Word

חָטָא

châṭâʼ · H2398 · Hebrew · 237 occurrences

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Meanings

  1. to withdraw, to draw back

    Action by which a human being moves in a backward direction

    Examples

    Job 41:25 “When he rises up, the mighty are afraid; Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

  2. to fail, to miss, to forfeit

    State in which a human being is unable to succeed in what s/he intend to do

    Examples

    Judges 20:16 Out of all these people seven hundred choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

    Job 5:24 “You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your home and have nothing missing.

    Proverbs 8:36 “But one who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”

  3. to stand guilty or bear the blame

    The state in which a human being bears responsibility for a wrongful act against God or someone else, resulting in guilt that may require atonement, restitution and retribution

    Examples

    Genesis 43:9 “I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then you can let me take the blame forever.

    Genesis 44:32 “For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.’

    Exodus 5:16 “There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.”

  4. to take responsibility, to bear the loss

    Action by which a human being takes the responsibility for something that has been killed or destroyed and makes restitution for it

    Examples

    Genesis 31:39 “I did not even bring to you that which was torn by wild animals; I took the loss myself. You demanded it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

  5. to bring guilt upon oneself

    Literally to bring guilt upon one's flesh, the action by which a human being commits a wrongful act against God or someone else and so brings his or her own body into a state of guilt

    Examples

    Ecclesiastes 5:6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?

  6. to bring guilt upon someone else

    The action by which a human being brings upon another the responsibility for a wrongful act, resulting in guilt that may require atonement, restitution and retribution

    Examples

    Deuteronomy 24:4 then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

    Isaiah 29:21 Who cause a person to be indicted by a word, And set a trap for the arbitrator at the gate, And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

  7. to sin or commit sin

    The action by which a human being commits a wrongful act against God or someone else, whether or not on purpose, which may require atonement, restitution or retribution

    Examples

    Genesis 20:6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.

    Genesis 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”

    Genesis 39:9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?”

  8. to cause to sin or lead to sin

    The action by which a human being causes or compels another to commit a wrongful act against God or someone else, which may require atonement, restitution or retribution

    Examples

    1 Kings 14:16 “He will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he misled Israel into sin.”

    1 Kings 15:26 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in his sin into which he misled Israel.

    1 Kings 15:30 and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he committed, and into which he misled Israel, because of his provocation with which he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.

  9. to purify oneself

    Action by which a human being performs the ritual of removing the state of guilt or uncleanness from oneself

    Examples

    Numbers 8:21 The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.

    Numbers 19:12 ‘That one shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.

    Numbers 19:13 ‘Anyone who touches a dead body, the body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Since the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

  10. to cleanse, to purify

    Causative action by which a human being performs the ritual of removing the state of guilt or uncleanness from another person or object

    Examples

    Leviticus 8:15 Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.

    Leviticus 14:49 “To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds, cedar wood, a scarlet string, and hyssop,

    Leviticus 14:52 “So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet string.

  11. to sacrifice as sin-offering, to present as sin-offering

    Action by which a human being performs the sacrificial ritual that is intended to remove the state of guilt from oneself or someone else

    Examples

    Exodus 29:36 “Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.

    Leviticus 6:26 ‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.

    Leviticus 9:15 Then he presented the people’s offering, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first.

How it’s used In 11 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

225 occurrences in 39 groups

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

52 occurrences in 23 groups

Second objectAs in “call him Lord”

