סָתַר
çâthar · H5641 · Hebrew · 81 occurrences
Meanings
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to be hidden
State in which people or objects are in a location where they cannot be readily seen or where danger cannot reach them
ExamplesGenesis 4:14 “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Genesis 31:49 and Mizpah, for he said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.
Job 28:21 “It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.
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to hide oneself
Action by which humans go to a location where they will not be readily seen or where danger cannot reach them
ExamplesDeuteronomy 7:20 “Indeed, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish.
1 Samuel 20:5 So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am obligated to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.
1 Samuel 20:19 “When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel.
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to hide, to conceal
Causative action by which humans or deities cause (other) humans to go to a location where they will not be readily seen or where danger cannot reach them
Examples2 Kings 11:2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and abducted him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death.
2 Chronicles 22:11 But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death.
Job 3:10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.
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Literally: to hide (one's) face; hence: causative action by which humans cover their face in order to be unable to see or be seen (to hide (one's) face)
ExamplesExodus 3:6 And He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Isaiah 50:6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.
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to be hidden > to feel not
Literally: to be hidden; hence: state by which the effect of something is not perceived physically
ExamplesPsalm 19:6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
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to be hidden, to be unknown, hidden, secret
State in which certain information is not generally known, as if it were physically hidden
ExamplesNumbers 5:13 and a man has sexual relations with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she remains undiscovered, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act,
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may follow all the words of this Law.
Job 3:23 “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has shut off?
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to hide, to keep from knowing, to conceal
Causative action by which humans or deities cause others not to be aware of certain information, as if by physically hiding it
Examples1 Samuel 20:2 He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”
Psalm 119:19 I am a stranger on the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
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Literally: to hide (one's) face (from someone); hence: action by which a deity does not engage with people, and does not intervene neither in their favor nor to punish, as if he were enable to see them (to hide (one's) face, to reject)
ExamplesDeuteronomy 31:17 “Then My anger will be kindled against them on that day, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them; so they will say on that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’
Deuteronomy 31:18 “But I will assuredly hide My face on that day because of all the evil that they will have done, for they will have turned away to other gods.
Deuteronomy 32:20 “Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.
How it’s used In 9 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
75 occurrences in 24 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 22
- Not stated: I 12
- Not stated: he, she or it 11
- דָּוִדDavid 4
- Not stated: they 4
- Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (23) 23
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
43 occurrences in 9 groups
- פָּנִיםface, presence, before 28
- נִיme 5
- Other words · 7 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
55 occurrences in 40 groups
- מִןfrom+ נִיme 7
- מִןfrom+ הֶםthem 6
- מִןfrom+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 5
- בin/on/with+ יוֹםday, time 4
- מִןfrom+ עַיִןeye, sight 3
- Other words · 35 groups that occur once or twice (41) 41
With adverbsAdverbs
17 occurrences in 6 groups
- לֹאnot 9
- אַלnot, do not 5
- שָׁםthere 2
- אָזat that time 1
- מַדּוּעַwhy? 1
- עוֹדstill, again, yet 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אָבַדto perish, to destroy 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אָמַרto say 1
What it is said to bePredicate
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 1
- כָּבוֹדglory, honor 1
- אַיִןthere is no, not 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- מִןfrom 2
- לto/for 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 6 words
- חָפָא châphâʼ · H2644 · to do things in secret
- The target lexeme and חָפָא both express concealment or secrecy, and could substitute for each other in contexts of keeping something hidden or unknown.
- עָלַם ʻâlam · H5956 · to go into hiding, hypocrite
- Both words denote concealing or hiding (סָתַר (çâthar, H5641) “conceal, hide”; עָלַם (ʻâlam, H5956) “hide, secret”).
- סָתַם çâtham · H5640 · to stop up, to shut out, to close
- סָתַר (çâthar, H5641) and סָתַם (çâtham, H5640) both denote concealment or hiddenness—being hidden, secret, or concealed—and could substitute for each other in contexts of hiding or secrecy.
- טָמַן ṭâman · H2934 · to hide oneself, to hide
- Both words denote hiding or concealing, with overlapping senses that allow substitution in many contexts.
- חָבָא châbâʼ · H2244 · to freeze, to hide oneself
- סָתַר (çâthar, H5641) and חָבָא both denote hiding or concealing—distinct Hebrew verbs that could substitute for each other in contexts of concealment.
