H6121b H6121b
steep, hilly, rugged terrain (as opposed to level ground)
Isaiah 40:4 envisions a great leveling of the landscape in preparation for God's coming: 'Let the steep ground become a plain.' This adjective describes rugged, hilly terrain—difficult to traverse—contrasted with flat plains. The root is cognate with Arabic and Ethiopic words for 'difficult mountain path' and 'hill.' Spanish renders it 'lo torcido' (the crooked), perhaps seeing moral metaphor alongside the geographical sense. The verse is about removing obstacles, whether literal mountains or metaphorical barriers, so God's glory can be revealed.
Senses
1. sense 1 — In Isaiah 40:4, this word describes terrain that is steep or hilly, the kind of ground that makes travel arduous. The prophet declares that such rugged places will be flattened into plains when God comes. Cognate languages support this: Arabic has 'difficult mountain path,' Ethiopic 'hill.' Spanish translates 'lo torcido' (the crooked), which may blend the physical sense of winding, uneven paths with a moral sense of what is not straight. Either way, the image is of obstacles removed and rough places made smooth. 1×
AR["المُعْوَجُّ"]·ben["আঁকাবাঁকা"]·DE["[העקב]"]·EN["the-crooked"]·FR["[העקב]"]·heb["ה-עקוב"]·HI["टेढ़ा"]·ID["yang-berkelok-kelok"]·IT["[העקב]"]·jav["ingkang-bengkong"]·KO["굽은-것이"]·PT["o-tortuoso"]·RU["-кривое"]·ES["lo-torcido"]·SW["iliyopinda"]·TR["engebeli"]·urd["ٹیڑھا"]
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
† II. עָקֹב adj. steep, hilly (v. √; cf. عَقَبَةٌ difficult mountain path, Qor 90:11; ዐቀብ hill);—Is 40:4 והיה הֶעָקֹב לְמִישׁוֹר let the steep ground (Ch) become a plain (‖ הָֽרְכָסִים). Cf. Ecclus 6:20.