שִׁקֻּו

# שִׁקֻּו (shiquv): A Rare Hebrew Verb for Drinking The Hebrew word שִׁקֻּו (shiquv) carries the basic meaning "to drink," functioning as a straightforward action verb in biblical Hebrew. With only two recorded occurrences in the biblical text, this term represents a minor variant within the semantic field of consuming liquids—a domain that Hebrew expresses through multiple synonymous verbs. The extreme rarity of this particular form limits what can be definitively stated about its usage patterns or nuanced meanings. Unlike more frequently attested verbs for drinking, which appear dozens or hundreds of times and thus reveal subtle contextual variations, shiquv's two appearances provide insufficient data to establish whether it carried specialized connotations, regional usage preferences, or stylistic distinctions from more common synonyms. Its scarcity suggests it may have been an alternative or archaic form, though the provided lexical data does not specify this explicitly. For biblical scholars and translators, the primary significance of shiquv lies in its existence as a documented but marginal option within Hebrew's vocabulary of bodily consumption. Its presence demonstrates the linguistic flexibility of biblical Hebrew, even for fundamental concepts, while its infrequency underscores that the biblical writers relied heavily on other, more established verbs when expressing the act of drinking.