חִנָּם
chinnâm · H2600 · Hebrew · 32 occurrences
Meanings
-
without payment, for free, gratis
Action by which someone performs an event as a favor, without expecting a reward or remuneration for it
ExamplesGenesis 29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”
Exodus 21:2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you.
Exodus 21:11 “But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go free for nothing, without payment of money.
-
without cause
Action by which someone performs an event without any argument, cause, or reason that could possibly explain or justify it
Examples1 Samuel 19:5 “For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”
1 Samuel 25:31 this will not become an obstacle to you, or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”
1 Kings 2:31 And the king said to him, “Do just as he has spoken, and execute him and bury him, so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without justification.
-
without purpose, in vain
Action by which someone performs an event without purpose and bound to achieve nothing
ExamplesProverbs 1:17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;
Ezekiel 6:10 “Then they will know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’
Malachi 1:10 “If only there were one among you who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of armies, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.
How it’s used In 2 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אֵלto, toward 2
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- דָּםblood 1
- קְלָלָהcurse 1
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
- רֵיקָם rêyqâm · H7387 · empty, without (a gift)
- Both lexemes denote states of lacking ground/reason (causeless) and lacking result/purpose (in vain).
In the other Testament 2 words
- δωρεάν dōreán · G1432 · without cost, as a free gift, without paying
- Greek δωρεάν renders Hebrew חִנָּם's core sense of 'without cost/payment' with high fidelity across both literal economic contexts (freely given, unearned) and figurative extensions (without cause, in vain); the two share nearly identical semantic range spanning gratuitous action, unmerited favor, and causeless occurrence.
- μάτην mátēn · G3155 · in vain, to no avail, with no result
- Greek μάτην emphasizes futility or purposelessness of an action ('in vain'), while Hebrew חִנָּם spans both the vain/purposeless sense and the economic sense of 'without cost/payment'; the two converge specifically in their shared 'for nothing/in vain' semantic overlap where both denote action without result or benefit.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Innocent002003003015
- The word can describe someone as blameless or without cause for guilt, an innocent party wrongly treated.
- Cause002004002002
- The word denotes something done without cause or reason, as in a groundless or unprovoked action.
- Fail002003003013
- The word can denote something done in vain or to no effect, an outcome that comes to nothing.
Word family 10 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2600. chinnam חִנָּם substantive, used chiefly in the accusative as adverb (compare…
חִנָּם substantive, used chiefly in the accusative as
adverb (compare Assyrian annáma, in vain, DlK 7, Pr 44; from הֵּן, with aff. םָ֯, which is sometimes found in substantives proper, as סֻלָּם, and proper names, but is more particularly used with substantives applied adverbially, as רֵיקָם דּוּמָם, אָמְנָם, יוֺמָם: Sta§ 203 BaNB § 216) — literally out of favour; i.e.
a. gratis, gratuitously, for nothing, חִנָּם עָבַד to serve for nought Gen 29:15; Job 1:9; Isa 52:3 to be sold (figurative) for nought Isa 52:5; Exo 21:2, Exo 21:11 חִנָּם יָצָא to go out(from slavery) freely, for nothing, Num 11:5 which we used to eat in Egyptian for nought, Jer 22:13; 1Ch 21:24; in the Genitive 2Sa 24:24 חִנָּם עֹלוֺת i.e. burnt-offerings which cost nothing (in the || 1Ch 21:24 the construction is changed).
b. for no purpose, in vain Pro 1:17; Mal 1:10: once חִנָּם אֶל (compare אֶל 7) Eze 6:10.
c. gratuitously, without cause, undeservedly, especially of groundless hostility or attack, 1Sa 19:5 חִנָּם לְהָמִית to slay David without cause, 1Sa 25:31; Psa 35:7 (twice in verse); Psa 109:3; Psa 119:161 חִנָּם רְדָפוּנִי, Pro 1:11; Pro 3:30; Pro 23:29; Job 2:3 ח ׳לְבַלְּעוֺ Job 9:17; Job 22:6; Eze 14:23; Psa 35:19; and Psa 69:5 חִנָּם שׂנְאַי my haters without cause, Lam 3:52 חִנָּם אֹיְבַי; in the Genitive 1Ki 2:31 חִנָּם דְּמֵי blood shed without cause (compare 1Sa 25:31), Pro 24:28 בְּרֵעֶ֑ךָ ח עֵד ׳אֲלתְּֿהִי, Pro 26:2 ח ׳קִלְלַת the causeless curse.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 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
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.