Word

חָפַשׂ

châphas · H2664 · Hebrew · 23 occurrences

See all 23 in Search

Meanings

to search, to examine

Action by which humans carefully examine a place in order to find people or objects located in it or in order to gain information about it

Examples
1 Kings 20:6 but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and they will take in their hands everything that is pleasing to your eyes, and take it all away.’”
2 Kings 10:23 Then Jehu entered the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search carefully and see to it that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal.”
Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of a person is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
to search, to look for

Action by which humans carefully look for something they need

Examples
Genesis 31:35 And she said to her father, “May my lord not be angry that I cannot stand in your presence, because the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household idols.
Genesis 44:12 And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
1 Samuel 23:23 “So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he keeps himself hidden, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
to hide oneself

Literally: to be searched; hence: action by which humans move to a location where they will not be readily seen

Examples
Proverbs 28:12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, But when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.
to think, muse, ponder or devise

An action by which humans exercise their minds to understand certain things or to make a plan

Examples
Psalm 64:6 They devise injustices, saying, “We are ready with a well-conceived plot”; For the inward thought and the heart of a person are deep.
Psalm 77:6 I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders:
Action by which humans make an effort to obtain a particular quality (to strive (after a quality))

Examples
Proverbs 2:4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;
to disguise oneself

Causative action by which humans make themselves unrecognizable by others by changing their appearance or clothing

Examples
1 Samuel 28:8 Then Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Consult the spirit for me, please, and bring up for me the one whom I shall name for you.”
1 Kings 20:38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
1 Kings 22:30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.
to be altered

Literally: to disguise oneself; hence: process by which an object gradually becomes unrecognizable by taking on a different shape

Examples
Job 30:18 “By a great force my garment is distorted; It ties me up like the collar of my coat.

How it’s used In 3 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

22 occurrences in 14 groups

Not stated: he, she or it 4
Not stated: I 3
Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

7 occurrences in 7 groups

בַּיִתhouse, household 2
דֶּרֶךְway, road 1
חֶדֶרroom 1
יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִםJerusalem 1
עֶוֶלinjustice, wrong, iniquity 1
וֹhim 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

8 occurrences in 9 groups

Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9

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 6 words

חָבָא châbâʼ · H2244 · to freeze, to hide oneself: חָבָא (châbâʼ, H2244) focuses on hiding/concealing oneself or things (including doing things secretly). חָפַשׂ (châphas, H2664) has a broader range including searching and disguising, but also includes "hide" as one sense. These are distinct words that can substitute in contexts of concealment.
בָּקַשׁ bâqash · H1245 · to search, to seek, to look for: Both lexemes include seeking or searching senses that genuinely overlap as near-synonyms: בָּקַשׁ (bâqash, H1245) means "seek," and חָפַשׂ (châphas, H2664) means "search."
חָבָה châbâh · H2247 · to hide oneself: Both lexemes carry a sense of hiding: חָבָה (châbâh, H2247) means to hide oneself, and חָפַשׂ (châphas, H2664) likewise includes hiding and disguising oneself among its senses, though חָפַשׂ (châphas, H2664) additionally covers searching and thinking.
חָפַר châphar · H2658 · to paw, to dig: Both words share searching and seeking as a core or prominent sense (חָפַר (châphar, H2658), "search out, seek"; חָפַשׂ (châphas, H2664), "search for, out"); they are distinct roots (חפר and חפשׂ) that could substitute in contexts of searching.
דָּרַשׁ dârash · H1875 · to look for, to inquire: Both words are Hebrew verbs of searching and seeking with overlapping senses, and could be used synonymously in contexts of search.
שָׁנָה shânâh · H8138 · to be different, to change, to be affected: חָפַשׂ (châphas, H2664) emphasizes the act of disguising oneself or changing appearance (often in context of concealment/searching), while שָׁנָה (shânâh, H8138) focuses more broadly on altering, changing, or making different (including repetition and transformation).

