חָפֵץ
châphêts · H2654 · Hebrew · 74 occurrences
Meanings
-
to like, to be pleased, to desire
State in which humans and deities are emotionally attached to (other) humans
ExamplesGenesis 34:19 The young man did not delay to do this, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.
Deuteronomy 21:14 “But it shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; and you certainly shall not sell her for money, you shall not treat her as merchandise, since you have humiliated her.
1 Samuel 18:22 Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in secret, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’”
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to be interested in, to have regard for
State in which humans and deities are emotionally attached to objects
ExamplesIsaiah 1:11 “What are your many sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fattened cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.
Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
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to be pleased, to desire
State in which humans feel emotionally attached to a particular event
ExamplesDeuteronomy 25:7 “But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’
Deuteronomy 25:8 “Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’
Judges 13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.”
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to stiffen
Causative action by which an animal keeps part of its body stiff or erect
ExamplesJob 40:17 “He hangs his tail like a cedar; The tendons of his thighs are knit together.
How it’s used In 6 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
73 occurrences in 14 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 21
- Not stated: I 17
- מֶלֶךְking 8
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 7
- Not stated: you (one person) 7
- Not stated: they 5
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (8) 8
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
16 occurrences in 14 groups
- זֶבַחsacrifice 3
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
47 occurrences in 33 groups
- בin/on/with+ יְקָרpreciousness 5
- בin/on/with+ ךָּyou 4
- בin/on/with+ וֹhim 4
- בin/on/with+ נִיme 3
- לto/for+ עָשָׂהto do, to make 3
- Other words · 28 groups that occur once or twice (33) 33
With adverbsAdverbs
21 occurrences in 3 groups
- לֹאnot 18
- מְאֹדvery 2
- אָזat that time 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- יָדַעto know 1
- אָמַרto say 1
- עָשָׂהto do, to make 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 2 groups
- בin/on/with 6
- כlike/as 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 3 words
- נָעֵם nâʻêm · H5276 · to be lovely, to be pleasant, to be sweet
- חָפֵץ (châphêts, H2654) means "delight, desire, be pleased" and נָעֵם (nâʻêm, H5276) means "be pleasant, be sweet, be delight"; both express pleasing and delighting, and both belong to the sphere of love.
- רָצָה râtsâh · H7521 · to be acceptable, to accept, to take pleasure
- Both lexemes denote volitional/affective stances of favor, delight, and pleasure, clearly overlapping in sense and substitutable in many contexts—genuine Hebrew near-synonyms.
- אָהַב ʼâhab · H157 · to love, friend, companion
- Both words express a positive affective or volitional orientation and can substitute in many contexts, love versus delight or take pleasure in; אָהַב (ʼâhab, H157) is usually rendered by Greek ἀγαπάω and חָפֵץ (châphêts, H2654) by θέλω or εὐδοκέω, which reflects a difference in nuance.
In the other Testament 3 words
- θέλω thélō · G2309 · to purpose, to be of an opinion, to think something is so
- Greek θέλω denotes volitional determination from subjective impulse, directly rendering Hebrew חָפֵץ's core sense of desiring, delighting in, or being pleased with something, sharing the same semantic domain of willing and wanting.
- βούλομαι boúlomai · G1014 · to desire, to want, to will
- Greek βούλομαι emphasizes deliberate volition and resolved intention, while Hebrew חָפֵץ centers on delight-driven desire and favorable inclination; both express willingness but חָפֵץ carries stronger affective/pleasure connotations where βούλομαι focuses on decision-making will.
- εὐδοκέω eudokéō · G2106 · to be pleased with, to take pleasure in, to enjoy
- εὐδοκέω (eudokéō, G2106) εὐδοκέω is the Septuagint's standard rendering of חָפֵץ (châphêts, H2654) חָפֵץ when expressing divine or human approval, delight, or favorable disposition toward something, capturing the volitional 'being pleased' or 'taking pleasure in' sense that both lexemes share as their semantic core.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Love002001002018
- The word denotes taking delight in someone or something, as in Genesis 34:19's description of being delighted with Jacob's daughter.
- Willing002001002028
- The word denotes being willing or desiring to do something, as in Deuteronomy 25:7's reference to a brother-in-law who does not desire to fulfill his duty.