1 occurrences in 1 groups

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

100 occurrences in 55 groups

With adverbsAdverbs

28 occurrences in 6 groups

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

1 occurrences in 1 groups

What it doesIt is the subject

6 occurrences in 6 groups

What is done to itIt is the object

5 occurrences in 4 groups

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

18 occurrences in 4 groups

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 1 word
רָשַׁע râshaʻ · H7561 · to be guilty, to declare guilty, to condemn as guilty
Both lexemes denote acts of committing wrongdoing or sin, describing moral or ethical transgression in overlapping terms.
In the other Testament 3 words
ἁμαρτάνω hamartánō · G264 · to sin, to engage in wrongdoing, sin
The Greek verb ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) is the standard Septuagint rendering of Hebrew חָטָא (ḥāṭā'), both denoting the act of sinning or missing the mark morally; the Hebrew lemma encompasses a broader semantic range including ritual-purification and cultic atonement contexts (e.g., 'cleanse,' 'purify,' 'offer for sin') that Greek expresses through distinct lexemes, but the core sin-commission sense maps directly across both languages.
חֲטָּיָא chăṭṭâyâʼ · H2409 · sin, sin-offering
Aramaic cognate of Hebrew חָטָא, denoting 'sin offering' — a narrower cultic/sacrificial register of the broader Hebrew sin/purification semantic range, representing the standard Hebrew-to-Aramaic lexical correspondence for this root in biblical texts.
ἁγνίζω hagnízō · G48 · to purify, purification, to cause to be pure
ἁγνίζω (hagnízō, G48) ἁγνίζω specifically denotes the ceremonial or moral purification/sanctification action, corresponding to חָטָא (châṭâʼ, H2398)'s purification/cleansing semantic range (purge, purify, cleanse), rather than its primary sin-commission sense (commit sin, offend, miss).
Semantic domains 7 entries
Move002002001012
The verb's underlying literal sense is to miss a target in motion, the root idea behind its gloss "miss," as skilled slingers "could sling a stone at a hair and not miss" (Judges 20:16).
Fail002003003013
By extension the verb describes a moral failure to hit the mark of right conduct, as Abimelech protests he was kept from "sinning" against God through no fault discovered until later (Genesis 20:6).
Guilty002003003014
The verb describes bearing the guilt or blame of a wrongdoing, as Jacob insists he bore the loss himself rather than let Laban hold him liable (Genesis 31:39).
Non-Possess002003002018
The verb's gloss "loss" reflects a sense of being deprived of what one might otherwise have kept, as Jacob "took the loss" himself for animals torn by wild beasts (Genesis 31:39).
Sin002003003018
The verb is the standard Old Testament term for sinning against God or another person, as Joseph refuses to "sin against God" with Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:9).
