כף

Forms

כַּף (kap̄) noun, feminine, plural כַּפּוֹת^[1][5] With suffix כַּפִּי, כַּפְּךָ; dual כַּפַּיִם, construct כַּפֵּי; plural כַּפּוֹת, used for the hand-shaped objects.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Semitic *kapp- (“palm of the hand”).^[5][6][7] HALOT infers the older Hebrew pronunciation /kapp/ from the Greek letter name Ancient Greek κάππα (káppa).^[4] The word is Akkadian kappu (“hand, arm”),^[8][9] Ugaritic kp (“palm of the hand”),^[10] Aramaic כַּף (kap̄, “palm, hand”),^[11] Classical Syriac ܟܲܦ݁ܵܐ (kappā, “palm, hollow of the hand”)^[12] and Arabic كَفّ (kaff, “palm”).^[5][2] HALOT and Gesenius–Buhl also compare Egyptian kp.^[4][13] Klein derives these nouns from the root of כָּפַף (kāp̄ap̄, “to bend”), as “that which is bent”.^[14]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is not in the archaic poems.^[1] The first passage in the canon is the dove of the Flood, which found no rest ləḵap̄-raḡlāh, “for the sole of her foot” (Genesis 8:9); 86 of its 192 occurrences are in Genesis to Kings.^[1][4]

Semantic evolution

HALOT contrasts this word, the hollow or flat of the hand, with יָד (yāḏ), the hand as a limb, though the two are often parallel; in a few places kap̄ is the whole hand (Deuteronomy 25:12).^[4] Hands are spread out in prayer (Exodus 9:29), clapped in joy or scorn, and struck in a bargain; to put one's life in one's palm is to risk it (Judges 12:3).^[4] With “foot” it is the sole (kap̄ reḡel), and with a hip the hip socket (Genesis 32:26).^[4] By likeness it names hollow objects: the pocket of a sling (1 Samuel 25:29), the handles of a lock (Song of Songs 5:5), and the metal dishes of the sanctuary (Exodus 25:29).^[4] The Septuagint renders the hand by Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír) and the dish by θυΐσκη (thuḯskē).^[1]

In Rabbinic Hebrew kap̄ is also the name of the letter כ.^[15] Huehnergard derives both kaph and Greek kappa from the Phoenician letter name meaning “palm of the hand”.^[7] Modern Hebrew כף (kaf) adds “spoon”.^[14][5]

Timeline

• Classical Biblical Hebrew – kap̄-raḡlāh “the sole of her foot” (Genesis 8:9); the dishes of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:29).^[1][4]
• 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint translates it as Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír).^[16][1]
• 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – 136 occurrences in the Dead Sea Scrolls.^[17][18]
• Rabbinic Hebrew – also the name of the letter כ.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. the palm, the hollow or flat of the hand;^[5] məlōʾ kap̄ a handful.^[4][2]
2. the whole hand;^[5] (figurative) power, grasp.^[4]
3. kap̄ reḡel the sole of the foot; a paw.^[4][2]
4. a hollow, hand-shaped thing: the hip socket, the pocket of a sling, a handle.^[4]
5. (cultic) a metal dish or pan of the sanctuary.^[4][2]

Word family

• כָּפַף (kāp̄ap̄)

Descendants

• Modern Hebrew כף (kaf)^[5]
• English kaph^[7]

Usage notes

A rare noun כֵּף “rock”, only in the plural כֵּפִים (Jeremiah 4:29, Job 30:6), is a loan from Aramaic כֵּיפָא (kêp̄ā), according to HALOT following Wagner;^[19][20][21] BDB calls it perhaps an Aramaic loan, and Klein reports that some scholars consider it an Aramaism.^[19][20][21] The Aramaic word is the source of the apostle's name Κηφᾶς.^[22][23]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Clear Bible (2023–), MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets (Westminster Leningrad Codex, with Greek alignment), github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew, CC BY 4.0
2. ^ a b c d e f Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. כַּף²
3. ^ Højgaard, Christian Canu; Naaijer, Martijn; Schorch, Stefan (2023), Text-Fabric Dataset of the Samaritan Pentateuch, Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.7734632
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. כַּף
5. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
6. ^ Militarev, Alexander; Kogan, Leonid (2000), Semitic Etymological Dictionary, vol. 1: Anatomy of Man and Animals, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag (AOAT 278/1), p. no. 148
7. ^ a b c Huehnergard, John (2011), "Proto-Semitic Language and Culture" and "Semitic Roots", in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. s.v. kpp
8. ^ Black, Jeremy; George, Andrew; Postgate, Nicholas (2000), A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. s.v. kappu
9. ^ von Soden, Wolfram (1965–1981), Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 444
10. ^ del Olmo Lete, Gregorio; Sanmartín, Joaquín (2015), A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition, 3rd ed., transl. W. G. E. Watson, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. kp
11. ^ Kaufman, Stephen A., ed., Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, cal.huc.edu
12. ^ Sokoloff, Michael (2009), A Syriac Lexicon, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns; Piscataway: Gorgias Press, p. 641
13. ^ Gesenius, Wilhelm; Buhl, Frants (1915), Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, 17th ed., Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, p. s.v. כַּף
14. ^ a b Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. כַּף
15. ^ a b Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. כָּף
16. ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 93
17. ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 143
18. ^ Abegg, Martin G.; Jacobs, Jarod; Roorda, Dirk (2022), The Dead Sea Scrolls, Text-Fabric dataset, version 2.0.2, github.com/ETCBC/dss
19. ^ a b Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. כֵּף
20. ^ a b Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. כֵּף
21. ^ a b Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. כֵּף
22. ^ Gesenius, Wilhelm; Buhl, Frants (1915), Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, 17th ed., Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, p. s.v. כֵּף
23. ^ Leslau, Wolf (1987), Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 215