H5564 — סָמַךְ (samak)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5564
Original: סָמַךְ
Transliteration: samak (çâmak)
Pronunciation: saw-mak'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 47 unique verses (63 tokens) across 13 books
First Occurrence: Gen 27:37 — "Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense): bear up, establish, (up-)hold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	45	lay (hands on), support, uphold, sustain
Niphal	5	lean upon, support oneself, be sustained
Piel	1	sustain, refresh (Song 2:5)

Qal dominates at ~88% of tokens (includes Perfect, Imperfect, Wayyiqtol, Participle, Imperative forms). The Qal Perfect 3ms form סָמַךְ appears most frequently — the standard sacrificial instruction form. Qal Participle סֹומֵךְ is the Psalmic form describing God as sustainer (Psa 37:17, 37:24, 145:14).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
lay / laid (hands)	20	43%
put (hands)	5	11%
uphold / upholdeth / upheld	7	15%
sustain / sustained	3	6%
lean / leaned	3	6%
stay / stayed	3	6%
stand fast	1	2%
established	1	2%
holden up	1	2%
lieth hard	1	2%
rest	1	2%
set (himself)	1	2%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	14	1.63
Psalms	11	0.45
Isaiah	5	0.39
Numbers	4	0.31
Exodus	3	0.25
2 Chronicles	2	0.24
Ezekiel	2	0.16
Genesis	1	0.07
Deuteronomy	1	0.10
Judges	1	0.16
2 Kings	1	0.14
Song of Solomon	1	0.85
Amos	1	0.68

Leviticus dominates with 30% of all occurrences and the highest density (1.63/100v), reflecting the word's central role in sacrificial procedure. Psalms has the next highest count (11 occurrences) but at lower density, representing the metaphorical "uphold/sustain" usage. The word is absent from the Prophets apart from Isaiah (metaphorical support) and Ezekiel (political/military support).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Laying Hands on Sacrificial Animals (Identification/Transfer)¶

Lev 1:4 — "And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him"
Lev 4:29 — "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering"
Lev 16:21 — "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel"
2 Chr 29:23 — "And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them"

This is the dominant usage (20+ occurrences). The fixed formula is samak + yad (hand) + rosh (head) + sacrificial animal. Lev 16:21 is distinctive: both hands are laid on, and verbal confession accompanies the gesture.

2. Commissioning / Ordination by Hand-Laying¶

Num 27:18 — "Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him"
Num 27:23 — "And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses"
Deut 34:9 — "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him"

The same physical gesture applied to persons rather than animals — transfer of authority and empowerment for office.

3. Divine Sustaining / Upholding¶

Psa 37:17 — "For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous"
Psa 37:24 — "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand"
Psa 145:14 — "The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down"
Psa 3:5 — "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me"

The Qal Participle somek becomes a characteristic divine attribute in Psalms — God as the one who props up, sustains, and prevents collapse.

4. Human Leaning / Physical Support¶

Judg 16:29 — "And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up"
2 Ki 18:21 — "thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand"
Amos 5:19 — "or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him"

Physical leaning or propping — the literal sense from which the other uses derive.

5. Petition for God's Support¶

Psa 51:12 — "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit"
Psa 119:116 — "Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live"
Song 2:5 — "Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love"

Imperative/jussive forms requesting sustenance or support.

6. Figurative Firmness / Establishment¶

Isa 26:3 — "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee"
Psa 111:8 — "They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness"
Psa 112:8 — "His heart is established, he shall not be afraid"

The Qal Passive Participle samuk describes a settled, firm, established state — applied to God's precepts, to the trusting mind, and to the steadfast heart.

7. Military/Political Upholding¶

Isa 59:16 — "therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him"
Isa 63:5 — "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold"
Eze 30:6 — "They also that uphold Egypt shall fall"

Political alliances and military support described as "propping up" — with the theological point that such human support fails.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יָד (yad)	H3027	25x (53%)	"lay his hand" — the hand that is laid
רֹאשׁ (rosh)	H7218	18x (38%)	"upon the head" — target of the laying
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	15x (32%)	"sons of Aaron/Israel" — those performing the act
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	15x (32%)	"before the LORD" — location/witness of the act
אַהֲרוֹן (Aaron)	H175	10x (21%)	Aaron as performer of hand-laying
שָׁחַט (shachat)	H7819	8x (17%)	"lay hand... and kill" — the sacrificial sequence
חַטָּאָה (chattaah)	H2403	7x (15%)	"sin offering" — the offering type
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	6x (13%)	"burnt offering" — the offering type
אֹהֶל (ohel)	H168	5x (11%)	"tabernacle of the congregation" — location
מוֹעֵד (moed)	H4150	5x (11%)	"tent of meeting" — location
פַּר (par)	H6499	5x (11%)	"bullock" — the animal receiving the hand

The dominant collocation pattern is the sacrificial formula: samak + yad + rosh + animal + shachat — "lay hand upon head... and kill."

Synonym¶

H7502 רָפַד (raphad) — to spread, support (SDBH synonym; very rare, 2v)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
תָּמַךְ (tamak)	H8551	both "uphold/sustain"	tamak = grasp and hold firmly; samak = prop up, lean support against
שָׁעַן (shaan)	H8172	both "lean"	shaan = lean/recline for rest; samak = lean with pressure/weight
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	both "put" (hands)	nathan = general giving/placing; samak is the specific ritual term for hand-laying

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrence	PMI Score	Notes
ἐπιτίθημι (epitithemi) G2007	23x	18.14	Primary — "to place upon"; the ritual hand-laying verb
κεφαλή (kephale) G2776	18x	14.28	"head" — co-translation of the target noun rosh
στηρίζω (sterizo) G4741	6x	12.71	"to set fast, establish" — for the "sustain/uphold" sense
ἐπιστηρίζω (episterizo) G1991	4x	12.51	"to support further" — intensified form of sterizo
ἀντιλαμβάνομαι (antilambanomai) G482	5x	10.72	"to take hold of, help" — for the "support" sense
χείρ (cheir) G5495	27x	10.80	"hand" — co-translation of the accompanying noun yad

The LXX splits samak's semantic range: epitithemi for the ritual hand-laying, sterizo/episterizo for the sustaining/establishing sense, and antilambanomai for the helping/supporting sense.