רַק H7535
Only, merely, surely — a restrictive or asseverative particle limiting or emphasizing a statement; rarely 'except'
A small but powerful Hebrew particle, raq narrows focus with surgical precision. In most of its 109 appearances it restricts a statement — 'only you have I known of all the families of the earth' (Amos 3:2) — or intensifies it with asseverative force: 'surely, certainly.' It shapes some of the Bible's most memorable declarations, from God's somber observation that human thoughts were 'only evil continually' (Gen 6:5) to Abraham's worried admission that 'surely there is no fear of God in this place' (Gen 20:11). Translations converge tightly: Spanish solo/solamente, French seulement, German nur — all mirror the restrictive core.
Senses
1. only, merely, surely (restrictive/asseverative particle) — A restrictive or asseverative adverb meaning 'only,' 'merely,' 'nothing but,' or with emphatic force 'surely,' 'certainly.' Limits or intensifies the clause it modifies. Gen 6:5 uses it to devastating effect: every inclination of human thoughts was 'only evil continually.' Amos 3:2 employs it for exclusive divine election: 'only you have I known.' The cross-linguistic convergence is near-total (spa: solo/solamente, fra: seulement, deu: nur/gewiss), confirming a single well-defined restrictive function across 108 occurrences. 108×
AR["فَقَط", "فَقَطْ"]·ben["কেবল", "তোমার-সঙ্গে", "শুধু"]·DE["gewiss", "nur", "nur-"]·EN["only"]·FR["seulement"]·heb["רק"]·HI["और-पीऊंगा", "केवल", "केवल-", "बस"]·ID["Hanya", "hanya", "pasti"]·IT["solo"]·jav["Namung", "namung", "namung-"]·KO["다만", "단지", "오직"]·PT["Somente", "apenas", "somente"]·RU["Только", "только"]·ES["Solo", "solamente", "solo"]·SW["Ibrahimu", "isipokuwa", "lakini", "macho-yangu", "na-wakawaokoa", "tu"]·TR["Sadece", "sadece"]·urd["بس", "صرف"]
2. except (exceptive particle) — A rare exceptive use meaning 'except' or 'save that,' introducing an exception to a preceding statement. Attested at 2 Kgs 17:18, where after the northern tribes are carried into exile, 'none was left except the tribe of Judah alone.' Arabic translations distinctively render this with illā (إِلَّا, 'except'), and French uses sauf rather than the usual seulement, providing clear multilingual evidence that this occurrence functions differently from the standard restrictive sense. 1×
AR["إِلَّا"]·ben["শুধু-"]·DE["ausser"]·EN["except"]·FR["sauf"]·heb["רק"]·HI["केवल"]·ID["hanya"]·IT["tranne"]·jav["kejawi"]·KO["오직"]·PT["senão"]·RU["только"]·ES["solo"]·SW["ila"]·urd["مگر"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
רַק †1. adj. thin;—fpl. רַקּוֹת, of kine, Gn 41:19, 20, 27 (‖ v 3, 4 דַּקּוֹת). 2. 109 adv. with restrictive force, only, altogether, surely (syn. אַךְ);— a. only, Gn 14:24; 41:40 רַק הַכִּסֵּא אֶגְדַּל מִמֶּךָּ only as regards the throne, etc., 47:22 רַק אַדְמַת הַכֹּהֲנִים לֹא קָנָה, 50:8; Ex 8:5 רַק בַּיְאֹר תִּשָּׁאַרְנָח, 10:17 וְיָסֵר מֵעָלַי רַק הַמָּוֶת הַזֶּה only this death, Dt 2:35…