Word

רָחַק

râchaq · H7368 · Hebrew · 57 occurrences

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Meanings

to be far, to go far, to stay far

State in which humans or objects are located in a place that is at a relatively great distance from the point of reference

Examples
Genesis 21:16 Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “May I not see the boy die!” And she sat opposite him, and raised her voice and wept.
Isaiah 6:12 The LORD has completely removed people, And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land.
Genesis 44:4 They had just left the city, and were not far away, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
Literally: to be far off; hence: state in which an event is in the distant future (to be far off (in time))

Examples
Isaiah 46:13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.
Literally: to be far (from someone else); hence: state in which humans or deities are no longer associating with (other) humans or deities, as if they have distanced themselves (to be far (from someone))

Examples
Psalm 22:11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near; For there is no one to help.
Job 19:13 “He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances have completely turned away from me.
Psalm 22:19 But You, LORD, do not be far away; You who are my help, hurry to my assistance.
Literally: to be far (from an event); hence: state in which humans are not able to engage in a certain event, as if the event has distanced itself from them (to be far from (an activity))

Examples
Job 5:4 “His sons are far from safety, They are also oppressed at the gate, And there is no one to save them.
Job 21:16 “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.
Job 22:18 “Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the advice of the wicked is far from me.
to avoid, to refrain from

Literally: to stay far (from an event); hence: action by which humans do not engage in a certain event, as if they have distanced themselves from the event

Examples
Ezekiel 43:9 “Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.
Exodus 23:7 “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Job 11:14 If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
Literally: to put (an event) far (from someone else); hence: causative action by which deities or circumstances cause humans not to engage in a certain event, as if they have distanced the event from them (to remove (a condition) from (someone))

Examples
Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
Proverbs 30:8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
Literally: to put (one's) palms far (from someone else); hence: causative action by which deities release their control of someone else (to withdraw (one's) hands (from someone), to stop punishing)

Examples
Job 13:21 Remove Your hand from me, And may the dread of You not terrify me.
Literally: to put (someone's) sins far (from that person); hence: action by which deities fully forgive someone's sins and shortcomings as if by moving them to a distant place (to put away (sins), to forgive)

Examples
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.
Literally: to cause ends or boundaries to be far; hence: causative action by which deities enlarge a territory by extending its boundaries (to extend boundaries (of a land))

Examples
Isaiah 26:15 You have increased the nation, LORD, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land.
Micah 7:11 It will be a day for building your walls. On that day your boundary will be extended.
Literally: to put (one's) heart far (from a deity); hence: action by which humans refuse to think or take notice of a certain deity (to refuse to think (about someone))

Examples
Isaiah 29:13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught;

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

55 occurrences in 21 groups

Not stated: you (one person) 15
Not stated: they 6
Not stated (infinitive) 6
Not stated: he, she or it 5
Not stated: I 3
Not stated: you (more than one) 3
Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

19 occurrences in 21 groups

Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

37 occurrences in 20 groups

מִןfrom+ נִיme 13
מִןfrom+ ךָּyou 3
מִןfrom+ וֹhim 3
מִןfrom+ נוּus 3
Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16

With adverbsAdverbs

10 occurrences in 5 groups

אַלnot, do not 6
לֹאnot 3
מְאֹדvery 1
עַתָּהnow 1
רַקonly, but 1

What is done to itIt is the object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

אָמַרto say 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

1 occurrences in 1 groups

עֵתtime, moment, period 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

2 occurrences in 2 groups

כlike/as 1
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 2 words

גָּרַע gâraʻ · H1639 · to shear, to cut off, to draw up: Both words are distinct words that could substitute in contexts of separation or removal: "shear, cut off, draw up."
מָהַהּ mâhahh · H4102 · to wait, to linger, to tarry: The pairing is real but narrow. מָהַהּ (mâhahh, H4102) ("delay, linger, tarry") has delay as its core sense, while רָחַק (râchaq, H7368) ("far, withdraw, remove") has spatial distancing as its primary meaning, with "Delay" being only one of eight domains (the others being spatial/relational). The delay sense of רָחַק (râchaq, H7368) appears derivative/secondary. Real overlap exists but is modest and asymmetric in centrality.

