What does חֵיק mean in the Bible?
Bosom or lap names a place close to the body that can receive a child, hold something or serve as a figure for what a person harbors. Naomi takes Ruth's child onto her lap and becomes his nurse.
Hebrew · H2436
חֵיק
Bosom or lap names a place close to the body that can receive a child, hold something or serve as a figure for what a person harbors. Naomi takes Ruth's child onto her lap and becomes his nurse.
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חֵיקH2436
What does חֵיק mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for חֵיק (H2436) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2436?
The BSB source-word alignment has 37 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (3), into your arms (2), the laps (2), a covert (1), and a covert (1).
Where does חֵיק appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 16:5. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Kings (5), Exodus (5), Proverbs (5), Deuteronomy (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Bosom or lap names a place close to the body that can receive a child, hold something or serve as a figure for what a person harbors. Naomi takes Ruth's child onto her lap and becomes his nurse. Isaiah portrays the Lord as a shepherd carrying lambs close to His heart and gently leading nursing ewes. Moses instead asks why he should carry the people as a nurse carries an infant, while admitting that he cannot bear them alone.
Wisdom texts can place anger in a fool's lap or picture embracing fire in a warning about destructive conduct. These are different movements, not one automatic image of comfort. Read who holds what and whether the passage describes care, a burden or a danger. Close physical language does not authorize unwanted touch, and a picture of care cannot make one person responsible for carrying every need without support.
How the Bible Uses It
Naomi's child, the shepherd's lambs, Moses' burden and wisdom images of anger, fire and concealed bribery supply distinct bodily and figurative uses. The held object and the speaker's purpose determine the teaching.
- Ruth.4.16
And Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a nurse to him.
Naomi receives the child on her lap and becomes his nurse after Ruth's birth, preserving each woman's role rather than transferring the birth to Naomi.
- Isa.40.11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
The Lord's shepherd image includes gathered lambs carried close to His heart and gentle leading of nursing ewes, specifying care for different needs.
- Num.11.12
Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?
Moses asks about carrying the people like an infant and then says he cannot carry them alone, presenting a distressed question rather than an unlimited duty he can fulfill.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It. . .3×Exodus 4:7, Psalms 35:13, Proverbs 6:27
into your arms2×Genesis 16:5, 2 Samuel 12:8
the laps2×Psalms 79:12, Jeremiah 32:18
a covert1×Proverbs 17:23
and a covert1×Proverbs 21:14
and a gutter1×Ezekiel 43:17
at my bosom1×1 Kings 3:20
by his side1×1 Kings 1:2
close to His heart1×Isaiah 40:11
from her arms1×1 Kings 17:19
he embraces1×Deuteronomy 28:54
his cloak1×Exodus 4:7
in her bosom1×1 Kings 3:20
in his arms1×2 Samuel 12:3
in my heart1×Psalms 89:50
in the lap1×Ecclesiastes 7:9
in your arms1×Micah 7:5
in your bosom1×Numbers 11:12
inside his cloak1×Exodus 4:6
inside your cloak1×Exodus 4:6
into the lap1×Proverbs 16:33
into their laps1×Isaiah 65:7
Its gutter1×Ezekiel 43:13
on her lap1×Ruth 4:16
she embraces1×Deuteronomy 28:56
the arms1×Lamentations 2:12
the bosom1×Proverbs 5:20
the floor1×1 Kings 22:35
The space from the gutter1×Ezekiel 43:14
their laps1×Isaiah 65:6
within me1×Job 19:27
you embrace1×Deuteronomy 13:6
your cloak1×Exodus 4:7
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 16:5בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָtointo your armsPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularExodus 4:6בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָtoinside your cloakPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularExodus 4:6בְּחֵיק֑וֹtoinside his cloakPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 4:7חֵיקֶ֔ךָtoyour cloakNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularExodus 4:7חֵיק֑וֹtohis cloakNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularExodus 4:7מֵֽחֵיק֔וֹto. . .Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularNumbers 11:12בְחֵיקֶ֗ךָtoin your bosomPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularDeuteronomy 13:6חֵיקֶ֗ךָtoyou embraceNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularDeuteronomy 28:54חֵיק֔וֹtohe embracesNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularDeuteronomy 28:56חֵיקָ֔הּtoshe embracesNoun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 16:5
