Barak (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: בָּרָק, bārāq, "

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

"), is a masculine name of

origin. It appears in the biblical

Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom i ...

as the name of the

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

general Barak, who alongside Deborah led an attack against the forces of King Jabin of Hazor.

Etymology

The

Semitic root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

'' B-R-Q'' has the meaning "to shine"; "lightning". The

biblical name Names play a variety of roles in the Bible. They sometimes relate to the nominee's role in a biblical narrative The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in C ...

' is given after Barak, a military commander who appears in the

. The

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

cognate is ' (not to be confused with ', which is cognate with Hebrew '). The

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''Barcas'' of the Punic general Hamilcar is derived from the same

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

, as is the name of

Al-Buraq The Buraq ( ar, الْبُرَاق "the lightning") is a heavenly equine or chimeral beast in Islamic tradition that notably served as the mount of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and up ...

, the

miraculous A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by physical laws, natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the ...

steed of Islamic Mi'raj tradition. Although the

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

is mostly

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and found predominantly in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, it has occasionally been used by Anglo-Saxon Protestants in the early modern period, when given names from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

were in fashion, as in the name of

Barak Longmate Barak Longmate (1738 – 23 July 1793) was an English genealogist and editor, heraldic engraver and publisher. Life and work Longmate was born in 1738, son of Barak and Elizabeth Longmate of St James's, Westminster in London. He engraved some top ...

, an 18th-century English genealogist.

Use as a given name

Barak Norman Barak Norman (c.1670–c.1740) was an English string instrument maker. He was the most important early English maker, noted for his viols and lutes. He also made violins, and was one of the earliest English cello makers. His work is characterized ...

(c.1670–c.1740), English musical instrument maker *

(1738–1793), English genealogist and engraver *

Barak Lufan Barak Lufan (2 January 1987 – 8 April 2022) was an Israeli kayaker and the head of the Israel Canoe Association. Early and personal life Lufan was born in 1987 in Kibbutz Ginosar. His grandparents were among the original founders of the Kibb ...

(1987–2022), Israeli kayaker *

Barak Sopé Barak Tame Sopé Mautamata (born 1951) is a ni-Vanuatu politician. He is the leader of the Melanesian Progressive Party and was, until 2008, a member of the Vanuatu parliament from the island of Efate. He was the Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 1 ...

(born 1955), Vanuatu politician *

Barak Badash Barak Badash ( he, ברק בדש) is an Israeli former footballer who played as a striker. He is of a Tunisian-Jewish descent. Career Badash began his senior career with the semi-professional team of Maccabi Hadera, from there he transferred to ...

(born 1982), Israeli football player *

Barak Yitzhaki Barak Itzhaki (or Itzchaki, he, ברק יצחקי; born September 25, 1984, in Ashkelon) is an Israeli former footballer. He mostly played a second striker, but could also play an attacking midfielder. Early life Itzhaki was born in Ashkelon, ...

(born 1984), Israeli football player * Barak Bakhar (born 1979), Israeli football player *

Barak Eilam Barak Eilam is an American–Israeli executive. He is the chief executive officer of NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) He became the CEO in 2014, after spending over 15 years with the company. Eilam led the transformation and strategy of evolving NICE into a ...

, Israeli businessman * Barak Moshe (born 1991), Israeli football player * Barak Sultan (1731–1750), member of the Kazakh Khanate dynasty

Use as a surname

* Aharon Barak (born 1936), Israeli former President of the Supreme Court of Israel *

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

(born 1942), Israeli former prime minister *

Valia Barak Valia Isabel Barak Pastor (born 11 September 1969) is a Peruvian journalist and television presenter. Biography Valia Barak was born in 1969, of Russian-Jewish ancestry by her paternal grandfather. She studied at the Jaime Bausate y Meza School ...

(born 1969), Peruvian journalist and television presenter *

Keren Barak Keren Barak ( he, קֶרֶן בָּרָק, born 20 September 1972) is an Israeli lobbyist and politician. She was a member of the Knesset for Likud from 2019 to 2022. Biography Born in Haifa to parents who had immigrated from Egypt and Poland, ...

(born 1972), Israeli lobbyist and politician *

Boaz Barak Boaz Barak (בועז ברק, born 1974) is an Israeli-American professor of computer science at Harvard University. Early life and education He graduated in 1999 with a B.Sc. in mathematics and computer science from Tel Aviv University. In 2004, ...

(born 1974), Israeli-American computer scientist

References

{{given name Hebrew masculine given names Given names Surnames Jewish given names Masculine given names

Etymology

Use as a given name

Use as a surname

See also

References