Clean002001001011
In its intensive stems the verb describes purifying or cleansing something from sin's defilement, restoring it to a clean, purified state.
Sacrifice002003002021
The verb also underlies the technical phrase "offer for sin," describing the ritual act of presenting a sin offering to atone for wrongdoing.
Word family 8 words
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2398. chata חָטָא238 verb miss (a goal or way), go wrong, sin (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic…
H2398. chata
חָטָא238 verb miss (a goal or way), go wrong, sin (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic חֲטָא Assyrian —a‰û. ZimBP 46; Sabean החֿטא חֿטא, id., DHM in MV; Arabic do wrong, commit a mistake or an error; II. make to miss the mark; IV. miss the mark, miss the way; Ethiopic fail to find or have; sometimes sin, especially in derivatives) —
Qal Perfect ׳ח Exo 32:31 + 29: t., 3 feminine singular חָֽטְאָה Lev 5:15; Lam 1:8, חָטָֽאָה Jer 50:14; Eze 16:15, חָטָאת Exo 5:16, etc., + 82 t. Perfect; Imperfect יֶחֱטָא Lev 4:3 Lev 4:12t., תֶּחֱטָ֫אוּ Exo 20:20; Psa 4:5, etc. + 20 t. Imperfect; Infinitive חֲטֹא Eze 3:21 Eze 3:8t., מֵחֲטוֺא Psa 39:2, מֵחֲטוֺ (text error for מחטא) Gen 20:6, בְּחֶטְאָה Num 15:28, חֲטאֹתוֺ Eze 33:12 (strike out Co); Participle חוֺטֵא Pro 13:22 Pro 13:6t., חֹטֵא Isa 1:4; Ecc 9:2, חוֺטֶא Isa 65:20 Isa 65:2t., חֹטֶא Ecc 8:12, suffix חֹטְאִי Pro 8:36, plural חֹטִ֯אֿים 1Sa 14:33, suffix חֹטֵאת Eze 18:4, Eze 18:20; —
1 miss: תחטא לא thou shalt not miss anything Job 5:24, חוֺטֵא בְּרַגְּלַיִם אָץ Pro 19:2 one hastening with his feet misseth (the way or the goal); חֹמֵסנַפְשׁוֺ חֹטְאִי Pro 8:36 the one missing me (Wisdom) is one wronging himself (opposed to מֹצְאִי); miss, i.e. endanger, one's life Pro 20:2; Hab 2:10 according to De VB (others below 3 q. v.)
2 sin, miss the goal or path of right and duty:
a. against man, absolute Exo 5:16 (E), 1Sa 26:21; 2Sa 19:21; 1Ki 18:9; 2Ki 18:14; with לְ of the person against whom or towards whom one sins, Gen 40:1 (E), Jdg 11:27; 1Sa 2:25; 1Sa 19:4; 1Sa 24:12, 1Ki 8:31 2Ch 6:22; לך חטאתי מה wherein have I sinned against thee ? Gen 20:9 (E) Jer 37:18; with בילד תחטאו אל בְּ, Gen 42:22 (E) do not sin against the lad, against David 1Sa 19:4-5,.
b. elsewhere always against God, absolute Exo 20:20 (E), Exo 9:34 (J) Jos 7:11 (D) Lev 4:3; Lev 5:1, Lev 5:11, Lev 5:17 (twice in verse); Leviticus 5:21; Leviticus 5:23; Num 16:22 (P), Neh 6:13; Job 1:5, Job 1:22; Job 7:20; Job 10:14; Job 24:19; Job 35:6; Psa 4:5; Psa 78:32; Isa 43:27; Isa 64:4; Jer 2:35; Lam 5:7; Eze 3:21 (twice in verse); Eze 16:51; Eze 28:16; Eze 33:12; Hos 8:11 (strike out We Kl. Proph.) Hos 8:11; Hos 10:9; Hos 13:2; חכי לחטא נתתי לא I have not permitted my palate to sin Job 31:30; Participle חֹטֵא, used as adjective, sinful nation Isa 1:4; sinful person Eze 18:4, Eze 18:20; but usually as noun, sinner Pro 11:31; Pro 13:22; Pro 14:21; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 