nakaf · round off, go around

What it means

nakaf (נָקַף) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “round off, go around”.

Go around, surround; said of the hair, cut it round. Also cut down.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To go around a city, or to enclose someone on every side.
2. To come round again in the year: the feasts return one after another, each in its season.
3. To cut the hair round, at the sides of the head.
4. To undo something completely, like the skin of the body.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• circling ×2
• has encircled me ×2
• surrounded ×2
• You will surround ×1
• circle ×1
• encircling ×1
• go around ×1
• had run their course ×1
• has been destroyed ×1
• has gone around ×1
• others ×6

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Leviticus×1
• Joshua×2
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×2
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Job×3
• Psalms×4
• Isaiah×3
• Lamentations×1

• Leviticus 19:27

  You shall not round off the edge of your head, and you shall not destroy the edge of your beard.

• Joshua 6:3

  You shall go around the city, all the men of war, circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days.

• Joshua 6:11

  So he had the ark of YHWH go around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

• 1 Kings 7:24

  And gourds below its rim all around surrounded it, ten to the cubit, encircling the Sea all around; the gourds were in two rows, cast in its casting.

• 2 Kings 6:14

  He sent there horses and chariots and a heavy force, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

• 2 Kings 11:8

  You will surround the king all around, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”

• 2 Chronicles 4:3

  Under it were figures of oxen all around, encircling it, ten to a cubit, surrounding the Sea all around; the oxen were in two rows, cast in its casting.

• 2 Chronicles 23:7

  The Levites shall surround the king all around, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house is to be put to death. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

• Job 1:5

  And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them; he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all, for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed Elohim in their hearts.” Thus Job would do all the days.

• Job 19:6

  know, then, that Eloah has twisted me, and with his net has encircled me.

• Job 19:26

  And after this my skin has been destroyed, from my flesh I will see Eloah;

• Psalms 17:9

  from before the wicked who have devastated me, my deadly enemies, who encircle me.

• Psalms 22:16

  For dogs have surrounded me; a community of evildoers has encircled me; like a lion, my hands and my feet.

• Psalms 48:12

  Go around Zion, and circle her; count her towers;

• Psalms 88:17

  They have surrounded me like waters all the day; they have closed in on me together.

• Isaiah 10:34

  And the thickets of the forest will be cut down with iron, and Lebanon will fall by a magnificent one.

• Isaiah 15:8

  For the cry has gone around the territory of Moab; as far as Eglaim its wailing, and Beer-elim its wailing.

• Isaiah 29:1

  Woe, Ariel, Ariel, town where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts go around.

• Lamentations 3:5

  He has built against me and surrounded me with poison and hardship.