The Hebrew verb chabaq means to embrace another person in a physical expression of love, welcome, or comfort. It also describes the folding of one's own hands in laziness.
Chabaq captures the warmth of human affection and covenant welcome. When Laban embraced Jacob (Genesis 29:13), it expressed joyful recognition and acceptance. The Shunammite woman embracing her dead son (2 Kings 4:16) conveys the desperate hold of grief and love. Ecclesiastes uses chabaq both for intimate embrace and for the folded hands of the sluggard — contrasting fruitful love with idle waste. The embrace is also a divine metaphor: God's people are called to be held close by Wisdom (Proverbs 4:8).