H1792 — דָּכָא (daka)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H1792
Original: דָּכָא
Transliteration: daka
Pronunciation: daw-kaw
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root (compare H1794 dakah)
Occurrences: 18 unique verses (22 tokens) across 6 books
First Occurrence: Job 4:19 — "How much less [in] them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation [is] in the dust, [which] are crushed before the moth?"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root (compare H1794 dakah); to crumble; transitively, to bruise (literally or figuratively): beat to pieces, break (in pieces), bruise, contrite, crush, destroy, humble, oppress, smite.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Piel	11	crush, bruise, break in pieces (active, intensive)
Pual	4	be crushed, be bruised (passive of Piel)
Hithpael	2	be destroyed, be crushed (reflexive/resultative)
Niphal	1	be contrite, be crushed (stative/passive)

Additionally, 3 occurrences function as adjective (dakka — contrite/crushed): Psa 34:19, Psa 90:3, Isa 57:15.

Piel dominance (61%): The Piel intensive stem accounts for nearly two-thirds of all verbal uses, emphasizing thorough, complete crushing — whether physical destruction or spiritual contrition. Key Piel occurrences include Isa 53:10 (dakko, infinitive construct + 3ms suffix: "to bruise him"), Psa 72:4, Psa 89:10, and Lam 3:34.

Isa 53:10 form (דַּכְּאֹו dakko): Piel infinitive construct with 3ms pronominal suffix. The Piel stem here conveys intentional, purposeful crushing — an act of deliberate intensity, not accidental or incidental harm.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Each verse uses a unique translation phrase; the word is rendered with considerable variety:

Translation Concept	Verses	Representative Rendering
crush/crushed	4	"are crushed" (Job 4:19), "crushed in the gate" (Job 5:4), "crush under his feet" (Lam 3:34)
break in pieces / broken	4	"break me in pieces" (Job 19:2), "shall break in pieces" (Psa 72:4), "broken in pieces" (Psa 89:10)
bruise/bruised	2	"bruised for our iniquities" (Isa 53:5), "to bruise him" (Isa 53:10)
destroy/destroyed	2	"to destroy me" (Job 6:9), "they are destroyed" (Job 34:25)
contrite	1	"of the contrite ones" (Isa 57:15)
humble/humbled	1	"humbled" (Jer 44:10)
oppress	1	"oppress the afflicted" (Pro 22:22)
beat to pieces	1	"ye beat my people to pieces" (Isa 3:15)
smitten	1	"he hath smitten my life down" (Psa 143:3)

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Job	6	0.56
Lamentations	1	0.65
Isaiah	5	0.39
Psalms	4	0.16
Proverbs	1	0.11
Jeremiah	1	0.07

Pattern: Concentrated in wisdom (Job 6, Proverbs 1) and prophetic (Isaiah 5) literature. Job alone accounts for one-third of all occurrences. The word appears in contexts of suffering, divine judgment, and — distinctively in Isaiah — messianic affliction and spiritual humility.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Destruction / Crushing¶

Job 4:19 — "which are crushed before the moth?" — human frailty, easily destroyed
Job 5:4 — "they are crushed in the gate" — the fatherless denied justice
Isa 19:10 — "they shall be broken in the purposes thereof" — Egypt's infrastructure destroyed
Job 34:25 — "he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed" — God's sovereign judgment on the wicked

2. Oppressive Crushing of the Vulnerable¶

Isa 3:15 — "ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor" — social oppression condemned
Pro 22:22 — "neither oppress the afflicted in the gate" — prohibition against exploiting the helpless
Psa 94:5 — "They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage" — enemies crushing God's people
Psa 143:3 — "the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground" — personal persecution

3. Messianic Suffering (Vicarious Crushing)¶

Isa 53:5 — "he was bruised for our iniquities" — Pual participle: the Servant is the one crushed
Isa 53:10 — "it pleased the LORD to bruise him" — Piel infinitive construct: YHWH is the agent of crushing; the Servant is the object. The Piel intensive stem conveys deliberate, thorough crushing as a purposeful divine act