7:26; Ecc 8:12; Ecc 9:2, Ecc 9:18; Isa 65:20. Sin is confessed: חָטָאנוּ we have sinned Num 14:40; Num 21:7 (E) Jdg 10:15; 1Sa 12:10; 1Ki 8:47 2Ch 6:37; Neh 1:6; Psa 106:6; Lam 5:16; Dan 9:5, Dan 9:15; חטאתי I have sinned Exo 9:27; Num 22:34 (J) 1Sa 15:24, 1Sa 15:30; 2Sa 24:10, 2Sa 24:17; 1Ch 21:8, 1Ch 21:17; Job 33:27. Sin is universal: יחטא לא אשׁר אדם אין there is no man who sinneth not 1Ki 8:46 2Ch 6:36, יחטא ולא טוב יעשׂה אשׁר בארץ צדיק אין אדם כי Ecc 7:20 for man there is none righteous in the earth who doeth good and sinneth not; with לְ, against God Gen 20:6 (E), Gen 39:9 (J), Exo 32:33; Num 32:33 (both J E), Deu 9:16; Deu 20:18; 1Sa 2:25; 1Sa 12:23; 1Sa 14:33-34, 1Ki 8:33, 1Ki 8:35, 1Ki 8:46, 1Ki 8:50 2Ch 6:24, 2Ch 6:26, 2Ch 6:36, 2Ch 6:39; 2Ki 17:7; Hos 4:7; Mic 7:9; Zep 1:17; Jer 40:3; Jer 44:23; Jer 50:7, Jer 50:14; Eze 14:13; Isa 42:24; Job 8:4; Psa 78:17; Psa 119:11; Neh 1:6; in confession ל חטאתי Exo 10:16; Jos 7:20 (J), 2Sa 12:13 Psa 41:5; Psa 51:6; ל חטאנו Deu 1:41; Jdg 10:10; 1Sa 7:6; Jer 3:25; Jer 8:14; Jer 14:7, Jer 14:20; Dan 9:8, Dan 9:11; with בְּ of instrument, lips Job 2:10, tongue Psa 39:2; wherein Eze 37:23; Lev 4:23 (P), therein Leviticus 5:22 (P); ellipsis of בְּ in pharse ח אשׁר ׳עונם לי (their) iniquity wherein they sinned against me Jer 33:8 (twice in verse); בשׁגגה by error, unwittingly Lev 4:2, Lev 4:22, Lev 4:27; Lev 5:15; Num 15:27-28, (all P); against thy judgements Neh 9:29; with עַל with regard to Lev 5:5; Num 6:11(P) Neh 13:26; with cognate accusative ׳ח חֲטָאָה Exo 32:30-31, (JE); ח ׳אשׁר חַטָּאת Num 12:11(J) Lev 4:3, Lev 4:28 (twice in verse); Lev 4:35; Lev 5:6, Lev 5:10, Lev 5:13 (all P) Lev 19:22 (twice in verse) (H), Deu 9:18; 1Ki 14:16, 1Ki 14:22; 1Ki 15:30; 1Ki 16:13, 1Ki 16:19; 2Ki 21:17; Eze 18:24; Eze 33:16; ח אשׁר ׳חטאת ל Jer 16:10; Neh 1:6; ח אשׁר ׳חטאת על Lev 4:14 (P); ח ׳חֵטְא Lam 1:8; ח ׳אשׁר חֵטְא Deu 19:15.
3 incur guilt, penalty by sin, forfeit: הימים כל לך וחטאתי Gen 43:9 I shall incur the blame of sinning against thee all my days, compare Gen 44:32 (J); with accusative נפשׁ חוֺטֵא for feiting oneself, one's life Pro 20:2; Hab 2:10 according to most, yet see below
1 — ח אשׁר אשׁמו ׳והביא Lev 5:7 he shall bring his trespass-offering which he has incurred by sin; ח אשׁר ׳קרבנו Lev 5:11; ישׁלּם ח אשׁר ׳את מןהֿקדשׁ Lev 5:16 what he hath incurred by taking of the holy thing he shall pay.
Pi`el Perfect חִטֵּא Lev 14:52; suffix חִטְּאוֺ Num 19:19, חִטֵּאתָ Exo 29:36 Exo 29:2t.; 3 plural חִטְּאוּ Eze 43:22 (twice in verse); Imperfect יַיְחַטֵּא Lev 8:15; suffix וַיְהַטְּאֵהוּ Lev 9:15, תְּחַטְּאֵנִי Psa 51:9, אֲחַטֶּנָּה Gen 31:39, וַיְחַטְּאוּ2Ch 29:24; Infinitive חַטֵּא Lev 14:49; Eze 43:23; Participle הִמְחַטֵּא Lev 6:19; —
1 bear loss: אֲחַטֶּנָּה אָנֹכִי I bare the loss of it Gen 31:39 (E; lit I let it be missing ? possibly read אֲחֻטּנה I was made to miss it ?).
