ra.qa denotes forcefully beating or stamping, and in creation clauses spreading out the earth or clouds.

The attested uses most often describe spreading out a broad surface, especially the earth and, once, clouds. Other contexts show forceful beating in metalwork or the stamping and crushing of people or with the foot.

1. Spreading out the earth or clouds · dominant

   In Isaiah 42:5 and Isaiah 44:24, the Qal active participle occurs in declarations about the one who creates the heavens and beats out the earth; the APB renders the clauses “the one beating out the earth” and “who beats out the earth.” Psalm 136:6 similarly names the one who “spread out the earth upon the waters,” while Job 37:18 asks whether the clouds can be spread out.

   Isaiah 42:5Isaiah 44:24Psalm 136:6Job 37:18
2. Beating metal into worked material · common

   Exodus 39:3 uses a Piel sequential imperfect where gold is made into plates, and the APB renders “they beat out plates of the gold.” Jeremiah 10:9 has a Pual passive participle in the description of silver “hammered out”; Isaiah 40:19 also places the form in a craftsman-and-gold idol-making clause, though the translation does not isolate its contribution.

   Exodus 39:3Jeremiah 10:9Isaiah 40:19
3. Stamping or crushing under force · common

   In 2 Samuel 22:43, the first-person Qal imperfect stands in a statement of beating enemies fine like dust and stamping them down. Ezekiel 25:6 and Ezekiel 6:11 use the verb with the foot: the APB renders “stamped your foot” and commands, “stamp with your foot.”

   2 Samuel 22:43Ezekiel 25:6Ezekiel 6:11

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the cited clauses, the APB uses “beat out,” “hammered out,” “stamp,” “spread out,” and “beating out.” These renderings confirm the broad contexts, but the translation does not consistently mark the lemma's exact English equivalent.