H6957a H6957a
Line, measuring line; in Isaiah 28 a mocking repetition ('line upon line') mimicking prophetic instruction.
A noun meaning 'line' or 'measuring line,' this form appears exclusively in Isaiah 28:10 and 28:13 in the repeated phrase qav laqav, 'line upon line.' The phrase captures the mocking tone of scoffers who ridicule Isaiah's prophetic teaching as tedious, repetitive instruction fit for children. Whether the syllables are genuine Hebrew or deliberately garbled nonsense remains debated, but the multilingual evidence (English 'line/upon-line,' Spanish 'regla/sobre-regla,' French 'cordeau,' German 'Richtschnur') consistently reflects the idea of a measuring standard or rule applied incrementally.
Senses
1. upon line — A measuring line or rule, appearing in the repeated formula qav laqav ('line upon line') in Isaiah 28:10, 13. The phrase mimics or parodies Isaiah's prophetic instruction, portraying it as tediously repetitive. The multilingual glosses uniformly point to a standard of measurement or a builder's cord, suggesting the underlying image is of careful, incremental construction of teaching, which the drunkards of Ephraim find patronizing. 8×
AR["عَلَى-قَانُونٍ", "قَانُونٌ"]·ben["রেখা", "রেখার-উপরে"]·DE["Linie", "zur-Richtschnur"]·EN["line", "upon-line"]·FR["cordeau"]·heb["ל-קו", "קו"]·HI["नियम", "पर-नियम"]·ID["demi-peraturan", "peraturan"]·IT["a-riga", "riga"]·jav["paugeran", "tumrap-paugeran"]·KO["에-줄", "줄"]·PT["linha", "sobre-linha"]·RU["на-правило", "правило"]·ES["regla", "sobre-regla"]·SW["juu-ya-sheria", "sheria"]·TR["olcu", "uzerine-olcu"]·urd["سطر", "پر-سطر"]
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
I. קַו only in קַו לָקָו Is 28:10(×2), 13(×2), mimicry of Isaiah’s words, perhaps senseless, v. צַו p. 846.