Word Study for H7172 (קַרְקַע)

qarqaʻ /kar-kah'/ Ask about this word

Meaningfloor (as if a pavement of pieces or tesseroe), of abuilding or the sea

KJV usagebottom

Idioms & phrases(idiom one side of the) floor.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of qarqaʻ — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word qarqaʻ, represented by H7172, primarily means floor or bottom. It appears 8 times across 6 unique verses. Derived from a root meaning to tear or lay bare, it refers to the floor of a building, such as the tabernacle, or the bottom of the sea.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In biblical usage, H7172 most often appears in an architectural context, specifically in the detailed descriptions of Solomon's Temple. It denotes the foundational surface of the house, which was overlaid with gold 1 Kings 6:30 and covered with fir planks 1 Kings 6:15. In the porch of judgment, the cedar covering extended from one side of the floor to the other 1 Kings 7:7. Beyond buildings, the word takes on a more conceptual meaning of a hidden, extreme depth, as when God declares he will find those hiding in the bottom of the sea Amos 9:3. It is also used in a ceremonial context, where dust from the floor of the tabernacle is used in a holy ritual Numbers 5:17.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help define the architectural spaces where qarqaʻ is found:

H7023 qîyr (a wall): This term is often used in conjunction with qarqaʻ to describe the complete interior of a structure, defining the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a room 1 Kings 6:16.
H6763 tsêlâʻ (plank, board, side): This word describes the materials used to construct or cover a floor. It is used to specify that the floor of the house was covered with planks of fir 1 Kings 6:15.
H5604 çippun (cieling): As the direct architectural opposite of the floor, this word is used in contrast with qarqaʻ to describe the upper boundary of the temple's interior space 1 Kings 6:15.

Theological Significance

The significance of H7172 extends from the literal to the figurative.

Foundation of Sacred Space: The term establishes the literal ground of holy places like the tabernacle and the temple. The dust from the tabernacle floor itself becomes an element in a sacred procedure Numbers 5:17.
Boundary of Existence: It is used to describe the lowest possible point, whether the ornate floor of a king's house 1 Kings 6:30 or the inaccessible bottom of the sea, emphasizing that no place is beyond God's reach Amos 9:3.
Surface of Divine Detail: The extensive descriptions of the temple's floor, including its materials and gold overlay, highlight its importance as a surface prepared with great care for a holy purpose.

Summary

In summary, H7172 is a precise term that defines a foundational surface. While often a literal floor in the Bible's architectural passages, it also serves as a powerful word to denote the ultimate depth or lowest boundary, whether in a meticulously constructed temple or the vast, untamable sea. It establishes the ground upon which sacred events unfold and the conceptual limit of physical space.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 8 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

קַרְקַע
קַּרְקַע

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 6 verses across 3 of the 39 books. Most frequent in 1 Kings (4 verses); never once in the other 36.

Numbers

1 Kings

Amos

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.