H7401 H7401
To be tender, soft, or weak (of heart or words); in the Hifil, to make faint or soften someone's resolve.
A verb that maps a single physical quality — softness — onto a rich landscape of emotional and moral states. Words can be 'softer than oil' yet conceal swords (Ps 55:21); a wound can go unmollified, not 'softened' with ointment (Isa 1:6, Pual). Most often, though, the softness is of the heart: fear that makes one's courage melt away before battle (Deut 20:3), or penitent tenderness before God's word, as when Josiah's heart 'was tender' and he humbled himself (2 Kgs 22:19; 2 Chr 34:27). Spanish distinguishes beautifully — 'blandas' for soft words, 'desfallezca' for fainting courage — while the single Hebrew root holds both together.
Senses
1. be soft, tender, weak — To be or become soft, tender, or weak — spanning physical softness (treacherous words smoother than oil, Ps 55:21; an untreated wound, Isa 1:6 in Pual) and emotional/psychological states. The heart 'becomes soft' either in timidity before enemies (Deut 20:3; Isa 7:4; Jer 51:46, where it parallels 'fear') or in penitent tenderness before God (2 Kgs 22:19 = 2 Chr 34:27, paralleling 'humble oneself'). Spanish 'blandas' (soft) and 'desfallezca' (become faint) capture the physical-to-emotional spectrum, while French and German leave the forms untranslated in brackets, highlighting the difficulty of a single-word equivalent. 7×
AR["أَنعَمُ", "تُلَيَّن", "رَقَّ-", "رِقَّةِ-", "يَرَقُّ", "يَلِن", "يَلِينُ"]·ben["কোমল", "কোমল-", "কোমল-হয়েছে", "দুর্বল-হবে", "দুর্বল-হোক", "নরম-করা", "নরম-হয়ে-যাক"]·DE["[ירך]", "[רך]", "[רככה]", "lass-sein-schwach", "sind-softer", "tender-"]·EN["are-softer", "be-faint", "becomes-faint", "let-be-faint", "softened", "tender-"]·FR["[ירך]", "[רך]", "[רככה]", "laisse-être-faint", "tender-", "être-mou"]·heb["ירך", "רוככה", "רך", "רכו"]·HI["कमज़ोर-हो", "कमजोर-हो", "कोमल-", "कोमल-पड़ेगा", "नरम-किया-गया"]·ID["dilunakkan", "gentar", "lemah", "lembut-", "menjadi-lemah"]·IT["[רך]", "[רכו]", "ammorbidire", "lascia-essere-debole", "tenero-"]·jav["alus", "alùs-", "dipunlemesaken", "lemes", "piyambakipun", "ringkih"]·KO["기름-으로-부드럽게-하였도다", "말랑해지라", "부드러워지리라", "부드러웠다-", "부드러웠도다", "약해지리라", "연한"]·PT["desfalece", "desmaia", "foi-amolecida", "mais-macias", "seja-fraco", "tenro", "tenro-"]·RU["мягки", "мягко-", "мягкое-", "ослабело", "слабеет", "смягчены", "трепещет"]·ES["blandas", "desfallezca", "suavizadas", "tierno", "tierno-"]·SW["havijalainishwa", "laini", "laini-", "legee", "rak", "usidhoofike"]·TR["yumuşak-", "yumuşaktı", "yumuşamasın", "yumuşasın", "yumuşatıldı", "zayiflasin"]·urd["نرم-", "نرم-تھا", "نرم-پڑے", "نرم-کیے-گئے", "نرم-ہو", "نَرم"]
2. make faint, soften (causative) — The causative Hifil: to make soft, to cause faintness or weakening of resolve. Attested only in Job 23:16, where Job confesses 'God has made my heart faint' (herakh libbi). English 'has made faint,' Spanish 'ha ablandado' (has softened), and the passage's context — Job overwhelmed by divine power — all point to an external agent undermining human courage, the causative counterpart to the Qal's intransitive softening. 1×
AR["أَضْعَفَ"]·ben["নরম-করেছেন"]·DE["[הרך]"]·EN["has-made-faint"]·FR["הרך"]·heb["הרך"]·HI["कमज़ोर-किया"]·ID["melembutkan"]·IT["has-made-faint"]·jav["nglunakaken"]·KO["부드럽게-하셨나니"]·PT["amoleceu"]·RU["смягчил"]·ES["ha-ablandado"]·SW["amelainisha"]·TR["yumuşattı"]·urd["نرم کیا"]
Related Senses
G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0954 1. to be ashamed, feel shame (Qal) (95×)H8057 1. joy, gladness, delight (90×)H2781 1. disgrace, shame, dishonor (68×)G2307 1. will, desire, purpose (63×)G5463 1. rejoice, be glad (63×)G0027 1. beloved (61×)H8130 1. Qal: to hate, detest (60×)G5479 1. (59×)G1680 1. (53×)H8130 2. Qal ptcp: hater, enemy (53×)H0014 1. be willing, want (51×)H0157 2. lover, friend (Qal participle substantive) (51×)H1945 1. woe (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [רָכַךְ] vb. be tender, weak, soft (Arabic رَكَّ, Aramaic רְכַךְ (in der. spec. and deriv.), ܪܰܟ, id.);— Qal Pf. 3 ms. רַךְ 2 K 22:19; 2 Ch 34:27; 3 pl. רַכּוּ ψ 55:22; Impf. יֵרַךְ (Ges§ 67 p) Is 7:4 +;— 1. be tender, weak, of heart: a. be timid, fearful, ‖ יָרֵא, Is 7:4; Je 51:46; Dt 20:3. b. be softened, penitent, ‖ כָּנַע Niph., 2 K 22:19 = 2 Ch 34:27 2. be soft, of treacherous words ψ…