What does כָּרַע (kāraʿ) mean in the Bible?
Bowing or sinking describes a posture whose meaning depends on the subject and occasion. Psalm 95 invites worship and kneeling before the Lord as Maker.
Hebrew · H3766
כָּרַע
Bowing or sinking describes a posture whose meaning depends on the subject and occasion. Psalm 95 invites worship and kneeling before the Lord as Maker.
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כָּרַעH3766
Pronunciationkāraʿ
What does כָּרַע (kāraʿ) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for כָּרַע (H3766) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3766?
The BSB source-word alignment has 36 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include he collapsed (3), bow down (2), bowed down (2), he crouches (2), You have subdued (2).
Where does כָּרַע (kāraʿ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 49:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Judges (7), Psalms (7), Isaiah (5), Esther (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Bowing or sinking describes a posture whose meaning depends on the subject and occasion. Psalm 95 invites worship and kneeling before the Lord as Maker. Solomon kneels with hands spread toward heaven during his actual prayer, while the Lord tells Elijah of people whose knees have not bowed to Baal. Isaiah describes burdened idols crouching as they are carried into captivity, a very different setting.
Genesis compares Judah with a crouching lion, and Eliphaz recalls Job strengthening buckling knees within his attributed speech. Neither every bowed body nor every physical weakness expresses the same allegiance. Read who bends, before whom, and in what kind of statement. Teaching can honor the stated worship invitation without using a physical posture as a test of another person's heart, demanding painful kneeling from someone unable to do it or treating an animal comparison as a new hidden identity claim.
How the Bible Uses It
Worship, narrated prayer, refusal of Baal worship, burdened idols, a lion comparison and buckling knees distinguish the selected bending contexts. Subjects and speaker attribution prevent posture alone from establishing allegiance or spiritual worth.
- Ps.95.6
O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
The invitation names worship, bowing and kneeling before the Lord as Maker, and the following words identify His people and call them to hear His voice.
- 1Kgs.8.54
Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
Solomon rises from kneeling after finishing his prayer, retaining the narrated posture and hands toward heaven without imposing an exclusive posture for every prayer.
- 1Kgs.19.18
Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
The Lord names seven thousand in Israel whose knees have not bowed to Baal, making the stated object of allegiance essential to the described refusal.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ithe collapsed3×Judges 5:27
bow down2×Esther 3:2, Esther 3:5
bowed down2×2 Chronicles 29:29, Esther 3:2
he crouches2×Genesis 49:9, Numbers 24:9
You have subdued2×2 Samuel 22:40, Psalms 18:39
. . .1×Judges 11:35
and bow down1×Psalms 95:6
and he slumped down1×2 Kings 9:24
and I fell1×Ezra 9:5
and subdued1×Psalms 78:31
bow1×Psalms 72:9
bowed1×1 Kings 19:18
Bring them to their knees1×Psalms 17:13
but to crouch1×Isaiah 10:4
collapse1×Psalms 20:8
crouches1×Isaiah 46:1
fell1×2 Kings 1:13
kneel1×Judges 7:5
kneel down1×Isaiah 65:12
knelt1×Judges 7:6
she collapsed1×1 Samuel 4:19
sleep1×Job 31:10
that were buckling1×Job 4:4
they bowed down1×2 Chronicles 7:3
they crouch1×Isaiah 46:2
They crouch down1×Job 39:3
where he had been kneeling1×1 Kings 8:54
will bow1×Isaiah 45:23
will kneel1×Psalms 22:29
You have brought me to my knees1×Judges 11:35
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 49:9כָּרַ֨עtohe crouchesVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singularNumbers 24:9כָּרַ֨עtoHe crouchesVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singularJudges 5:27כָּרַ֥עtohe collapsedVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singularJudges 5:27כָּרַ֣עtohe collapsedVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singularJudges 5:27כָּרַ֔עtohe collapsedVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singularJudges 7:5יִכְרַ֥עtokneelVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularJudges 7:6כָּרְע֥וּtokneltVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person common pluralJudges 11:35הַכְרֵ֣עַtoYou have brought me to my kneesVerb - Hifil - Infinitive absoluteJudges 11:35הִכְרַעְתִּ֔נִיto. . .Verb - Hifil - Perfect - second person feminine singular | first person common singular1 Samuel 4:19וַתִּכְרַ֣עtoshe collapsedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 49:9
Aligned rows36
Books represented13
Genesis1Numbers1Judges71 Samuel12 Samuel11 Kings22 Kings22 Chronicles2Ezra1Esther3Job3Psalms7Isaiah5
Source forms
כָּרַ֨ע2xkā·ra‘Genesis 49:9, Numbers 24:9
כָּרַ֥ע2xkā·ra‘Judges 5:27, Isaiah 46:1
כָֽרְעוּ֙2xḵā·rə·‘ū1 Kings 19:18, Isaiah 46:2
הִכְרִֽיעַ׃1xhiḵ·rî·a‘Psalms 78:31
הַכְרִיעֵ֑הוּ1xhaḵ·rî·‘ê·hūPsalms 17:13
הַכְרֵ֣עַ1xhaḵ·rê·a‘Judges 11:35
הִכְרַעְתִּ֔נִי1xhiḵ·ra‘·ti·nîJudges 11:35
וָֽאֶכְרְעָה֙1xwā·’eḵ·rə·‘āhEzra 9:5
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular7xGenesis 49:9, Numbers 24:9, Judges 5:27, Isaiah 10:4
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural5xJudges 7:6, 1 Kings 19:18, 2 Chronicles 29:29, Psalms 20:8
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular2x2 Kings 1:13, 2 Kings 9:24
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular2x2 Samuel 22:40, Psalms 18:39
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural2xPsalms 22:29, Psalms 72:9
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular2xJudges 7:5, Esther 3:2
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common plural1xPsalms 95:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular | third person feminine singular1xEzra 9:5
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Invite worship with regard for actual bodily limitations and safe participation.
