrape","y-atrapar","y-capturó"]·SW["anawanasa","kunasa","na-akakamata","na-kunasa","umkamata","wanawakamata"]·TR["tutsun-onu","ve-yakaladı","ve-yakalamak","yakaladı","yakalayacak","yakalayan","yakalıyorlar"]·urd["اور-پکڑنا","اور-پکڑے","اُسے-پکڑے","پکڑتے-ہیں","پکڑنے-والا","پکڑے","پکڑے-گا"]
5. sense 5 — To freeze solid, congeal (Hitpael/unusual form, 1x): in Job 38:30, the surface of the deep 'is frozen' — water seizing together into ice. The Arabic cognate lakida ('to stick, cleave to') illuminates this otherwise puzzling usage: the sense is physical adhesion, liquid becoming locked solid. Spanish se congela ('it freezes') and English is-frozen confirm the unique semantic extension from 'seize' to 'congeal.' This lone occurrence in God's rhetorical questions about winter reveals an archaic physical sense preserved nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. 1×
AR["يَتَجَمَّدُ."]·ben["জমাট-বাঁধা-হয়"]·DE["[יתלכדו]"]·EN["is-frozen"]·FR["prendre"]·heb["יתלכדו"]·HI["जम-जाती-है"]·ID["membeku"]·IT["catturare"]·jav["kabeku"]·KO["굳어진다"]·PT["se-congela."]·RU["смерзается"]·ES["se-congela"]·SW["unaganda"]·TR["birbirine-tutunur"]·urd["جکڑ جاتی ہے"]
6. sense 6 — To hold fast, lock together (Hitpael, 1x): in Job 41:17 (describing Leviathan's scales), the armored plates 'hold fast' to one another — they are interlocked and inseparable. Spanish se agarran ('they grip each other') captures the reflexive, mutual cohesion. Like sense 5, this draws on the root's adhesion meaning visible in Arabic lakida, describing physical binding rather than capture. The two Job passages together preserve a concrete, pre-metaphorical layer of the root that the conquest narratives have all but eclipsed. 1×
AR["يَتَمَاسَكُونَ"]·ben["তারা-জাপটে-ধরে"]·DE["[יתלכדו]"]·EN["they-hold-fast"]·FR["prendre"]·heb["יתלכדו"]·HI["वे-जुड़े-हैं"]·ID["mereka berpegang"]·IT["catturare"]·jav["sami-gandheng"]·KO["잡힌다"]·PT["se-agarram"]·RU["сцепляются"]·ES["se-agarran"]·SW["zimefungana"]·TR["tutunmuşlar"]·urd["وہ-پکڑے-ہوئے-ہیں"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
לָכַד121 vb. capture, seize, take (by lot) (Ph. לכד take out, choose (?); 𝔗 לְכַד as BH; Arabic لَكَدَ is strike, push, with the hand, etc., مِلْكَدٌ pestel, cf. mod. لَكَد attack WetzstZMG xxii. 1868, 140; لَكِدَ stick or cleave to);— Qal Pf. ל׳ Jos 8:21 +, לָכַדְתִּי 2 S 12:27 etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יִלְכּוֹד Am 3:5; וַיִּלְכֹּד Ju 8:12 +, etc.; Imv. ms. sf. לָכְדָהּ 2 S 12:28, mpl. לִכְדוּ; Inf.…