In the other Testament 4 words

μακράν makrán · G3112 · far, at a distance, some distance away: Greek μακράν serves as the standard LXX rendering for Hebrew רָחַק's core sense of spatial or relational distance, functioning as the primary cross-linguistic equivalent for contexts of being/removing/keeping far away.
ἀφίστημι aphístēmi · G868 · to incite to revolt, to cause to rebel, to go away: ἀφίστημι (aphístēmi, G868) ἀφίστημι specializes in the reflexive/intransitive sense of רָחַק (râchaq, H7368) רָחַק ('withdraw oneself, depart from') particularly in contexts of revolt, apostasy, or deliberate separation, while רָחַק (râchaq, H7368) covers the broader semantic range including passive removal, physical distance, and neutral spatial separation.
μακρός makrós · G3117 · long, long time, for some time: μακρός (makrós, G3117) renders the spatial distance sense of רָחַק (râchaq, H7368) in LXX contexts where physical remoteness or separation is in view, both sharing the core semantic of 'far/distant' though Greek μακρός also extends to temporal length outside the רָחַק (râchaq, H7368) range.
ἀπέχομαι apéchomai · G567 · to hold oneself off, i.e. refrain: Greek ἀπέχομαι specifically denotes active self-restraint or abstention (middle voice reflexive semantics), capturing the reflexive 'keep (self) far' and 'refrain' senses within Hebrew רָחַק's broader spatial-distance and removal semantic range.

Semantic domains 8 entries

Space002002001017: The word means far or distant, directly illustrated by Hagar sitting down "about a bowshot away" (Genesis 21:16), Joseph's brothers who "were not far away" (Genesis 44:4), and the tent of meeting pitched "a good distance from the camp" (Exodus 33:7).
Delay002003003008: This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations, which concern physical distance rather than temporal delay.
Dissociate002003002009: The word's "keep far from" sense is directly illustrated by the command, "keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous" (Exodus 23:7), separating oneself from wrongdoing.
Non-Engage002003003012: This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.
Free002003002012: This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.
Innocent002003003015: The command to "keep far from a false charge" is paired in the same verse with the protection of "the innocent or the righteous" from unjust condemnation (Exodus 23:7), though the domain is not more independently distinguished from Dissociate in this citation.
Large002001001037: This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.
Think002004002013: This domain is not independently illustrated by the sampled citations.

Word family 5 words

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

רָחַקrâchaq · H7368רָחוֹק râchôwq · H7350 · far, distant, distance · 85×מֶרְחָק merchâq · H4801 · far, distant · 18×רַחִיק rachîyq · H7352 · far · 1×רָחֵק râchêq · H7369 · far (from someone) · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7368. rachaq רָחַק verb be, or become, far, distant (Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew;…