4. Spiritual Contrition / Humility¶

Isa 57:15 — "with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" — God dwelling with the dakka (adjective) and the nidka'im (Niphal participle)
Psa 34:19 — "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" — dakka as adjective, "contrite ones," used for those near to God
Jer 44:10 — "They are not humbled even unto this day" — Pual: failure to be crushed/humbled before God

5. Divine Warrior Action¶

Psa 72:4 — "he shall... break in pieces the oppressor" — the messianic king crushing injustice
Psa 89:10 — "Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain" — YHWH's victory over chaos
Job 6:9 — "that it would please God to destroy me" — Job invoking God's crushing power upon himself

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)	H5315	4x (22%)	crushing of the soul/life — Isa 53:10, Psa 143:3, Job 6:9, 19:2
עַם (am)	H5971	3x (17%)	crushing of the people — Isa 3:15, Psa 72:4, 94:5
עָנִי (aniy)	H6041	3x (17%)	crushing the poor/afflicted — Pro 22:22, Isa 3:15, Psa 72:4
פָּנִים (paniym)	H6440	3x (17%)	grinding the faces — Isa 3:15, Jer 44:10
אֹיֵב (oyeb)	H341	2x (11%)	enemy who crushes — Psa 89:10, 143:3
זְרוֹעַ (zeroa)	H2220	2x (11%)	arm/strength in context of crushing — Job 22:9, Psa 89:10
שַׁעַר (sha'ar)	H8179	2x (11%)	crushed in the gate (place of justice) — Job 5:4, Pro 22:22

Word Family / Cognates¶

H1793 דַּכָּא (dakka) — adjective/noun from this root: "crushed, contrite, destruction" (3v — Psa 34:19, 90:3, Isa 57:15)
H1794 דָּכָה (dakah) — sister verb (compare root): "to collapse, break, be contrite" (5v — Num 11:8, Psa 10:10, 38:9, 44:20, 51:10/19)
H1795 דַּכָּה (dakkah) — feminine noun: "wounded, mutilated" (1v — Deut 23:2, hapax)

Synonyms¶

H1214 בָּצַע (batsa) — to break off, cut off, plunder (16v)
H2490 חָלַל (chalal) — to wound, pierce, profane (141v)
H2912 טָחַן (tachan) — to grind (8v; co-occurs with daka in Isa 3:15 "beat to pieces... grind the faces")
H3013 יָגָה (yagah) — to grieve, afflict, cause sorrow (8v)
H6030 עָנָה (anah) — to afflict, humble, answer (79v)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׁבַר (shabar)	H7665	"break in pieces," "crush"	shabar = burst, shatter (150v; physical breaking predominates — bones, vessels, idols); daka = crumble, pulverize (18v; more intensive, often figurative for spiritual crushing)
דָּכָה (dakah)	H1794	"contrite," "break"	Nearly identical root; dakah emphasizes collapse/sinking (Psa 51:10 "contrite heart"); daka emphasizes thorough pulverization
כָּתַת (kathath)	H3807	"beat in pieces," "crush"	kathath = beat small, hammer (17v; physical beating of metal/grain); daka = crumble (broader semantic range including figurative contrition)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ταπεινόω (tapeinoo) G5013	6	11.16	"to humble, make low" — primary equivalent; the LXX translators saw the core meaning as humbling/bringing low
πτωχός (ptochos) G4434	3	7.52	"poor, beggarly" — when daka describes the crushed/afflicted person
ψυχή (psyche) G5590	4	4.72	"soul" — collocational; renders nephesh in verses where daka co-occurs with nephesh

Note: No single Greek equivalent dominates (primary tapeinoo has only 6 co-occurrences, below the 20-occurrence threshold for auto-trace). The LXX renders the humiliation/contrition dimension more than the physical crushing dimension.

Semantic Domain¶

Impact [002001001024] — Physical striking/crushing actions
Dead [002001001019] — Association with destruction leading to death
Insignificant [002001002015] — Making small/humble; shared domain with cognates H1793, H1794, H1795
Unsafe [002001003022] — Danger and harm