כֶּשֶׁף
kesheph · H3785 · Hebrew · 6 occurrences
Meanings
-
sorcery
Action by which humans make an effort to gain control over humans, animals, or deities through rituals and incantations
Examples2 Kings 9:22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is your intention peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What ‘peace,’ so long as your mother Jezebel’s acts of prostitution and witchcraft are so many?”
Isaiah 47:9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells.
Isaiah 47:12 “Persist now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to benefit, Perhaps you may cause trembling.
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
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
4 occurrences in 2 groups
- ךְyour 2
- הּher 2
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- רַבmany, great 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- זֹנוֹתto commit fornication 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- כָּרַתto cut off, to make (a covenant) 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- עַדto, as far as, until 1
- בin/on/with 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- רֹבmultitude, abundance, numerous 2
- בַּעֲלָהmistress 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 4 words
- קֶסֶם qeçem · H7081 · divination, lot
- Both words denote prohibited occult practices within the field of divination, involving supernatural manipulation or the seeking of hidden knowledge, and could substitute for one another in context.
- מִקְסָם miqçâm · H4738 · divination
- Both words denote forbidden occult practices, sorcery or witchcraft on the one hand and divination on the other; their senses overlap and they could substitute in many contexts.
- נַחַשׁ nachash · H5173 · omen, enchantment
- The target term denotes sorcery or witchcraft, and נַחַשׁ (nachash, H5173) denotes enchantment; both are terms for related supernatural or divinatory activities that could overlap or substitute in sense.
- חֶבֶר cheber · H2267 · community, company, group
- Both words denote magical or occult practices: חֶבֶר (cheber, H2267) refers to enchanting or charming, and the target term to sorcery or witchcraft. Their senses overlap as terms for forbidden divination acts.
In the other Testament 1 word
- φαρμακεία pharmakeía · G5331 · sorcery, magic
- φαρμακεία (pharmakeía, G5331) φαρμακεία is the standard Greek rendering of כֶּשֶׁף (kesheph, H3785) כֶּשֶׁף in LXX contexts, both denoting magical/sorcerous practices condemned in biblical law, with the Greek term's root association with drugs/potions reflecting one common ancient method of such practices.
Semantic domains 1 entry
- Divination002003003009
- This word denotes sorcery or witchcraft, the abstract noun paired with the verb כָּשַׁף (kâshaph, H3784), so it belongs among words for divination.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3785. kesheph [כֶּ֫שֶׁף] noun masculine2Ki 9:22 sorcery, only plural (Assyrian kišpu,…
[כֶּ֫שֶׁף] noun masculine2Ki 9:22 sorcery, only
plural (Assyrian kišpu, id.); — כְּשָׁפִים Mic 5:11; Nah 3:4; suffix כְּשָׁפַיִךְ Isa 47:9, Isa 47:12; כְּשָׁפֶיהָ Nah 3:4; 2Ki 9:22; — sorceries:
1 literal כ ׳וְהִכְרַתִּי מִיָּדֶיךָ Mic 5:11, said of Israel; כ ׳רֹב Isa 47:9, Isa 47:12 || חֲבָרַיִךְ, said of Babylon.
2 figurative of seductive and corrupting influences: of Jezebel 2Ki 9:22 || זְנוּנִים; of Nineveh personified as harlot Nah 3:4 (|| id.), called כ ׳בַּעֲלַת Nah 3:4 (following זְנוּנֵי זוֺנָהמֵרֹב).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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.