H7368. rachaq
רָחַק verb be, or become, far, distant (Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; Assyrian especially adjective rû‡u, far; compare Arabic choice wine (i.e. from a distance) Frä158; Ethiopic be far, Sabean רחק CISiv, nos. 95, 98; Aramaic רְחַק רְחֵיק,, and (often in derived species and derivatives) ); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ר Isa 59:9; Lam 1:16, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִרְחַק Deu 12:21 +, etc.; Imperative feminine singular רַחֲקִי Isa 54:14, masculine plural רַחֲקוּ Eze 11:15 < Perfect רָֽחֲקוּ Ra Hi Sm Co Toy Krae; Infinitive construct רְחֹק Psa 103:12; Ecc 3:5, לְרָֽחֳקָה Eze 8:6; — be far, distant: with מִן person, of place Deu 12:21; Deu 14:24, of person, = neglect, abandon, Pro 19:7, especially in Psalms, of ׳י, Psa 22:12; Psa 22:20 (מִן person omitted), Psa 35:22; Psa 38:22; Psa 71:12; of utter absence, or non-existence Lam 1:16, compare Isa 49:19 (absolute), subject justice Isa 59:9 (opposed to הִשִּׂיג), compare Isa 59:11 (|| אַיִן), subject blessing Psa 109:17; subject רְשָׁעִים עֲצַת Job 21:16, Job 21:18; with מֵעַל person (׳י), of Israel (figurative) Jer 2:5, compare Eze 44:10; = far from (land of) ׳י Eze 11:15 (see above; Krae insert אֶרֶץ); with מֵעַל location Eze 8:6 (of ׳י), מִן local (east from west) Psa 103:12; with מִן of thing (figurative): תּוֺרָֽתְךָ Psa 119:150 (opposed to קרב); מִיֶּשַׁע Job 5:14, מֵעשֶׁק Isa 54:14, compare Pro 22:5; = wholly abstain from Exo 23:7 (E), so (מִן infinitive) Ecc 3:5; absolute of ׳יs righteousness, with reference to time Isa 46:13 (|| אחר; opposed to קרב). — יִרְחַקחֹֿק Mic 7:11 boundary shall become distant, i.e. territory be enlarged (? corrupt, compare We Now); הַכֶּסֶף חֶבֶל ירחק Kt Ecc 12:6 be removed ? Qr יֵרָתֵק be joined ? ᵐ5 ἀνατραπῇ, ᵑ9 rumpatur, compare ᵑ6, read probably יִנָּתֵק Pfannk Thes Ew De Siegf BuhlLex.
Pi`el Perfect3masculine singular רִחַק Isa 6:12, of ׳י, send far away, accusative of person; of people, ר ׳לִבּוֺ Isa 29:13, with מִן of ׳י; 2 masculine singular רִחַקְתָּ Isa 26:15 thou hast far extended (with accusative) all the ends (boundaries) of the land; Imperfect3masculine plural אֶתוְֿנוּתָם יְרַחֲקוּ Eze 43:9.
Hiph`il Perfect3masculine singular הִרְחִיק Job 19:13; Psa 103:12, Psa 103:1singular suffix הִרְחַקְתִּים Eze 11:16, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular suffix יַרְחִיקֶנָּה Pro 22:15, Pro 22:2masculine singular תַּרְחִיק Job 22:23, etc.; Imperative masculine singular הַרְחֵק Pro 4:24 Pro 4:2t., הַרְחַ֑ק Job 13:21, suffix הַרְחִיקֵהוּ Job 11:14; Infinitive absolute הַרְחֵק Gen 21:16 +, construct הַרְחִיק Jer 27:10, suffix הַרְחִיקָם Joel 4:6; —
1 direct causation make, or exhibit, distance, be gone far, subject person: Gen 44:4 (J), with מִן local Jos 8:4 (JE), Jdg 18:22; followed by infinitive construct תַר לֹא ׳הַרְחֵק לָלֶכֶת Exo 8:24 (J), compare Psa 55:8, Infinitive absolute as adverb = at a distance Gen 21:16 (E), with מִן local Exo 33:7 (E), Jos 3:16 (J E; מִן מְאֹד ׳הַר, Qr; > Kt ב for מן).
2 indirect causation remove, put far away, with accusative of person + מֵעַל of land Jer 27:10, compare Joel 4:6, + מֵעַל person Job 19:13 and (accusative הַצְּפוֺנִי) Joe 2:20, + מִן person Psa 88:9; Psalm 88:19; + בַּגּוֺיִם Eze 11:16; with accusative כַּף + מֵעַל person Job 13:21, with accusative דֶּרֶךְ + id. Pro 5:8; with accusative of sin + מִן person Pro 4:24; Job 11:14 (מִן person omitted); Pro 22:15; Pro 30:8; Psa 103:12; + מִן local Job 22:23.

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

Topical studies with this word 8 entries

Large2 occurrences Space24 occurrences Dissociate10 occurrences Free1 occurrence Delay1 occurrence Non-Engage16 occurrences Innocent1 occurrence Think1 occurrence

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