Semantic domains 7 entries

See002004001005: The word denotes searching visually for something, as in Genesis 31:35's and 44:12's accounts of searching through belongings for hidden objects.
Search002002001016: The word denotes seeking or searching diligently, as in 1 Samuel 23:23's plan to search out David's hiding places.
Hide002002001010: The word can denote disguising oneself to conceal identity, as in 1 Samuel 28:8's account of Saul disguising himself before consulting the medium.
Think002004002013: The word can denote a searching, investigative frame of mind applied to seeking out hidden things or people.
Wish002004002001001: The word can denote a determined intent to seek something out, matching the diligence carried by its sense of thorough searching.
Non-Know002004002008: The word can denote disguising oneself so as not to be recognized, as in Saul's disguise to prevent being known by the medium he consulted.
Different002001001019: The word can denote changing one's appearance, as in the sense of disguise carried by its use for Saul putting on different clothes.

Word family 2 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

חָפַשׂchâphas · H2664חֵפֶשׂ chêphes · H2665 · plan · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2664. chaphas [חָפַשׂ] verb search (ᵑ7Jer חֲפַס dig, seek; Palestinian, Syriac dig…

H2664. chaphas
[חָפַשׂ] verb search (ᵑ7Jer חֲפַס dig, seek; Palestinian, Syriac dig (Schw); perhaps Assyrian êppêšu, êtpêšu, sensible, LyonSargontexte 65) —
Qal Imperfect2masculine singular suffix תַּחְמְּשֶׂ֫נָּה Pro 2:4; יַחְמְּשׂוּ Psa 64:7; נַחְמְּשָׂה Lam 3:40; Participle חֹפֵשׂ Pro 20:27; — search, search out, figurative;
1 search for, object בִּינָה etc. Pro 2:4 (|| בקשׁ).
2 = think out, devise, with accusative עולות unjust acts Psa 64:7 (compare also sub. Pu`al)
3 search = test, Lam 3:40 (object דרכינו; || חקר), Pro 20:27.
Niph`al Perfect נַחְמְּשׁוּ Obadiah 6 subject עֵשָׂו collective; searched out = exposed and plundered (|| מַצְמּוּנָיו נִבְעוּ).
Pi`el Perfect וְחִמַּשְׂתִּ֫י 1Sa 23:23; וְחִמְּשׂוּ 1Ki 20:6; Imperfect וַיְחַמֵּשׂ Gen 31:35 Gen 31:2t.; אֲחַמֵּשׂ Amo 9:3; Zep 1:12; Imperative חַמְּשׂוּ 2Ki 10:23; —
1 search through, with accusative, a house 1Ki 20:6, Jerusalem (metaphor) Zep 1:12; no object expressed 2Ki 10:23.
2 search for:
a. a person with accusative 1Sa 23:23.
b. a thing, with accusative Gen 44:12 (J; Joseph searching for his cup); Gen 31:35 (E; no object expressed, Laban looking for his teraphim); Amo 9:3 (׳י searching for evildoers), Psa 77:7 (soul searching to understand ׳יs dealings with his servants).
Pu`al Imperfect יְחֻמַּשׂ Pro 28:12 be searched for = be hidden; Participle מְחֻמָּשׂ Psa 64:7 in מ ׳חֵפֶשׂ = a searched out search, i.e. a device well thought out (compare Che; ||
Qal q. v.); see also חֵ֫פֶשׂ.
Hithpa`el Perfect הִתְחַמֵּשׂ2Ch 35:22 (but הִתְחַזֵּק ᵐ5, compare also ᵑ6 ᵑ93Esdr 1:26; so Be Öttli); Imperfect יִתְחַמֵּשׂ Job 30:18; וַיִּתְחַמֵּשׂ 1Sa 28:8 1Sa 28:3t.; Infinitive absolute הִתְחַמֵּשׂ 1Ki 22:30 2Ch 18:29; — disguise oneself (literally let oneself be searched for) 1Sa 28:8; 1Ki 22:30 (twice in verse) = 2Ch 18:29 (twice in verse), 2Ch 35:22 (but see above), all of disguise by change of garments; 1Ki 20:38 באפר i.e. with headgear over eyes; subject לבושׂ Job 30:18, i.e. his garment is disguised, no longer looks like the mantle it is.

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

Topical studies with this word 7 entries

Different1 occurrence Hide1 occurrence Search4 occurrences See6 occurrences Wish1 occurrence Non-Know7 occurrences Think3 occurrences

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