What does לָכַד (lakad) mean in the Bible?
H3920 means to catch, capture, seize, occupy, or be selected by lot, with a separate image of parts holding together. 20, Benjamin is selected as Samuel narrows the public lot toward Saul.
Hebrew · H3920
לָכַד
To catch (in a net, trap or pit); generally, to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot); figuratively, to cohere
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לָכַדH3920
Pronunciationlakad
What does לָכַד (lakad) mean in the Bible?
H3920 means to catch, capture, seize, occupy, or be selected by lot, with a separate image of parts holding together. 20, Benjamin is selected as Samuel narrows the public lot toward Saul.
Reader summary
Full entry for לָכַד (H3920) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3920?
The BSB source-word alignment has 121 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and captured (11), captured (10), was selected (8), will be captured (5), and captured it (4).
Where does לָכַד (lakad) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Numbers 21:32. Its strongest book concentrations include Joshua (24), Jeremiah (22), Judges (14), 2 Chronicles (8).
What This Word Actually Means
H3920 means to catch, capture, seize, occupy, or be selected by lot, with a separate image of parts holding together. In 1Sam. 10. 20, Benjamin is selected as Samuel narrows the public lot toward Saul. In Jer. 5. 26, wicked people set traps to catch other human beings. In Prov. 5. 22, a wicked person's own iniquities entrap and bind him. H3920 opens teaching on public selection, predatory schemes, sin's self-entangling power, military capture, and the need to distinguish divine exposure from human manipulation.
It does not justify conquest, blame victims for being trapped, or make every random outcome God's revealed choice. The word identifies capture or entrapment, not consent from the person who is seized.
How the Bible Uses It
H3920 describes cities captured, prey caught, people ensnared, lots selecting a person, sin trapping its practitioner, and objects joined together. The agent, means, object, and genre determine whether capture is military, predatory, judicial, procedural, or figurative.
- 1Sam.10.20
Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.
Benjamin is selected through a public lot as Israel's demand for a king moves toward Saul.
- Jer.5.26
For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
Wicked people among God's people are compared to fowlers who set traps to catch human beings.
- Prov.5.22
The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
The wicked person's own iniquities become a trap and cords that hold him fast.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itand captured11×Numbers 32:41, Numbers 32:42, Joshua 6:20, Joshua 11:10
captured10×Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:42, Joshua 11:12, Judges 12:5
was selected8×Joshua 7:16, Joshua 7:17, Joshua 7:18, 1 Samuel 10:20
will be captured5×Jeremiah 6:11, Jeremiah 48:1, Jeremiah 48:7, Jeremiah 51:56
and captured it4×Judges 1:8, Judges 9:50, 2 Samuel 12:29, 2 Kings 12:17
was captured4×1 Kings 16:18, 2 Kings 18:10, Jeremiah 38:28, Lamentations 4:20
captured it3×Numbers 32:39, Joshua 8:19, Joshua 19:47
had captured3×Joshua 8:21, Joshua 10:1, 2 Chronicles 17:2
selects3×Joshua 7:14
we captured3×Deuteronomy 2:34, Deuteronomy 2:35, Deuteronomy 3:4
and capture2×Daniel 11:15, Daniel 11:18
and captures it2×Joshua 15:16, Judges 1:12
and he will capture it2×Jeremiah 32:3, Jeremiah 38:3
captured [the city]2×Joshua 15:17, Judges 1:13
has been captured2×Jeremiah 51:31, Jeremiah 51:41
He captured2×Joshua 11:17, 2 Chronicles 12:4
to catch2×Jeremiah 5:26, Amos 3:5
will be caught2×Isaiah 24:18, Jeremiah 48:44
-1×Jeremiah 38:28
also captured1×Judges 1:18
and capture it1×2 Samuel 12:28
and caught1×Judges 15:4
and Jehu’s soldiers captured him1×2 Chronicles 22:9
and Joshua captured1×Joshua 10:32
and seize1×Judges 7:24
and seized1×Judges 3:28
and they captured1×Judges 7:24
And they captured [Debir]1×Joshua 10:39
and trapped1×Jeremiah 8:9
are caught1×Psalms 9:15
are trapped1×Proverbs 11:6