- צָפַן tsâphan · H6845 · to lurk, to lie in wait, to ambush
- Both words denote hiding or concealing, with substantial overlap in sense (conceal, hide and keep secret) that allows substitution in many contexts.
In the other Testament 2 words
- κρύπτω krýptō · G2928 · to keep safe, to cause to be protected, to protect
- Greek κρύπτω emphasizes the act of covering or hiding something, serving as the standard Septuagint rendering of Hebrew סָתַר's core sense of concealment across both physical and metaphorical contexts.
- ἀποκρύπτω apokrýptō · G613 · to keep secret, to conceal
- Greek ἀποκρύπτω (apokryptō) serves as the Septuagint's standard rendering of Hebrew סָתַר (satar) in contexts of concealing or hiding, with both terms sharing the core semantic field of making something inaccessible to perception or knowledge.
Semantic domains 6 entries
- Hide002002001010
- סָתַר describes hiding or concealing oneself or something, illustrated at Genesis 4:14 ("I will be hidden from Your face") and 1 Samuel 20:19 ("the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day").
- Non-See002004001006
- This entry carries no independent "Non-See" sense of its own distinct from the hiding sense already illustrated; every genuine tagged occurrence concerns something being hidden or concealed, and the domain is bundle-shared with that sense.
- Non-Feel002004001002
- This entry carries no independent “Non-Feel” sense of its own; every tagged occurrence is the verb “hide” or “conceal”, as in “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face” (Genesis 4:14). The “Non-Feel” domain is bundle-shared with the related lexeme סְתַר (çᵉthar, H5642) rather than independently attested here.
- Non-Know002004002008
- This entry carries no independent "Non-Know" sense of its own distinct from ordinary hiding; the genuine tagged occurrences concern concealment from view, not a state of not-knowing as such. The domain is bundle-shared with the lexeme's own broader sense range.
- Unwilling002001002031
- This entry carries no independent “Unwilling” sense of its own; every tagged occurrence is the verb “hide” or “conceal”, as in “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face” (Genesis 4:14). The “Unwilling” domain is bundle-shared with the related lexeme סְתַר (çᵉthar, H5642) rather than independently attested here.
- Non-Exist002002002006
- This entry carries no independent “Non-Exist” sense of its own; every tagged occurrence is the verb “hide” or “conceal”, as in “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face” (Genesis 4:14). The “Non-Exist” domain is bundle-shared with the related lexeme סְתַר (çᵉthar, H5642) rather than independently attested here.
Word family 6 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5641. sathar סָתַר verb hide, conceal (Late Hebrew id., derived species; סְתַר ᵑ7 Pa`el,…
סָתַר verb hide, conceal (Late Hebrew id., derived species; סְתַר ᵑ7 Pa`el, Ithpa`al, Syriac Pe`al Passive participle, chiefly Pa`el, Ithpa`al, id.; Arabic veil, conceal, hide, Lane1304; Ethiopic (rare) Di354); —
Niph`al Perfect3masculine singular נִסְתָּ֑ר Pro 27:12 + Pro 22:3 Qr (Kt וַיִּסָּתֵר); 2 masculine singular נִסְתַּ֫רְתָּ 1Sa 20:19; 1Sa 20:1plural נִסְתָּ֑רְנוּ Isa 28:15, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִסָּתֵר Hos 13:14 +; 1 singular אֶסָּתֵר Gen 4:14 +; 3 masculine plural יִסָּֽתְרוּ Amo 9:3; Amo 9:1plural נִסָּתֵר Gen 31:49, etc.; Imperative masculine singular הִסָּתֵר Jer 36:19; Infinitive construct שָׁם לְהִסָּ֫תֶר Job 34:22; Participle נִסְתָּר Psa 19:7; plural נִסְתָּרִים Deu 7:20; feminine plural נִסְתָּרֹת Deu 29:28, וֺת- Psa 19:13; —
1 hide oneself, with בְּ local, 1Sa 20:5, 1Sa 20:24; 1Ki 17:3; Jer 23:24, so (figurative) Isa 28:15; with שָׁם 1Sa 20:19; Job 34:22; absolute Jer 36:19; Pro 22:3; Pro 27:12; Pro 28:28; Psa 89:47; with מִמְּנֵי person Deu 7:20; Job 13:20, with מִן person Psa 55:13.