Aligned rows37
Books represented16
Genesis1Exodus5Numbers1Deuteronomy3Ruth12 Samuel21 Kings5Job1Psalms3Proverbs5Ecclesiastes1Isaiah3Jeremiah1Lamentations1Ezekiel3Micah1
Source forms
בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ3xbə·ḥê·qe·ḵāGenesis 16:5, Exodus 4:6, 2 Samuel 12:8
בְּחֵיק֑וֹ2xbə·ḥê·qōwExodus 4:6, Proverbs 6:27
חֵ֥יק2xḥêq1 Kings 22:35, Jeremiah 32:18
חֵיקֶ֔ךָ2xḥê·qe·ḵāExodus 4:7, Micah 7:5
בְּחֵ֥יק1xbə·ḥêqEcclesiastes 7:9
בַּ֭חֵיק1xba·ḥêqProverbs 16:33
בְחֵיקָ֔הּ1xḇə·ḥê·qāhRuth 4:16
בְּחֵיקָ֑הּ1xbə·ḥê·qāh1 Kings 3:20
Parsing patterns
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular5xGenesis 16:5, Exodus 4:6, Numbers 11:12, 2 Samuel 12:8
Noun - masculine singular construct4x1 Kings 22:35, Proverbs 5:20, Jeremiah 32:18, Lamentations 2:12
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular3xExodus 4:7, Deuteronomy 13:6, Micah 7:5
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural3xPsalms 79:12, Isaiah 65:6, Isaiah 65:7
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular3x1 Kings 3:20, Job 19:27, Psalms 89:50
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular2x2 Samuel 12:3, Isaiah 40:11
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular2xExodus 4:7, Deuteronomy 28:54
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular2xRuth 4:16, 1 Kings 3:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respect bodily boundaries while providing care suited to the person's actual needs.
- Allow shared help and responsible limits without labeling an overwhelmed caregiver faithless.
Avoid claiming...
- Every bosom or lap expression promises comfort or proves inward affection.
- Faithful care requires unwanted touch or one person's unbounded responsibility for others.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. the bosom (literally or figuratively)
Source Gloss
the bosom (literally or figuratively)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
the bosom (literally or figuratively) BDB: bosom Usage: bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
What is held close can be a child, an entrusted responsibility or a harmful thing. Ruth names Naomi's receiving and nursing of the child without erasing Ruth's motherhood. Isaiah's shepherd image combines strong rule with careful handling of lambs and gentle leading of nursing ewes. Moses uses infant-carrying language within his distressed question and explicitly admits the impossibility of carrying the people alone.
Ecclesiastes places quickly provoked anger in a fool's lap, and Proverbs asks whether fire can be embraced without burning clothing. The bodily image therefore needs its actual object and evaluation. Teach nurturing care where the text names it, but also recognize the limits and dangers the other passages supply. Do not infer a person's inward emotions from proximity, demand intimate contact as proof of trust, or make solitary exhaustion the standard of faithful care.
Anchor passage
Isa.40.11
Doctrinal connections
- Ruth 4:14-17 describes Ruth's loving devotion and birth before Naomi receives the child on her lap, preserving both women's roles and the community's blessing.
- Isaiah 40:9-12 joins the Lord's mighty coming with gathering lambs and gently leading nursing ewes, giving concrete shape to the shepherd image.
- Numbers 11:10-14 presents Moses' carrying question within distress and his explicit inability to bear the people alone, keeping limitation visible.
- Proverbs 6:25-29 uses embracing fire and burned clothes within an adultery warning, identifying destructive conduct rather than treating closeness as harmless.
- Ecclesiastes 7:7-10 warns against quick provocation and anger settling in a fool's lap, contrasting it with patience without diagnosing every grief as foolish anger.
- Proverbs 17:23 describes a covert bribe taken to subvert justice, showing that something held privately can serve harmful rather than nurturing purposes.
The licensed Hebrew range includes bosom, lap and related close or containing spaces. Literal holding and figurative harboring are distinguished by the object and action in context; the word does not guarantee affection or establish a modern rule about touch.
From Old to New Testament
Luke 15:20 depicts the father compassionately embracing his returning son before the son's confession and the father's welcome. This separate Greek scene is not another occurrence of the Hebrew noun. Alongside Isaiah's named shepherd care, it supplies a particular portrayal of welcome without requiring a harmed person to accept unsafe closeness or making every bodily image a promise of one identical outcome.