capture it1×Jeremiah 34:22
capturing1×2 Chronicles 28:18
caught1×Job 36:8
ensnare them1×Psalms 35:8
ensnared1×Proverbs 6:2
entrap him1×Proverbs 5:22
had assumed1×1 Samuel 14:47
has been taken1×Jeremiah 48:41
He catches1×Job 5:13
he had captured1×2 Chronicles 15:8
he has caught1×Amos 3:4
is captured1×Jeremiah 50:2
is ensnared1×Ecclesiastes 7:26
is frozen1×Job 38:30
Israel captured1×Numbers 21:32
let them be trapped1×Psalms 59:12
she will be captured1×Jeremiah 50:9
than one who captures1×Proverbs 16:32
the Assyrians captured it1×2 Kings 18:10
The one who is caught1×Joshua 7:15
There he captured1×Judges 8:14
They also captured1×Judges 7:25
They captured1×Nehemiah 9:25
they captured [Eglon]1×Joshua 10:35
They captured it1×Joshua 10:37
they clasp1×Job 41:17
They will capture1×Jeremiah 37:8
to capture1×2 Chronicles 32:18
to capture it1×Jeremiah 32:24
to capture me1×Jeremiah 18:22
to seize it1×Habakkuk 1:10
until he had captured it1×Judges 9:45
were caught1×Jeremiah 50:24
were selected1×1 Samuel 14:41
when it has1×Amos 3:5
who captured1×2 Chronicles 33:11
who will capture it1×Jeremiah 32:28
will capture1×2 Samuel 12:28
Show sample aligned rows
Numbers 21:32וַֽיִּלְכְּד֖וּtoIsrael capturedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralNumbers 32:39וַֽיִּלְכְּדֻ֑הָtocaptured itConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person feminine singularNumbers 32:41וַיִּלְכֹּ֖דtoand capturedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularNumbers 32:42וַיִּלְכֹּ֥דtoand capturedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularDeuteronomy 2:34וַנִּלְכֹּ֤דtowe capturedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common pluralDeuteronomy 2:35לָכָֽדְנוּ׃towe capturedVerb - Qal - Perfect - first person common pluralDeuteronomy 3:4וַנִּלְכֹּ֤דtowe capturedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common pluralJoshua 6:20וַֽיִּלְכְּד֖וּtoand capturedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralJoshua 7:14יִלְכְּדֶ֨נּוּtoselectsVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singularJoshua 7:14יִלְכְּדֶ֤נָּהtoselectsVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowNumbers 21:32
Aligned rows121
Books represented22
Numbers4Deuteronomy3Joshua24Judges141 Samuel62 Samuel71 Kings22 Kings41 Chronicles22 Chronicles8Nehemiah1Job4Psalms3Proverbs4Ecclesiastes1Isaiah4Jeremiah22Lamentations1Daniel2Amos3Habakkuk1Zechariah1
Source forms
וַיִּלְכֹּ֤ד4xway·yil·kōḏJudges 1:18, 1 Kings 9:16, 1 Chronicles 11:5, 2 Chronicles 13:19
וַיִּלָּכֵ֖ד4xway·yil·lā·ḵêḏJoshua 7:16, Joshua 7:17, 1 Samuel 10:20, 1 Samuel 14:42
וַֽיִּלְכְּדָֽהּ׃4xway·yil·kə·ḏāhJudges 9:50, 2 Samuel 12:29, Isaiah 20:1, Habakkuk 1:10
וַיִּלְכֹּ֖ד3xway·yil·kōḏNumbers 32:41, Judges 15:4, 2 Samuel 12:26
וּלְכָדָֽהּ׃3xū·lə·ḵā·ḏāhJeremiah 32:3, Jeremiah 32:28, Jeremiah 38:3
נִלְכְּדָ֣ה3xnil·kə·ḏāh1 Kings 16:18, Jeremiah 38:28, Jeremiah 51:41
נִלְכְּדָ֖ה3xnil·kə·ḏāh2 Kings 18:10, Jeremiah 38:28, Jeremiah 48:1
וַיִּלְכֹּ֥ד2xway·yil·kōḏNumbers 32:42, Judges 12:5
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular18xNumbers 32:41, Numbers 32:42, Joshua 7:17, Joshua 11:10
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular11xJoshua 8:21, Joshua 10:1, Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:42
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural10xNumbers 21:32, Joshua 6:20, Joshua 19:47, Judges 1:8
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person feminine singular10x1 Kings 16:18, 2 Kings 18:10, Psalms 9:15, Jeremiah 38:28
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular9xJoshua 10:32, Joshua 10:39, Joshua 15:17, Judges 1:13
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular7xJoshua 7:16, Joshua 7:17, Joshua 7:18, 1 Samuel 10:20
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular5xJoshua 15:16, Judges 1:12, Jeremiah 32:3, Jeremiah 32:28
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person feminine singular5xNumbers 32:39, Joshua 8:19, Joshua 10:35, Joshua 10:37
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not tell victims of trafficking, abuse, fraud, addiction, or war that their entrapment proves their personal wickedness.
