Abrek

See also Abrech

ABREK ā brek’ (אַבְרֵ֑כְ). An acclamation of homage of unknown source and meaning, which the populace cried out before Joseph when he drove among the people in Pharaoh’s second chariot (Gen 41:43). Many Hebrew, Egyptian, Assyrian, and Akkadian derivatives have been suggested with such meanings as “Bow the knee!” (KJV, ASV, RSV); “Prostrate yourself!,” “Bow your head!,” “Rejoice!,” or “Grand Vizier!” Price in HDB favors a Hebrew or Assyrian source. ISBE follows Friedrich Delitzsch and Kyle (Moses and the Monuments, p. 29) who judge the source to be the Assyrian abarakku, meaning “grand vizier” or “friend of a king.” It is thought that the word and practice was brought to Egypt by the Hyksos.