2 be hid, concealed, especially figurative of escaping God's notice, with מִמְּנֵי person Gen 4:14 (J), מִלִּפְנֵי Jer 16:17, עֵינַי מִנֶּגֶד Amo 9:3, מֵעֵינַי Isa 65:16; Hos 13:14 (subject נֹחַם, i.e. I will not repent, change my purpose of judgment), מִן Psa 38:10; Isa 40:27; from heat of sun Psa 19:7 (i.e. it penetrates everywhere); from birds Job 28:21 (of place of wisdom); reciprocal ׳נִסּ מֵרֵעֵהוּ אִישׁ Gen 31:49 (J) when we are hidden each from the other (i.e. separated); absolute Num 5:13; Job 3:23 (whose way is hid that is, from himself), Zep 2:3 (i.e. escape ׳י's judgment); participle hidden, secret things, in General Deu 29:28; of sins Psa 19:13.
Pi`el Imperative feminine singular סַתְּרִי Isa 16:3 carefully hide (i.e. shelter) the outcasts (Moab speaks to Zion).
Pu`al Participle feminine singular מְסֻתָּ֑רֶת אַהֲבָה Pro 27:5 love carefully concealed.
Hithpa`el Imperfect3feminine singular תִּסְתַּתָּ֑ר Isa 29:14; Participle מִסְתַּתֵּר 1Sa 23:19 1Sa 23:3t.; — hide oneself carefully, of David's taking refuge with (עִם) Ziphites 1Sa 23:19 = Psa 54:2 (title), in (בְּ) a hill 1Sa 26:1; מ ׳אֵל Isa 45:15 a God that completely hides himself.
Hiph`il Perfect3masculine singular הִסְתִּיר Psa 10:11; Psa 22:25; Psa 22:2masculine singular הִסְתַּ֫רְתָּ Psa 30:8; Isa 64:6; etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יַסְתִּיר 1Sa 20:2, וַיַּסְתֵּר Exo 3:6; Job 3:10, suffix יַסְתִּרֵ֫נִי Psa 27:5, וַיַּסְתִּרֵם Jer 36:26; Jer 36:3feminine singular suffix וַתַּסְתִּירֵ֫הוּ2Ch 22:11; 2Ch 22:1 singular וָאַסְתִּר Eze 39:23-24, etc.; Imperative masculine singular הַסְתֵּר Psa 51:11; Infinitive absolute הַסְתֵּר Deu 31:18; Isa 57:17; construct הַסְתֵּר Pro 25:2 (see Köi. 213 and references; yet compare infinitive absolute אָכֹל Pro 25:27), לַסְתִּר Isa 29:15 (Ges§ 53q); Participle מַסְתִּיר Isa 8:17; — conceal, hide:
1 a person from (מִמְּנֵי) enemy 2Ki 11:2 2Ch 22:11; subject ׳י, with מִן Psa 64:3, absolute Jer 36:26; hide anything from (מִן) one 1Sa 20:2, a thing, in General, Pro 25:2; anything (from ׳י; מִן in || clause) Isa 29:15; in General = shelter a person Job 14:13, with בְּ local (subject ׳י) Psa 17:8; Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21 (all metaphor); toil (עָמָל), מֵעֵינָ֑י Job 3:10; commands from, מִן person (subject ׳י) Psa 119:19; hide one as arrow in quiver Isa 49:2.
2 especially hide the face:
a. literally, of Moses Exo 3:6 (E), usually figurative:
b. subject ׳י with מִן i.e. be not observant of sin Psa 51:11, absolute Psa 10:11; more often
c. ׳י hides his face from (מִן person), i.e. withdraws his favour, Mic 3:4; Isa 8:17; Isa 54:8; Isa 64:6; Deu 31:17; Deu 32:20; Jer 33:5; Eze 39:23-24, Eze 39:29; Psa 13:2; Psa 22:25; Psa 27:9; Psa 69:18; Psa 88:15; Psa 102:3; Psa 143:7; absolute Deu 31:18; Job 13:24; Job 34:29; Psa 30:8; compare Psa 104:29; Psa 44:25; מָּנִים omitted Isa 57:17; compare Isa 59:2 your sins have hidden (his) face from (מִן) you; of hiding one's face from (מִן) shame, i.e. avoiding it Isa 50:6 (of servant of ׳י).
I. [סְתַר] verb Pa`el hide (see Biblical Hebrew); — Passive participle feminine plural emphatic מְסַתְּרָתָא Dan 2:22 the hidden things.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 6 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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