H4267 H4267
Strangling, suffocation; death by choking, which Job prefers to his agonizing existence
This term appears in Job 7:15, where the suffering patriarch declares, 'my soul chooses strangling, death rather than my bones.' Strangling represents a violent but relatively quick death compared to Job's prolonged agony. The word captures suffocation or choking as a mode of dying—whether by hanging, throttling, or other means of cutting off breath. Job's preference for such a death over continued life reveals his desperation. Even violent suffocation seems merciful compared to the relentless pain he endures daily.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Death by suffocation or choking, which Job declares preferable to his continuing misery. The term describes a violent but relatively swift death compared to chronic suffering. Job's choice of strangling over life reveals his desperate state—even breathless death seems merciful compared to endless pain. The word makes Job's suicidal ideation concrete: he envisions specific modes of dying and finds them attractive. 1×
AR["خَنْقًا"]·ben["শ্বাসরোধ"]·DE["[מחנק]"]·EN["strangling"]·FR["מחנק"]·heb["מחנק"]·HI["गला-घोंटना"]·ID["pencekikan"]·IT["strangling"]·jav["dipun-cekik"]·KO["질식을"]·PT["estrangulamento"]·RU["удавление"]·ES["estrangulación"]·SW["kunyongwa"]·TR["boğulmayı"]·urd["گلا-گھونٹنا"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַחֲנָק n.[m.] strangling, suffocation, as a mode of death, וַתִּבְחַר מַחֲנָק נַפְשִׁי Jb 7:15 and my soul chooseth strangling (‖ מָוֶת).