An emphatic expression of joy, "They clapped their hands (nakhah), and said, Long live (the King James Version "God save") the king" (2Ki 11:12); "Oh clap your hands (taqa`), all ye peoples" (Ps 47:1); or exultation (caphaq,La 2:15; macha',Eze 25:6; taqa`,Na 3:19); or repudiation (caphaq,Job 27:23;34:37).
Figurative: To denote Nature's "sympathy" with God's people. "Let the floods clap (macha') their hands" (Ps 98:8); "All the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isa 55:12; compareJud 5:20).