ra.phah describes becoming slack or letting go, whether of hands, effort, a hold, or restraint.

The verb most often describes hands, effort, or resolve becoming slack or being weakened; it also marks releasing a person or hold, withdrawing restraint, and loosening or subsiding in particular physical or emotional settings. In assurances, its negation describes not withdrawing from or abandoning someone.

1. Become slack or weaken in effort and resolve · dominant

   Qal forms describe hands becoming slack or limp in distress in 2 Samuel 4:1 and Ezekiel 7:17. Active and reflexive forms also concern weakening work or resolve: in Ezra 4:4 the APB renders opponents as having “slackened the hands” of Judah's builders, while Proverbs 24:10 addresses slackening in a day of distress.

   2 Samuel 4:12 Chronicles 15:7Ezekiel 7:17Ezra 4:4Nehemiah 6:9Proverbs 24:10
2. Release, leave alone, or withdraw · common

   Hiphil imperatives call for cessation or release: in 2 Samuel 24:16 the APB renders the command to the destroying messenger, “Enough; now withdraw your hand,” and in 2 Kings 4:27 it renders, “Let her alone.” The same use can concern relinquishing a hold, as Song of Songs 3:4 says the speaker would not release the beloved.

   2 Samuel 24:161 Chronicles 21:152 Kings 4:27Exodus 4:26Job 7:19Song of Songs 3:4
3. Not withdraw from or abandon · occasional

   In assurances, Hiphil imperfect forms are negated alongside not forsaking. Deuteronomy 31:6 and Deuteronomy 31:8 place the term in the promise that God will be with the hearers and will not forsake them; Joshua 1:5 similarly joins it with continued presence.

   Deuteronomy 31:6Deuteronomy 31:8Joshua 1:51 Chronicles 28:20Psalm 138:8
4. Loosen, lower, or subside · rare

   The term can describe a concrete loosening or lowering: in Ezekiel 1:24 the APB says the wings “slackened,” and in Ezekiel 1:25, “they let down their wings.” In Judges 8:3 the APB renders the response of the men's spirit as having “subsided,” while Job 12:21 describes loosening the belt of the strong.

   Ezekiel 1:24Ezekiel 1:25Judges 8:3Job 12:21

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the term with “slack,” “limp,” “withdraw,” “let... alone,” “release,” “forsake,” and “subsided.” These renderings indicate the surrounding clauses rather than fixed English equivalents for every occurrence.