- Stance002001001061
- The word can denote being favorably disposed or well pleased toward a situation, as in Numbers 14:8's expression of hope that the LORD is pleased with the people.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2654. chaphets חָפֵץ verb delight in (compare Arabic be mindful of, attentive to, keep,…
חָפֵץ verb delight in (compare Arabic be mindful of, attentive to, keep, protect, Aramaic whence eager, zealous, Arabic anger (excitement), enrage (Aramaic and Arabic of excited attention, Hebrew of delighted attention), DlPr 168 NöZMG 1886, 742; Late Hebrew חֵפֶץ weakened to thing, see DeEc. Glossary, Phoenician in proper name חפצבעל); —
Qal Perfect ׳ח Gen 34:19 Gen 34:28t.; feminine הָפֵ֑צָה Isa 66:3?; 2masculine חָפַצְתָּ Deu 21:14 Deu 21:4t.; חָפָ֫צְנוּ Job 21:14, etc., + 14 t. Perfect; Imperfect יַחְמֹּץ Deu 25:7 Deu 25:7t.; יֶחְמָּ֑ץ Psa 37:23; Psa 147:10; plural יַחְמְּצוּ Isa 13:17; Jer 6:10; יֶחְמָּ֑צוּ Psa 68:31; יֶחְמָּצוּ֑ן Isa 58:2 (twice in verse) etc. + 9 t. Imperfect; Infinitive absolute חָפֹץ Eze 18:23; on Participle חָפֵץ = adjective verb., see below; —
1 of men:
a. take pleasure in, delight in, with בְּ, a woman Gen 34:19 (J), Deu 21:14; Est 2:14; a man 1Sa 18:22; 1Sa 19:1; 2Sa 20:11; in matters and things 2Sa 24:3; Isa 13:17; Isa 66:3; Jer 6:10; Psa 109:17; Psa 112:1; Psa 119:35; Pro 18:2; Est 6:6-7, Est 6:9 (twice in verse); Est 6:11; with accusative Psa 68:31; Isa 58:2; Ecc 8:3; implicit object Psa 73:25.
b. delight, desire, be pleased to do a thing, would do it Deu 25:7-8, 1Ki 9:1; Est 6:6; Rth 3:13; Psa 40:9; Job 9:3; Job 13:3; Job 21:14; Job 33:32; Isa 58:2; Jer 42:22.
c. absolute שֶׁתֶּחְמָּ֑ץ עַד until it please (of love) Son 2:7; Son 3:5; Son 8:4.
2 of God:
a. delight in, have pleasure in, with בְּ, persons Num 14:8 (J), 2Sa 15:26; 2Sa 22:20 = Psa 18:20, 1Ki 10:9 2Ch 9:8; Psa 22:9; Psa 41:12; Isa 62:4; not in the strength of a horse Psa 147:10; in doing evil Mal 2:17; in the death of the sinner Eze 18:32; Eze 33:11; but in mercy, justice, and righteousness Jer 9:23; חפצתי (לא) באשׁר בחר Isa 56:4; Isa 65:12; Isa 66:4; not with (accusative) the blood of bullocks Isa 1:11; ׅ (ים זבח; Psa 40:7; Psa 51:18, 21, or the death of the sinner Eze 18:23 (twice in verse); but with חסד Hos 6:6; Mic 7:18, אמת Psa 51:8; with the way of a man Psa 37:23; חפץ אשׁר כל Psa 115:3; Psa 135:6; Pro 21:1; חפץ אשׁר Isa 55:11; Jon 1:14.
b. pleased to do a thing with infinitive Jdg 13:23; 1Sa 2:25; Isa 53:10.
c. with imperfect subject (Ges§ 142 (3) c) ׳י תּורה יגדיל חָפֵץ Yahweh was pleased to magnify teaching Isa 42:21. — On Job 40:17 see חָפַץ.
[חָפַץ] verb bend down (Arabic lower, depress, as wings Qor 15:88) — only
Qal Imperfect כְמוֺאֶֿרֶז זְנָבוֺ יַחְמֹּץ Job 40:17; he bendeth down (extendeth down stiffly) his tail like a cedar, see Wetzst in DeJob 526 HiHiob 299.
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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