רַגָּז
rag.gaz
quivering
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of Hebrew רַגָּז (raggaz) The Hebrew word *raggaz* carries the physical meaning of "quivering"—a trembling or shaking motion. Based on the lexical data provided, this term describes a bodily state of vibration or agitation, though the single biblical occurrence limits our ability to determine the full range of contexts in which the ancients employed it. The fact that *raggaz* appears only once in the Hebrew Bible suggests it was either a less common word choice or one with a highly specific usage. This rarity makes it difficult to establish how broadly the term was applied—whether it was restricted to particular physical phenomena, emotional states, or specialized situations. Without access to the specific verse in which it appears, we cannot determine what triggered the quivering or what theological or narrative significance the ancient authors attached to it. For modern readers, *raggaz* exemplifies how biblical Hebrew contains precisely descriptive vocabulary for bodily sensations and movements, even words used sparingly. Understanding such terms helps convey the concrete, physical language through which ancient Hebrew literature expressed human experience and, in religious contexts, responses to divine encounter or distress.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text