H3027 — יָד (yad)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3027
Original: יָד
Transliteration: yad
Pronunciation: yawd
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: Primitive word (no verbal root)
Occurrences: 1437 unique verses (1734 tokens) across 36 books
First Occurrence: Gen 3:22 — "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from H3709 kaph, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote: able, about, armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, bounty, broad, (broken-)handed, by, charge, coast, consecrate, creditor, custody, debt, dominion, enough, fellowship, force, from, hand(-staves, -y work), he, himself, in, labour, large, ledge, (left-)handed, means, mine, ministry, near, of, order, ordinance, our, parts, pain, power, presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, swear, terror, thee, by them, themselves, thine own, thou, through, throwing, thumb, times, to, under, us, wait on, (way-)side, where, wide, with (him, me, you), work, yield, yourselves.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

The KJV renders yad in a wide range of prepositional phrases. Grouping by core meaning:

Translation (grouped)	Approx. Verses	%
hand / hands (all possessive forms)	~960	67%
into the hand / out of the hand	~200	14%
by / by the hand	~103	7%
power / force / dominion	~20	1.4%
side / coast / border / place	~15	1.0%
tenons / axletree / stays (structural)	~10	0.7%
consecrate (fill the hand)	~8	0.6%
Other (near, beside, large, times, etc.)	~121	8.3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Haggai	5	13.2
Judges	81	13.1
Esther	21	12.6
1 Samuel	99	12.2
Lamentations	14	9.1
Malachi	5	9.1
2 Kings	64	8.9
2 Chronicles	70	8.5
Deuteronomy	77	8.0
Ezekiel	100	7.9
Nehemiah	32	7.9
2 Samuel	53	7.6
Exodus	91	7.5
Zephaniah	4	7.5
Jeremiah	96	7.0
Isaiah	89	6.9
Zechariah	14	6.6
Ezra	17	6.1
Ecclesiastes	13	5.9
1 Kings	45	5.5
Leviticus	46	5.4
Genesis	79	5.2
Joshua	34	5.2
Job	51	4.8
Micah	5	4.8
1 Chronicles	37	3.9
Daniel	14	3.9
Psalms	89	3.6
Habakkuk	2	3.6
Numbers	44	3.4
Proverbs	28	3.1
Hosea	6	3.0
Amos	4	2.7
Song of Solomon	4	—
Ruth	3	—
Joel	1	1.4

Highest density in Judges, Haggai, and Esther — narrative books with frequent military and court scenes. Strong presence across all historical, prophetic, and legal genres. Absent from Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Hand / Body Part¶

The literal open hand used for grasping, holding, touching. - Gen 3:22 — "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life" - Gen 22:10 — "Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son" - Exo 4:6 — "Put now thine hand into thy bosom" - Jdg 3:21 — "Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh"

2. Power, Authority, Control¶

Yad denotes the capacity to act, govern, or dominate — power that can be exercised or withheld. - Gen 31:29 — "It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt" - Num 11:23 — "Is the LORD's hand waxed short?" - Deut 8:17 — "My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth" - Isa 59:1 — "The LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save"

3. Deliverance and Transfer ("into / out of the hand")¶

The most frequent idiomatic construction. "Into the hand" = surrender to someone's control; "out of the hand" = rescue from someone's control. - Gen 14:20 — "which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand" - Exo 3:8 — "to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians" - Jdg 2:14 — "he delivered them into the hands of spoilers" - 2 Sam 24:14 — "let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great"

4. Divine Action ("hand of the LORD")¶

God's hand represents his direct, active intervention — in power, judgment, prophetic inspiration, or blessing. - Exo 9:3 — "the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle" - 1 Ki 18:46 — "the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran" - 2 Ki 3:15 — "the hand of the LORD came upon him" (prophetic inspiration) - Eze 1:3 — "the hand of the LORD was there upon me"

5. Agency and Instrumentality ("by the hand of")¶

The mediating agent through whom something is accomplished — especially prophets, leaders, and messengers. - Exo 9:35 — "as the LORD had spoken by the hand of Moses" - Lev 8:36 — "all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses" - 2 Sam 11:14 — "David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah" - 1 Ki 2:25 — "king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah"

6. Work, Labor, Craftsmanship¶

The hand as instrument of productive effort — farming, building, artistry. - Gen 5:29 — "our work and toil of our hands" - Deut 2:7 — "the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand" - Exo 35:25 — "all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands" - Isa 64:8 — "we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand"

7. Ritual Laying On / Consecration¶

Placing hands on sacrificial animals, persons being ordained, or the scapegoat — transferring identity, guilt, or authority. - Lev 1:4 — "he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering" - Lev 16:21 — "Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities" - Num 27:18 — "lay thine hand upon him" (commissioning Joshua) - Deut 34:9 — "Moses had laid his hands upon him"

8. Direction, Side, Border¶

Spatial reference — beside, alongside, boundary. - Num 34:3 — "your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom" - Deut 23:12 — "Thou shalt have a place also without the camp" - 2 Ki 8:20 — "Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah" - Neh 3:12 — "next unto him repaired Shallum"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	488x	"the hand of the LORD," divine agency
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	297x	"gave/delivered into the hand of"
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	203x	military transfer: "into the hand of the king"
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	176x	"the work of [his/their] hands"
בּוֹא (bo)	H935	163x	"came into the hand of" — transfer of possession
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	157x	territorial contexts: borders, conquest
אִישׁ (ish)	H376	154x	"every man [with weapon] in his hand"
לָקַח (laqach)	H3947	128x	"took [object] in his hand"
שָׁלַח (shalach)	H7971	121x	"stretched out / sent forth [his] hand"
פָּנִים (paniym)	H6440	122x	"before the face... by the hand of"

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
כַּף (kaph)	H3709	"hand," "palm"	kaph = cupped/hollow hand, palm, sole of foot; yad = open hand, arm, power
יַד (yad)	H3028	"hand" (Aramaic)	Aramaic cognate in Daniel/Ezra, same basic sense
χείρ (cheir)	G5495	"hand" (Greek)	NT equivalent, narrower range than yad
חֹפֶן (chophen)	H2651	"hand"	chophen = fist, two handfuls; yad = open hand
זְרוֹעַ (zeroa)	H2220	overlaps in "arm/power"	zeroa = arm/forearm; yad = hand extending to lower arm

Synonyms (SDBH)¶

Word	Strong's	Relationship
כֹּחַ (koach)	H3581	strength, power — overlaps with yad's "power" sense
חֵץ (chets)	H2671	arrow — co-occurs in weaponry contexts
מָגֵן (magen)	H4043	shield — co-occurs in military equipment contexts
קֶשֶׁת (qesheth)	H7198	bow — co-occurs in warrior descriptions

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
χείρ (cheir) G5495	1197	27.00	Primary — used in ~83% of LXX renderings
παραδίδωμι (paradidomi) G3860	112	15.74	"into the hand" → "deliver/betray"
ἐκτείνω (ekteino) G1614	71	14.38	"stretch out the hand"
ἐξαιρέω (exaireo) G1807	49	11.01	"out of the hand" → "rescue/deliver"
κραταιός (krataios) G2900	27	9.89	"mighty hand" → "powerful"
ἐπιφέρω (epiphero) G2018	11	9.19	"lay hand upon"
ἐπιβάλλω (epiballo) G1911	21	8.46	"lay hands on"
βραχίων (brachion) G1023	30	8.08	"arm" — when yad means extended arm