- Avoid private allegiance or final-state judgments based on posture alone.
Avoid claiming...
- Every bent knee means the same allegiance or inability to kneel proves unbelief.
- A lion comparison or attributed speech establishes an unreported identity or private guilt.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Physical submission expressing submission to authority, defeat, or worship through bodily lowering
Strong'sH3766
Lexical occurrences36 versesWord forms2 forms26 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkIsaiah 45:20-25Source Gloss
to bend the knee; by implication, to sink , to prostrate
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Physical submission expressing submission to authority, defeat, or worship through bodily lowering
to bend the knee; by implication, to sink, to prostrate BDB: bow down Usage: bow (down, self), bring down (low), cast down, couch, fall, feeble, kneeling, sink, smite (stoop) down, subdue, × very.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups2Aligned forms26
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense22×
PerfectGen 49:9 · Isa 10:4 · Isa 46:1 · Judg 5:27 · Num 24:9 · 1Kgs 19:18 · 2Chr 29:29 · Isa 46:2 · Judg 7:6 · Ps 20:912×
ImperfectEsth 3:2 · Judg 7:5 · Ps 22:30 · Ps 72:9 · Isa 45:23 · Isa 65:12 · Job 39:37×
Participle activeEsth 3:2 · Esth 3:5 · Job 4:43×
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action4×
Imperfect2Sam 22:40 · Ps 18:402×
Infinitive absoluteJudg 11:351×
PerfectPs 78:311×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Physical act of bending knees in worship and submission to God
The wicked are brought low or cast down before the good
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 36 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
כָּרַע is a primitive root - no further derivation.
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
A posture becomes intelligible through its actual setting. The psalm explicitly invites worship before the Lord, Solomon's narrated kneeling belongs to his prayer, and the word to Elijah explicitly distinguishes refusing Baal worship. Isaiah's crouching idols are burdens carried by animals and unable to relieve that burden; Genesis instead gives a lion comparison for Judah.
Eliphaz's recollection of braced knees belongs to his speech to Job, not a universal verdict that weakness reveals guilt. These differences should remain visible in teaching. The licensed range allows bodily bending and sinking, but it does not give a teacher direct knowledge of every inward allegiance. Invite the worship the passage names while making room for actual physical limitations.
Neither inability to kneel nor a figurative animal posture supplies evidence of a person's spiritual value or an unreported identity.
Anchor passage
Ps.95.6
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 95:4-8 joins kneeling before the Maker with belonging to His care and hearing His voice, preserving both worship and the supplied exhortation.
- First Kings 8:52-56 records Solomon finishing prayer and rising from kneeling, keeping a narrated posture without making it the exclusive form of prayer.
- First Kings 19:18 identifies knees not bowed to Baal within the Lord's named remnant in Israel, retaining the actual allegiance distinction.
- Isaiah 46:1-3 describes carried idols crouching under burdens and unable to rescue themselves, distinguishing them from the Lord's sustaining address to Jacob.
- Genesis 49:8-11 compares Judah with a crouching lion within the blessing, retaining comparison without using the verb alone to establish a new identity.
- Job 4:1-6 records Eliphaz recalling Job's help to buckling knees, keeping his recollection and following challenge attributed rather than endorsing every inference.
The licensed Hebrew range includes bowing, kneeling and sinking. Worshippers, idols, a compared lion and weak knees supply different subjects. Read the named recipient of worship and the kind of speech; a shared bodily verb does not make every posture an act of worship or a measure of inward faith.
From Old to New Testament
Romans 14:10-13 quotes Isaiah 45:23 about every knee bowing and every tongue confessing, then reminds readers that each gives an account to God. The explicit quotation supplies a bounded connection without collapsing Greek and Hebrew identities. Retain the argument against belittling another believer rather than using the bowing language to grade a person's physical ability or invent their final judgment.