2 make a sin-offering: with suffix referring to שׁעיר Lev 9:15 (P); to sin-offering Lev 6:19 (P); המזבח על upon the altar Exo 29:36 (P; not cleanse the altar RV); ׳ח המזבחה דמם את2Ch 29:24 made a sin-offering with their blood on the altar.
3 purity from sin: the altar, by putting the blood of the sin-offering on its horns, Lev 8:15 (P), Eze 43:20, Eze 43:22 (twice in verse); Eze 43:23; the sanctuary, by applying to it the blood of the sin-offering Eze 45:18.
4 purity from uncleanness: the house of the leper by application of the mixture of living water and blood of the bird Lev 14:49, Lev 14:52 (P); a person, by application of then mixture of living water and ashes of the red heifer Num 19:19 (P), by sprinkling with a hyssop spring Psa 51:9.
Hiph`il Perfect הֶחֱטִיא 1Ki 14:16-17t., הֶחֶטִ֯י (Kt error for החטִיא) 2Ki 13:6; suffix הֶחֱטִיאָם 2Ki 17:21; plural הֶחֱטִיאוּ 1Ki 16:13; Neh 13:26; Imperfect יַחֲטִא Jdg 20:16; 2Ki 21:11; תַּחֲטִיא Deu 24:4; וַתַּחֲטִא 1Ki 16:2; 1Ki 21:22; plural יַחֲטִיאוּ Exo 23:33; Infinitive הַחֲטִיא Ecc 5:5; 1Ki 16:19; Jer 32:35 (Qr), הַחֲ֯טִי Jer 32:35 (Kt error); Participle plural construct מַחֲטִיאֵי Isa 29:21; —
1 miss the mark: יַחֲטִא וְלֹא אֶלהַֿשַּׂעְרָה בָּאֶבֶן קֹלֵעַ Jdg 20:16 slinging with stones at an hair and would not miss.
2 induce or cause to sin: with accusative Exo 23:33(JE), Neh 13:26; elsewhere in the phrase ישׂראל את החטיא (he) caused Israel to sin 1Ki 14:16; 1Ki 15:26, 1Ki 15:30, 1Ki 15:34; 1Ki 16:2, 1Ki 16:13, 1Ki 16:19, 1Ki 16:26; 1Ki 21:22; 1Ki 22:53; 2Ki 3:3; 2Ki 10:29, 2Ki 10:31; 2Ki 13:2, 2Ki 13:6, 2Ki 13:11; 2Ki 14:24; 2Ki 15:9, 2Ki 15:18, 2Ki 15:24, 2Ki 15:28; 2Ki 23:15; with suffix reference to Israel 2Ki 17:21; יהודה את 2Ki 21:11, 2Ki 21:16; Jer 32:35 (sometimes with 2nd accusative — חטאת, or אשׁר reference to חטאת: — 1Ki 15:26, 1Ki 15:34; 1Ki 16:26; 2Ki 17:21; 2Ki 21:16; peob. also 1Ki 14:16; 1Ki 15:30; 1Ki 16:13; no 2nd accusative 1Ki 16:2, 1Ki 16:19; 1Ki 21:22; 1Ki 22:53; 2Ki 21:11; 2Ki 23:15; Jer 32:35; the rest are ambiguous).
3 bring into guilt, condemnation, punishment: אדם מחטיאי Isa 29:21 who bring a man into condemnation; הארץ את תחטיא לא Deu 24:4 thou shalt not bring the land into guilt; אתבֿשׂרך לחטיא אתפֿיך תתן אל Ecc 5:4 do not permit thy mouth to bring thy flesh into punishment.
Hithpa`el Imperfect יִתְחַטָּא Num 19:12 Num 19:4t., יִתְחַטְּאוּ Num 8:21; יִתְחַטָּ֑אוּ Job 41:17, תִּתְחַטְּאוּ Num 31:19, תִּתְחַטָּ֑אוּ Num 31:20; —
1 miss oneself, lose oneself, figurative for be bewildered, beside oneself, יִתְחַטָּאוּ מִשְּׁבָרִים Job 41:17 by reason of consternation they are beside themselves (|| יגורו are afraid).
2 purity oneself from uncleanness, only in P:
a. Levites Num 8:21.
b. those in contact with thedead Num 19:12-13, Num 19:20; Num 31:19-20, with נִּדָּה בְּמֵי בְּ, Num 31:23; by a mixture of ashes of the red heifer with fresh water Num 19:12.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 7 entries

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0

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