PEKOD pe’ kŏd (פְּקֹ֤וד; LXX A Φουδ, B Φακούκ, Assyrian Babylonian Puqûdu). An Aramean tribe in Southern Babylonia on the E bank of the Lower Tigris River. The Puqûdu (Pekod) were conquered (at least temporarily) by the Assyrian kings Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, and Sennacherib. Jeremiah mentions the lands of Merathaim and Pekod in his prophecy against Babylon (50:21), and makes a play on words. Merathaim refers to mât marrati, the area at the head of the Persian Gulf. Merathaim is built on the root mrh (to rebel) and here means “land of double rebellion.” Pekod is built on the root pqd (to punish) and here means “land of punishment.” The two names are used to indicate judgment on Babylonia. Ezekiel (23:22) includes Pekod along with the Babylonians and others among the lovers of Oholibah (Jerusalem) who will turn and come against her.

Bibliography J. P. Hyatt, Exegesis on Jeremiah, IB, V (1956), 1126; T. Jacobsen, “Pekod,” IDB, III (1962), 709; J. Bright, “Jeremiah,” The Anchor Bible (1965), 354.