H4455a H4455a
Plunder, booty, or prey taken in warfare, especially the spoils of the Midianite campaign in Numbers 31
A masculine noun derived from the root laqach ('to take'), denoting plunder, booty, or prey seized in military conflict. Nearly all its occurrences cluster in Numbers 31, the account of the Israelite campaign against Midian, where the term covers the captured livestock, goods, and wealth divided between warriors and the congregation. Isaiah 49:24-25 uses it rhetorically, asking whether prey can be taken from a warrior, with God declaring he will contend with Israel's oppressors and rescue their captives. The word is often paired with shevi ('captives') and shalal ('spoil'), forming a standard vocabulary triad for the proceeds of war.
Senses
1. plunder, booty, prey — Plunder, booty, or prey taken in warfare, denoting material spoils seized from a defeated enemy. In Numbers 31:11-12, 26-27, 32, the term is used repeatedly for the spoils of the Midianite campaign, distinguished from captives (shevi) and general spoil (shalal) and divided according to divine instruction between soldiers and the assembly. In Isaiah 49:24-25, the word appears in a rhetorical challenge about rescuing prey from a mighty captor, with God promising deliverance. Spanish 'botin' and 'presa,' alongside German 'plundern,' confirm the military-acquisition sense across languages. 7×
AR["الْغَنِيمَةُ", "الْـ-غَنِيمَةَ", "الْـ-غَنِيمَةُ", "الْـ-غَنِيمَةِ", "غَنِيمَةِ", "وَ-غَنِيمَةُ"]·ben["এবং-লুট", "বন্দীদের", "লুট"]·DE["[ומלקוח]", "[מלקוח]", "der-pluendern", "pluendern-von"]·EN["and-prey-of", "plunder-of", "prey", "the-plunder"]·FR["[ומלקוח]", "[מלקוח]", "le-pillage", "pillage-de"]·heb["ה-מלקוח", "ו-מלקוח", "מלקוח"]·HI["और-लूट", "लूट", "शिकार", "शिकार-का"]·ID["dan-jarahan", "jarahan", "rampasan", "rampasan-itu"]·IT["[ומלקוח]", "[מלקוח]", "il-saccheggiare", "saccheggiare-di"]·jav["lan-rampasan", "rampasan", "rayahan"]·KO["그-탈취물과", "그-탈취물을", "그-탈취물이", "그리고-전리품이", "전리품을", "탈취물의"]·PT["e-presa-de", "o-saque", "presa", "saque-de"]·RU["добытого", "добытое", "добыча", "и-добыча"]·ES["botín-de", "el-botín", "presa?", "y-presa-de"]·SW["mateka-hayo", "na-nyara", "nyara", "nyara-hizo", "ya-"]·TR["-ganimet", "-ganimeti", "ganimet", "ganimetinin", "ve-ganimeti-"]·urd["اور-شکار", "شکار", "لوٹ", "لوٹ-کے", "مال-غنیمت"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. מַלְקוֹחַ n.m. Is 49:25 booty, prey (cf. לָקַח 9);—הֲיֻקַּח מִגִּבּוֹר מ׳ Is 49:24 (‖ שְׁבִי), cf. v 25 (‖ id.); Nu 31:26 (‖ id.), 31:11 (‖ שָׁלָל), v 12 (‖ id. + שְׁבִי, i.e. here, only, disting. from captives), v 32 (‖ יֶתֶר הַבָּ֔ז), v 27.