Strike
The Range of Meaning
The English word "strike" translates numerous Hebrew and Greek terms in the Bible, each carrying distinct nuances. In the Old Testament, the most common Hebrew verbs rendered as "strike" include nakah (to smite or hit), nagaph (to strike or plague), and machats (to shatter or wound). In the New Testament, the primary Greek terms are paio (to hit), patasso (to strike), and tupto (to beat). This diversity of underlying words means that "strike" in English covers everything from a physical blow to divine judgment to a ceremonial handshake.
Striking as Physical Violence
The most straightforward use of "strike" in the Bible refers to physical blows. Jael struck a tent peg through the temple of Sisera (Judges 5:26). David struck Goliath with a stone from his sling (1 Samuel 17:49). The servant of the high priest had his ear struck off by Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10).
Jesus addressed the ethics of striking in the Sermon on the Mount: "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39). This teaching reframed the common understanding of retaliation, calling His followers to respond to violence with a posture of dignity and non-retaliation rather than escalation.
Paul listed the qualification that a church overseer must not be a "striker" (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7) — the Greek word plektes describes someone prone to physical outbursts. Church leadership required self-control rather than a quick temper.
God's Striking: Judgment and Deliverance
Many of the Bible's most significant events are described as God "striking." The ten plagues of Egypt are repeatedly framed as God striking the land and its people (Exodus 12:12-13, 29). The Passover itself was instituted on the night when God struck down every firstborn in Egypt while passing over the houses marked with blood on the doorposts.
God struck Uzzah dead for touching the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:7). He struck King Herod with a fatal illness for accepting divine honors (Acts 12:23). The prophets regularly described future judgment as God striking nations and peoples (Isaiah 11:4; Zechariah 13:7).
Yet divine striking was not always punitive. God struck the rock at Horeb so that water flowed for the thirsty Israelites (Exodus 17:6). Moses was commanded to strike the Nile with his staff as a sign of God's power (Exodus 7:17). These acts of striking brought life and provision rather than destruction.
Striking the Rock: A Typological Turning Point
The striking of the rock carries special theological significance. At Horeb, God instructed Moses to strike the rock, and water gushed out (Exodus 17:6). Paul later identified this rock as a type of Christ: "They drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). The rock was struck once, and life-giving water flowed.
When Israel later needed water at Kadesh, God told Moses to speak to the rock (Numbers 20:8). Instead, Moses struck it twice in anger (Numbers 20:11). Though water still came, God barred Moses from entering the Promised Land for this disobedience. Many interpreters see typological significance here: the rock (Christ) was to be struck once; afterward, one need only speak to receive living water.
Striking Hands: Surety and Bargains
A distinctive biblical use of "strike" involves the striking or clasping of hands to seal an agreement, particularly to become surety for another person's debt. Proverbs repeatedly warns against this practice: "Do not be one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?" (Proverbs 22:26-27; see also Proverbs 6:1; 17:18).
The striking of hands was a physical, public act that made the agreement binding. It functioned much like a handshake in modern business — simple in execution but carrying the full weight of legal obligation. Job references this custom when he asks God for a pledge (Job 17:3), and the practice appears in various ancient Near Eastern legal contexts.
The Stricken Servant
Perhaps the most theologically profound use of "strike" appears in Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant passage. The servant is described as "stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4). The Hebrew word for "stricken" (nagua) carries overtones of divine judgment — the same root used for the plagues of Egypt. Yet this striking was not for the servant's own sins: "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5).
Jesus fulfilled this prophecy, being struck during His trial (Matthew 26:67; John 18:22) and ultimately suffering the blow of God's judgment on behalf of sinful humanity. Zechariah 13:7, quoted by Jesus on the night of His arrest, declares: "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered" (Matthew 26:31).
Biblical Context
Striking appears throughout both testaments: in the plagues of Egypt (Exodus 12), the striking of the rock (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11), military narratives (Judges 5:26; 1 Samuel 17:49), the Suffering Servant prophecy (Isaiah 53:4), Jesus' teaching on non-retaliation (Matthew 5:39), qualifications for church leaders (1 Timothy 3:3), and the surety warnings of Proverbs (6:1; 17:18; 22:26).
Theological Significance
The concept of striking in Scripture reveals both God's judgment and His provision. The plagues demonstrate His power over false gods; the striking of the rock foreshadows Christ as the source of living water; the stricken servant of Isaiah 53 points to the substitutionary atonement. Jesus' teaching on turning the other cheek transforms the human response to violence, and the warnings about striking hands teach wisdom in financial commitments. Striking is thus woven into the Bible's grand narrative of judgment, redemption, and transformed living.
Historical Background
The practice of striking hands to seal agreements is well attested in ancient Near Eastern cultures. Mesopotamian legal texts describe similar physical gestures that formalized contracts. In the Greco-Roman world, physical punishment and public beatings were common judicial actions, providing the backdrop for passages about striking in the New Testament. Roman soldiers struck prisoners during interrogation, as seen in the accounts of Jesus' trial. The Hebrew concept of divine striking drew on widespread ancient Near Eastern beliefs about gods sending plagues and calamities as expressions of their will.