- Do not use lots, random numbers, or opened Bible pages as unquestionable proof of God's choice in high-stakes decisions.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H3920 makes every captured city a model for modern territorial conquest.
- Do not claim that every person who feels trapped is held by a sin of their own making.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Capture through entrapment or restraint; extends from physical trapping to seizure of persons, places, and abstract coercion.
Strong'sH3920
Lexical occurrences121 versesWord forms3 forms40 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkProverbs 5:15-23Source Gloss
to catch (in a net, trap or pit); generally, to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot); figuratively, to cohere
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Capture through entrapment or restraint; extends from physical trapping to seizure of persons, places, and abstract coercion.
to catch (in a net, trap or pit); generally, to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot); figuratively, to cohere BDB: capture Usage: × at all, catch (self), be frozen, be holden, stick together, take.
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 groups3Aligned forms40
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense18×
Perfect1Sam 14:47 · 2Chr 15:8 · 2Chr 17:2 · 2Kgs 17:6 · Amos 3:4 · Josh 8:21 · Josh 10:1 · Josh 10:28 · Josh 10:42 · Josh 11:12 · Josh 11:17 · 2Sam 12:27 · Deut 2:3513×
Imperfect2Chr 32:18 · Jer 5:26 · 2Sam 12:28 · Amos 3:54×
Participle activeJob 5:131×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action20×
Perfect1Kgs 16:18 · 2Kgs 18:10 · Jer 38:28 · Jer 48:1 · Jer 48:41 · Jer 50:2 · Jer 51:31 · Jer 51:41 · Ps 9:16 · Jer 50:24 · Lam 4:20 · Prov 6:213×
ImperfectEccl 7:26 · Isa 24:18 · Jer 48:44 · Jer 6:11 · Prov 11:6 · Jer 48:7 · Jer 50:97×
Hithpaelreflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others2×
ImperfectJob 38:30 · Job 41:92×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
to capture or trap
Showing 1 selected witness from 121 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
לָכַד is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
The imagery shows how sin eventually traps and enslaves the one who pursues it.Proverbs 5:15-23
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
H3920 gathers capture's many forms without giving them one moral value. A city can be taken in war, an animal caught as prey, a person exposed through a lot, or a vulnerable neighbor trapped by wicked people. Jeremiah's image is especially searching because the predators stand among God's people. Religious belonging does not make their methods safe. Proverbs shifts the image inward: repeated iniquity can become cords that restrict the wrongdoer.
That warning names moral consequence without implying that every trapped person caused the trap. In Saul's selection, the public lot belongs to a particular prophetic process within Israel's troubled request for a king; it is not a universal decision tool. Faithful application exposes grooming and coercion, helps people leave traps, tells the truth about sin's bondage, and reads conquest accounts without celebrating human suffering.
God catches the crafty, but human communities still need evidence, accountable procedure, and protection for those targeted by predators.
Anchor passage
Jer.5.26
Doctrinal connections
- H3920: predators can operate among God's people, so covenant identity never replaces safeguarding and discernment.
- H3920: hidden traps expose power that seeks control while avoiding truthful consent.
- H3920: persistent sin can create its own cords and reduce a person's freedom.
- H3920: public selection by lot belongs to specific biblical settings and does not validate every randomized decision.
- H3920: military capture narratives preserve real questions of land, power, suffering, and judgment.
- H3920: God can overturn the schemes of the crafty without authorizing believers to manipulate outcomes.
H3920 is a Hebrew verb used for catching, capturing, selecting, and in a physical image, holding together. Niphal forms can express being caught or selected, while surrounding nouns identify traps, cities, prey, people, or joined parts.
From Old to New Testament
Paul cites the theme of God catching the wise in craftiness, Jesus warns about predators among the flock, and the New Testament describes sin and the devil's snares while calling communities to restorative rescue.