H3948 — לֶקַח (leqach)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3948
Original: לֶקַח
Transliteration: leqach
Pronunciation: leh'-kakh
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: לָקַח (laqach, H3947) — to take, receive, fetch, seize (primitive root; 965v)
Occurrences: 9 unique verses (10 tokens) across 4 books
First Occurrence: Deu 32:2 — "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H3947; properly, something received, i.e. (mentally) instruction (whether on the part of the teacher or hearer); also (in an active and sinister sense) inveiglement: — doctrine, learning, fair speech.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
learning	3	33.3%
My doctrine	2	22.2%
doctrine	2	22.2%
fair speech	1	11.1%
her	1	11.1%
in learning	1	11.1%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Proverbs	6	0.7
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
Job	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1

Heavily concentrated in Proverbs (6 of 9 verses). The remaining three are isolated uses in Deuteronomy (Moses' Song), Job (Zophar quoting Job), and Isaiah (eschatological promise). A wisdom-literature word that occasionally enters prophetic/poetic speech.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Teaching as Substance Given / Received¶

The core meaning: doctrine or instruction conceived as a thing handed over from teacher to learner. The etymological link to laqach ("take/receive") treats teaching not as an activity but as a transferable substance.

Deu 32:2 — "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass"
Pro 4:2 — "For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law"
Isa 29:24 — "They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine"
Job 11:4 — "For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes"

2. Learning as Capacity Increased¶

Used with יָסַף (yasaph, "to increase/add") — the wise person adds to their store of received instruction. Learning is presented as something that grows quantitatively.

Pro 1:5 — "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels"
Pro 9:9 — "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning"
Pro 16:23 — "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips"

3. Persuasion / Fair Speech (Negative Sense)¶

A single use where the "something received" is seductive persuasion — teaching twisted into enticement. The lexicon notes this "active and sinister sense."

Pro 7:21 — "With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him"

4. Wisdom Communicated Through Lips / Speech¶

Leqach linked to the mouth, lips, or speech as its delivery channel — reinforcing the substance metaphor (teaching is something carried on the lips).

Pro 16:21 — "The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning"
Pro 16:23 — "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
חָכָם (chakam)	H2450	4x (44%)	"a wise man… will increase learning" — wisdom and leqach as paired attributes
יָסַף (yasaph)	H3254	4x (44%)	"increase learning / addeth learning" — leqach as quantifiable substance
שָׂפָה (saphah)	H8193	3x (33%)	"sweetness of the lips… learning" / "fair speech" — lips as delivery vehicle
בִּין (biyn)	H995	2x (22%)	"man of understanding" alongside leqach — discernment as recipient capacity
לֵב (leb)	H3820	2x (22%)	"wise in heart… learning" — heart as source of teachable substance

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3947 לָקַח (laqach) — root verb: to take, receive, fetch, seize (965v; primitive root). Leqach is the nominal form: "the thing taken/received."

Synonyms¶

H565 אִמְרָה (ʼimrâh) — word, speech, saying; overlaps where leqach is instruction delivered in verbal form.
H998 בִּינָה (biynah) — understanding; overlaps with leqach as received discernment.
H2449 חָכַם (châkam) — be wise, make wise; verbal wisdom counterpart to instruction that forms the learner.
H7919 שָׂכַל (śākal) — act wisely, prosper through understanding; adjacent wisdom-instruction vocabulary.
H8451 תּוֹרָה (tôwrâh) — law, instruction; the closest canonical parallel for formal teaching content.
H8458 תַּחְבֻּלָה (tachbulâh) — counsel, guidance, strategy; surfaced by search_relationships.py in its plural form תַּחְבֻּלֹות as a practical-wisdom counterpart.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H3948.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שְׁמוּעָה (shmuah)	H8052	"doctrine" (1v)	shmuah = "something heard," an announcement or report; leqach = "something received," instruction as internalized substance
διδαχή (didache)	G1322	"doctrine" (24v NT)	Greek NT equivalent concept; didache = the act or content of teaching; leqach focuses on the reception side
διδασκαλία (didaskalia)	G1319	"doctrine" (12v NT) / "learning" (1v)	didaskalia = the function or office of instruction; leqach = the substance received

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002004002007	Know	Places leqach in the knowledge-and-instruction field, fitting its sense of received teaching.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
σοφός (sophos) G4680	4	6.17	"wise" — LXX translators rendered leqach contexts with the wisdom concept rather than a direct "doctrine" equivalent

The LXX does not map leqach to a single consistent Greek word. The σοφός mapping reflects the Proverbs wisdom context rather than a semantic equivalence. There is no standard Greek word that captures leqach's distinctive "teaching-as-received-substance" sense.