### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **ʼâbak**, represented by `{{H55}}`, is a primitive root defined as to coil upward or mount up. It is a rare term, appearing only **1 time** in **1 unique verse** in the entire biblical text, making its single usage particularly significant.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
The sole appearance of `{{H55}}` is in [[Isaiah 9:18]], where it vividly illustrates the consequences of sin. The verse describes wickedness as a fire that devours everything in its path, from briers and thorns to the thickets of the forest. In this dramatic scene of judgment, the resulting smoke is said to **mount up** `{{H55}}`, creating a powerful image of widespread, ascending destruction. The word captures the visual of a great column of smoke coiling into the sky from a raging fire.
### Related Words & Concepts
The imagery surrounding `{{H55}}` is built by several key related words found in its context:
* `{{H7564}}` **rishʻâh** (wrong (especially moral)): This word identifies the source of the destructive fire, framing the entire event as a consequence of wickedness.
* `{{H1197}}` **bâʻar** (to kindle, i.e. consume (by fire or by eating)): This verb describes the action of the fire, emphasizing its consuming and destructive nature as it spreads.
* `{{H3293}}` **yaʻar** (a copse of bushes; hence, a forest): This specifies the location of the kindling, indicating that the fire of wickedness consumes even the most substantial and verdant things.
* `{{H6227}}` **ʻâshân** (smoke, literally or figuratively (vapor, dust, anger)): This is the object that is said to "mount up," serving as the visible evidence of the devastation caused by the fire of wickedness.
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{H55}}` is concentrated in its powerful metaphorical role within its single context.
* **The Manifestation of Judgment:** The act of smoke "mounting up" provides a visible, undeniable sign of judgment. It shows that wickedness `{{H7564}}` is not a hidden act but a destructive force with public and inescapable consequences.
* **The Escalation of Sin:** The imagery portrays wickedness as an active, escalating power. It starts by burning `{{H1197}}` briers and thorns but then kindles `{{H3341}}` in the forest thickets, culminating in a massive plume of smoke that coils upward `{{H55}}`, signifying total consumption.
* **A Picture of Ruin:** The word is used in comparison to the "lifting up" `{{H1348}}` of smoke. This illustrates how the destructive outcome of sin becomes a monumental and unavoidable spectacle, a towering column marking a scene of utter ruin.
### Summary
In summary, while **ʼâbak** `{{H55}}` appears only once, its meaning is clear and impactful. It is used exclusively to depict the coiling, upward movement of smoke from a fire symbolizing judgment. Through this single, vivid image in [[Isaiah 9:18]], the word serves as a potent and memorable illustration of the visible, escalating, and all-consuming consequence of wickedness.
TRV