Word

רָצָה

râtsâh · H7521 · Hebrew · 56 occurrences

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Meanings

to be acceptable

State in which an animal or its meat is acceptable to God as sacrifice

Examples
Leviticus 1:4 ‘And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.
Leviticus 7:18 ‘So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is ever eaten on the third day, he who offers it will not be accepted, and it will not be credited to him. It will be an unclean thing, and the person who eats it shall bear his punishment.
Leviticus 19:7 ‘So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is unclean; it will not be accepted.
to accept, to take pleasure

State in which humans or deities are favorable disposed towards a person or activity

Examples
Genesis 33:10 Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then accept my gift from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.
Deuteronomy 33:11 “LORD, bless his strength, And accept the work of his hands; Smash the hips of those who rise up against him, And those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”
2 Samuel 24:23 “Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God be favorable to you.”
Action by which humans do what is needed to cause other humans to regard them favorably (to seek (someone's) favor)

Examples
1 Samuel 29:4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, so that he will return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For how could this man find favor with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men?
2 Chronicles 10:7 They spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to this people and please them and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.”
Job 20:10 “His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth.
to pay off, to undergo

Literally: to accept; hence: process by which humans bear their responsibility and undergo the consequences of their actions

Examples
Leviticus 26:34 ‘Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths.
Leviticus 26:41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that they then make amends for their wrongdoing,
Leviticus 26:43 ‘For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul loathed My statutes.
favorite

Literally: acceptable; hence: state in which one person or group is appreciated above others

Examples
Deuteronomy 33:24 Of Asher he said, “More blessed than sons is Asher; May he be favored by his brothers, And may he dip his foot in olive oil.
Esther 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his entire nation.
to have affection, to be devoted

Literally: to accept; hence: state in which humans regard a person or object with affection

Examples
1 Chronicles 29:3 “In addition, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple,
Psalm 102:14 Surely Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And feel pity for her dust.
Proverbs 3:12 For whom the LORD loves He disciplines, Just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

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 18 groups

Not stated: he, she or it 13
Not stated: you (one person) 10
Not stated: I 7
יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 6
Not stated: they 4
Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

33 occurrences in 22 groups

הֶםthem 6
שַׁבָּתsabbath, (day of) rest 4
Other words · 20 groups that occur once or twice (23) 23

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

21 occurrences in 27 groups

Other words · 27 groups that occur once or twice (28) 28

With adverbsAdverbs

16 occurrences in 6 groups

לֹאnot 10
אָזat that time 2
הָלְאָהbeyond 1
כְּבָרalready 1
אַיִןthere is no, not 1
שָׁםthere 1

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

אָחbrother 1

What is done to itIt is the object

2 occurrences in 2 groups

הָיָהto be, to become 1
יָדַעto know 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

2 occurrences in 2 groups

בin/on/with 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

חָפֵץ châphêts · H2654 · to like, to be pleased, to desire: Both lexemes denote volitional/affective stances of favor, delight, and pleasure, clearly overlapping in sense and substitutable in many contexts—genuine Hebrew near-synonyms.
חָשַׁק châshaq · H2836 · to connect with a rod, to love, to desire: Both lexemes genuinely denote affective/emotional states in the semantic space of desire, delight, and love—חָשַׁק (châshaq, H2836) emphasizes attachment and longing, רָצָה (râtsâh, H7521) emphasizes acceptance and favorable regard. These are plausibly near-synonymous in contexts of emotional/volitional preference.

In the other Testament 3 words

δέχομαι déchomai · G1209 · to receive, receiving, to accept: δέχομαι (déchomai, G1209) δέχομαι focuses on the act of receiving or accepting what is offered/given, while רָצָה (râtsâh, H7521) רָצָה emphasizes the favorable disposition, pleasure, or approval toward the object (which may result in accepting it); δέχομαι renders רָצָה in contexts where divine or human favor manifests concretely as reception/acceptance of offerings, prayers, or persons.
εὐδοκέω eudokéō · G2106 · to be pleased with, to take pleasure in, to enjoy: Greek εὐδοκέω (eudokéō, G2106) renders Hebrew רָצָה (râtsâh, H7521) in contexts of divine or human approval, pleasure, and favorable disposition—both terms denote the volitional act of taking delight in or being pleased with something/someone, with Greek εὐδοκέω emphasizing the cognitive-evaluative dimension ('think well of') that Hebrew רָצָה encompasses within its broader semantic range of acceptance and favor.
δεκτός dektós · G1184 · pleasing, acceptable, one who is welcomed: רָצָה (râtsâh, H7521) רָצָה denotes the Hebrew root for acceptance, favor, and delight (both active and passive senses); δεκτός (dektós, G1184) δεκτός is the Greek adjective for 'acceptable/approved,' capturing the passive/resultative aspect of that semantic field (what is favorably received).

