H5357 H5357
cleft of rock, rocky crevice; narrow opening in stone formations
This noun designates narrow clefts or crevices in rock faces—the kind of tight spaces where one can hide or where wild things nest. Isaiah 7:19 warns that the Egyptian and Assyrian forces will settle 'in all the clefts of the rocks' throughout Judah—every hiding place will harbor enemies. Jeremiah must hide his linen belt 'in a cleft of the rock' by the Euphrates as a prophetic sign (13:4), and later speaks of fishermen catching people 'from every cleft of the rocks' (16:16). The imagery suggests vulnerability—even the most secret, defensive positions offer no escape from judgment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All three uses appear in judgment oracles where clefts symbolize hiding places that prove futile. Isaiah's clefts will shelter invading armies, while Jeremiah's rock-clefts become either hiding spots for prophetic props or fishing grounds where no one escapes the divine hunter. Cross-linguistic renderings preserve the rock-cleft imagery: 'hendidura de,' 'clefts of.' The construct form always specifies 'clefts of the rocks,' emphasizing these are natural geological features—the narrow cracks and crevices in limestone formations common to Palestine's terrain. 3×
AR["فِي-شَقِّ", "وَ-فِي-شُقُوقِ", "وَ-مِنْ-شُقُوقِ"]·ben["আর-গর্তগুলো-থেকে", "ও-ফাটলে", "ফাটলে-"]·DE["[בנקיק]", "[ובנקיקי]", "[ומנקיקי]"]·EN["and-from-clefts-of", "and-in-clefts-of", "in-cleft-of"]·FR["[בנקיק]", "[ובנקיקי]", "[ומנקיקי]"]·heb["ב-נקיק", "ו-ב-נקיקי", "ו-מ-נקיקי"]·HI["और-दरारों-में", "और-दरारों-से", "दरार-में"]·ID["dalam-celah", "dan-dari-celah-celah", "dan-di-celah-celah"]·IT["[בנקיק]", "[ובנקיקי]", "[ומנקיקי]"]·jav["ing-celah", "lan-ing-rongrongan", "lan-saking-lèng-lèng"]·KO["그리고-바위틈들-에서", "틈-에", "틈들-에"]·PT["e-de-fendas-de", "e-nas-fendas-de", "em-fenda-de"]·RU["в-расселине", "и-в-расщелинах", "и-из-расселин"]·ES["en-hendidura-de", "y-de-hendiduras-de", "y-en-hendiduras-de"]·SW["katika-ufa", "na-katika-nyufa", "na-kutoka-nyufa-za"]·TR["ve-den-yarıkları", "ve-yariklarında", "yarığında-"]·urd["اور-دراڑوں-سے", "اور-دراڑوں-میں", "دراڑ-میں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [נָקִיק] n.m. cleft of rock;—only cstr.: sg. נְקִיק הַסָּ֑לַע Je 13:4; pl. נְקִיקֵי הַסְּלָעִים Is 7:19 (‖ נַחֲלֵי הַבַּתּוֹת), Je 16:16.