רָחַץ
râchats · H7364 · Hebrew · 72 occurrences
Meanings
-
to take a bath, bathe or wash
The action by which humans or animals wash part of their own body or someone else's body or another object, usually with water, in order to remove dirt, with the resulting cleanness often symbolizing ritual cleanness, innocence, or even holiness
ExamplesGenesis 18:4 “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree;
Genesis 19:2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said, “No, but we shall spend the night in the public square.”
Genesis 24:32 So the man entered the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
How it’s used In 7 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
72 occurrences in 15 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 33
- Not stated: you (one person) 9
- Not stated (infinitive) 7
- Not stated: I 6
- Not stated: they 6
- Not stated: you (more than one) 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
37 occurrences in 11 groups
- רֶגֶלfoot, leg 12
- בָּשָׂרflesh 11
- כָּרָעleg bones 5
- קֶרֶבmidst, among, inner parts 5
- יָדhand, power 4
- הֶםthem 3
- Other words · 5 groups that occur once or twice (6) 6
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
49 occurrences in 18 groups
- בin/on/with+ מַיִםwater 33
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (20) 20
With adverbsAdverbs
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- לֹאnot 3
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- אָמַרto say 1
- רָאָהto see 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- יָםsea 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 5
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
- דּוּחַ dûwach · H1740 · to wash, to cleanse
- Both words denote washing and cleansing in the same semantic range, and could substitute for each other in the sense of ritual or physical washing.
- בָּרַר bârar · H1305 · to test, to select, to purge
- בָּרַר (bârar, H1305) includes cleansing/purifying among its senses, and רָחַץ (râchats, H7364) is washing/bathing—both are cleaning actions and represent a real overlap in the cleaning/purification domain. These are true near-synonyms in contexts of ritual or physical cleansing.
In the other Testament 2 words
- λούω loúō · G3068 · to bathe, to wash
- Greek λούω (loúō, G3068) denotes bathing the whole person, directly corresponding to Hebrew רָחַץ (râchats, H7364) in contexts of ritual purification and bodily washing.
- νίπτω níptō · G3538 · to wash, to be very hospitable to
- Greek νίπτω specifically denotes partial washing (hands, feet, face) for cleansing or ceremonial ablution, whereas Hebrew רָחַץ covers the broader semantic range of bathing/washing the entire body or self.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Clean002001001011
- The word means to wash or bathe, directly illustrated by the repeated hospitality custom of washing guests' feet (Genesis 18:4, 19:2, 24:32, 43:24) and Joseph who "washed his face" before composing himself (Genesis 43:31).
- Confident002001002003
- This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations, which all concern literal washing rather than confidence.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7364. rachats רָחַץ72 verb wash, wash off, away, bathe (Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew;…
רָחַץ72 verb wash, wash off, away, bathe (Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; Arabic (also of garments); Ethiopic , sweat; compare Assyrian ra—âƒu, overflow, flood (on — = see NöZMG xi (1886), 727)); —
Qal69 Perfect3masculine singular ׳ר Isa 4:4 +, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִרְחַץ Deu 23:12 + etc.; Imperative masculine singular רְחַץ 2Sa 11:8; 2Ki 5:13; masculine plural רַחֲצוּ Gen 18:4 +; Infinitive construct רְחֹץ Gen 24:32 +, לְרָחְצָה Exo 30:18 +; Participle feminine singular רֹחֶ֫צֶת 2Sa 11:2, feminine plural רֹחֲצוֺת Son 5:12; —
1 transitive wash (with water), with accusative feet (רגלים; בַּמַּיִם often expressed), Gen 18:4; Gen 19:2; Gen 24:32; Gen 43:24 (all J), Jdg 19:21; 1Sa 25:41; 2Sa 11:8; Son 5:3; ׳יִר הָרָשָׁע בְּדַם מְּעָמָיו Psa 58:11 (figurative of righteous, at ׳יs vengeance); with accusative hands (יָדַיִם) Deu 21:6 (+ עַל over, in ceremonial, to express innocence), hence figurative ׳אֶר בְּנַקָּיוֺן כַּמַּי Psa 26:6; Psa 73:13; hands and feet Exo 30:19 (+ מִן of laver), Exo 30:21; Exo 40:31 (+ מִן id.; all P); with accusative face (מָּנָיו) Gen 43:31 (J); with accusative of person Eze 16:9; Exo 29:4; Exo 40:12; Lev 8:6 (all P), accusative בְּשָׂרוֺ (often || כבּס of garments), Lev 14:9; Lev 15:13 Lev 15:9t. P (H); with accusative of parts of sacrificial victim Exo 29:17; Lev 1:9, Lev 1:13; Lev 8:21; Lev 9:14; wash off, away, with accusative of filth Isa 4:4 (figurative).
2 intransitive wash, bathe (oneself): Exo 2:5 (E), 2Sa 11:2; 2Sa 12:20; 1Ki 22:38; 2Ki 5:10, 2Ki 5:12, 2Ki 5:13; Isa 1:16; Eze 23:40 (+ ל person for whom), Rth 3:3; Lev 14:8 Lev 14:14t. P (often || כבּס); + ב of laver 2Ch 4:6 (twice in verse); of eyes, bathed in milk (בֶּחָלָב) Son 5:12 (figurative); Job 29:6 (figurative), see הָלִיךְ.
Pu`al Perfect3masculine singular רֻחָ֑ץ Pro 30:12 be washed (+ מִן of filth, figurative); 2 feminine singular רֻחַצְתְּ לֹא בְּמַיִם Eze 16:4 (in figurative).
Hithpa`el Perfect1singular שׁלג במו הִתְרָחַצְתִּי Job 9:30 if I washed myself in snow (figurative).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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
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.