BIBLE HEBREW WORD STUDY
Kâthath (H3807) — Meaning & Usage in the Bible
Kâthath (כָּתַת, H3807) is a Hebrew verb glossed 'to bruise or violently strike,' covering actions from crushing fine and hammering to shattering and being crushed across five verbal stems.
Meaning of the word
Kâthath is defined by the lexicon as 'to bruise or violently strike,' with an extended meaning that expands across five Hebrew verbal stems: Qal (beat, crush fine, hammer), Piel (beat, crush fine, hammer), Pual (to be beaten), Hiphil (beat in pieces, shatter), and Hophal (to be beaten, to be crushed).
The KJV renders the verb with a cluster of related glosses: 'beat (down, to pieces), break in pieces, crushed, destroy, discomfit, smite, stamp,' indicating that the root can describe both the act of striking and the resulting state of being shattered.
The repeated emphasis on 'crushing fine' and 'hammering' suggests a verb that applies to intense, repeated physical force — whether applied to a material object (breaking it down) or, by extension, to a person or army (defeating them utterly).
Usage in Scripture
The provided example verses (Genesis 1:5–14) record the creation narrative, where the recurring Hebrew particle (לָ/לַ/לְ) precedes verbs of speaking, making, dividing, and naming. They are included here to show the verse pool sampled for this lemma, not because kâthath appears in those specific verses. Readers should note that the original-language tokens shown for these verses are the particle לְ ('to, for, according to'), not the root כָּתַת itself.
Because the verb connotes violent crushing and shattering, its scriptural contexts typically involve judgment, military defeat, or the breaking down of objects — settings where the imagery of 'smashing to pieces' is natural. When encountering kâthath, a reader should expect language describing decisive, destructive force rather than gentle action.
The breadth of stems (active Qal/Piel, reflexive-passive Pual/Hophal, causative Hiphil) means the same root can appear both as 'he shattered' (subject acts) and as 'it was shattered' (subject is acted upon), so surrounding context and grammar must determine voice.
The word in detail
- H3807 Lemma כָּתַת (kâthath, H3807): 'to bruise or violently strike.' Five stems are attested — Qal and Piel (beat, crush fine, hammer), Pual (beaten), Hiphil (beat in pieces, shatter), Hophal (beaten, crushed). KJV glosses include 'beat (down, to pieces), break in pieces, crushed, destroy, discomfit, smite, stamp.'
Example verses
- Genesis 1:5 Sample verse from the corpus attached to this entry; the surface Hebrew shown is the particle לְ ('to'), not the root kâthath. Included only as a reference point, not a usage of H3807.
- Genesis 1:7 Like Genesis 1:5, this verse shows the particle לָ in the sample, not kâthath. It illustrates the kind of verse returned alongside this lemma, not an occurrence of the verb itself.
- Genesis 1:11 Sample reference in the provided list; the gloss shown is the particle meaning ('according to'), unrelated to kâthath. Useful only to locate the verse, not to interpret the verb.
- Genesis 1:14 Another sample from the attached corpus; the underlying token shown is the preposition לְ ('to'), not the root כָּתַת. Treat it as a navigational pointer rather than a kâthath occurrence.
Common questions
What does H3807 mean in one sentence?
H3807 (כָּתַת, kâthath) means 'to bruise or violently strike,' covering acts like beating, crushing fine, hammering, and shattering across several Hebrew stems.
Is kâthath the same as 'to destroy'?
Not exactly. KJV lists 'destroy' as one gloss, but the core meaning is the physical act of beating or crushing. 'Destroy' is one application of that force, especially in contexts of judgment or military defeat.
Why do several stems show similar meanings?
Hebrew often distinguishes voice and causation through stems while keeping the core lexical meaning stable. Qal and Piel describe the beating action, Pual and Hophal describe the resulting state of being beaten or crushed, and Hiphil adds the causative nuance 'to beat in pieces, shatter.'