חָנֵף
chânêph · H2610 · Hebrew · 11 occurrences
Meanings
-
to be polluted, to be defiled
Process by which land becomes impure as a result of the morally and ethically unacceptable things that happen there, and therefore unfit for God to associate with
ExamplesPsalm 106:38 And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was defiled with the blood.
Isaiah 24:5 The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant.
Jeremiah 3:1 God says, “If a husband divorces his wife And she leaves him And becomes another man’s wife, Will he return to her again? Would that land not be completely defiled? But you are a prostitute with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me,” declares the LORD.
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to pollute, to defile
Causative action by which humans cause land to become impure by their morally and ethically unacceptable behavior, as a result of which it is no longer fit for God to associate with
ExamplesNumbers 35:33 ‘So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Jeremiah 3:2 “Raise your eyes to the bare heights and see; Where have you not been violated? You have sat for them by the roads Like an Arab in the desert, And you have defiled a land With your prostitution and your wickedness.
Jeremiah 3:9 “And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
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to be defiled > to be destroyed
Process by which a town becomes unfit for anyone to live in it
ExamplesMicah 4:11 “And now many nations have been assembled against you Who say, ‘Let her be defiled, And let our eyes gloat over Zion!’
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to be ungodly, to be godless
Process by which humans become impure in character, without regard or respect for God
ExamplesJeremiah 23:11 “For both prophet and priest are defiled; Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
Daniel 11:32 “And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.
How it’s used In 5 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
10 occurrences in 7 groups
- אֶרֶץland, earth, ground 3
- Not stated: he, she or it 3
- הוּאhe, she, it 1
- כֹּהֵןpriest 1
- נָבִיאprophet 1
- Not stated: you (more than one) 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
5 occurrences in 2 groups
- אֶרֶץland, earth, ground 4
- רָשַׁעto condemn, to act wickedly 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- תַּחַתunder, below, instead of+ יָשַׁבto dwell, to live, to sit 1
- בin/on/with+ דָּםblood 1
- בin/on/with+ חֲלַקָּהsmooth 1
With adverbsAdverbs
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- לֹאnot 2
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אָמַרto say 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 2 words
- טָנַף ṭânaph · H2936 · to soil, to dirty
- Both lexemes share genuine semantic overlap as defilement/corruption terms.
- גָּאַל gâʼal · H1351 · to redeem oneself, to reclaim oneself, to redeem
- Both words overlap in the sense of defiling or polluting, and are plausibly substitutable terms in that sphere.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Unclean002001001066
- The word denotes defiling or polluting something, as in Numbers 35:33's warning against defiling the land through unatoned bloodshed.
- Impact002001001024
- The word can denote the violent shedding of blood that results in pollution of the land, an act with forceful, damaging consequences.
- Evil002001002007
- The word denotes moral corruption or wickedness, as in Isaiah 24:5's description of the earth defiled by its inhabitants violating laws and covenants.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2610. chaneph [חָנֵף] verb polluted, profane (Arabic incline, decline, hence inclining…
[חָנֵף] verb polluted, profane (Arabic incline, decline, hence inclining to a right state, but in Hebrew of inclining away from right, irreligion, profaneness, compare have a i.e. distortion of foot; Syriac in derivatives be profane, etc.; Late Hebrew Hiph`il, Aramaic Aph`el act falsely toward, flatter, חֲנוּפָה hypocrisy; Assyrian hanpu, ruthlessness; hanâpu, exercise ruthlessness toward, Tel Amarna Zim ZA vi, 1891, 256) —
Qal Perfect3feminine singular חָֽנְפָה Isa 24:5; Isa 24:3plural חָנֵפ֑וּ Jer 23:11; Imperfect3feminine singular תֶּחְֶנַף Jer 3:1; תֱּהֶָנ֑ף Mic 4:11; וֵתֶּחֱנַף Jer 3:9; Psa 106:38; Infinitive absolute חָנוֺף Jer 3:1; —
1 be polluted: of land Isa 24:5; Jer 3:1 (twice in verse); Psa 106:38; of Zion Mic 4:11.
2 of prophet and priest = be חָנֵף (compare below) i.e. profane, godless Jer 23:11. — apparentlytrans הארץ את וַתֶּחֱנַף, Gf strike out את, Gie cites Ges § 121, 1, but read rather Hiph`il וַתַּחֲנֵף with Manuscripts ᵐ5 Ew and others (see also Gf. Gie).
Hiph`il Imperfect יַחֲנִיף Num 35:33; Dan 11:33; Dan 11:2feminine singular וַתַּחֲנִ֫יפִי Jer 3:2; Jer 3:2masculine plural תַּחֲנִ֫יפוּ; —
1 pollute: the land Num 35:33 (twice in verse) (by blood; P), Jer 3:2 (by idolatry, etc.) + Jer 3:9 (see above)
2 make profane, godless Dan 11:32 with accusative of person
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
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