Semantic domains 3 entries

Willing002001002028: Genesis 33:10 has Jacob ask Esau to "accept my gift," and Leviticus 7:18, 19:7, and 22:23 all repeatedly declare an offering "will not be accepted," richly and directly attesting the sense of willing acceptance.
Bear002003003003: Leviticus 1:4 describes the burnt offering being "accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf," attesting a sense of the offering bearing the effect of acceptance before God.
Love002001002018: This lexeme's gloss also covers "set affection," though the sampled citations here (Genesis 33:10; Leviticus 1:4, 7:18, 19:7, 22:23) all attest ritual acceptance of offerings rather than this affection sense directly.

Word family 2 words

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

רָצָהrâtsâh · H7521רָצוֹן râtsôwn · H7522 · acceptance, favor · 56×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7521. ratsah רָצָה verb be pleased with, accept favourably (Late Hebrew id., will, be…

H7521. ratsah
רָצָה verb be pleased with, accept favourably (Late Hebrew id., will, be willing; Arabic (originally ) be well pleased with, NöZMG liv (1900), 155; Sabean רצֿו favour CISiv, no. 77, 9 and others, compare HomSüdar. Chrest. 123, רצֿים good, acceptable, CISiv, no. 73, 9, and others, of a coin, good, Idib. no. 21, 5; Aramaic רְעָא, have pleasure in, compare II. רָעָה above); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ר Ecc 9:7; suffix רָצָם Jer 14:10; Jer 14:1singular וְרָצִאתִי Eze 43:27 consecutive (metaplastic Ges§ 75rr; Aramaism, Krae; but Co וְרָצִיתִי), etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִרְצֶה Psa 147:10 +, suffix יִרְצְךָ Mal 1:8; Mal 1:3feminine singular jussive תִּ֫רֶץ Lev 26:43; Lev 26:3feminine plural תִּרְצֶנָה Pro 23:6 Kt ( < Qr תִּצֹּרְנָה, √ נצר, compare Toy), etc.; Imperative רְצֵה Psa 40:14; Psa 119:108; Infinitive construct רְצוֺת Pro 16:7; Psa 77:8, etc.; Participle רוֺצֶה Psa 147:11; Psa 149:4, suffix רֹצָם Jer 14:12; passive רְצוּי Est 10:3, construct רְצוּי Deu 33:24; —
1 be pleased with, favourable to:
a. of God, with accusative of person Isa 42:1; Psa 44:4; Psa 147:11; Job 33:26; with accusative of thing Psa 85:2; 1Ch 29:17; Pro 16:7; Ecc 9:7; with ב person Psa 149:4; ב of thing Psa 147:10; Hag 1:8; absolute Hag 77:8.
b. of men: with accusative of person, subject father Mal 1:8, || אהב Pro 3:12; of brother Gen 33:10 (JE), monarch 2Ch 10:7; with accusative of thing Psa 62:5; Psa 102:15; Job 14:6; Pro 23:26 (but see above); with בְּ of thing 1Ch 29:3; Psa 49:14; עִם person Job 34:9; Psa 50:18; passive participle רָצוּי favoured, acceptable to Deu 33:24 (poem), Est 10:3.
2 accept: of God, with accusative of person, sacrificing, 2Sa 24:23; Hos 8:13; Jer 14:10, Jer 14:12; Eze 20:40-41, Eze 43:27; with accusative of sacrifice Deu 33:11; Mal 1:10, Mal 1:13; Psa 51:18; Psa 119:108; with בְ of sacrifice Mic 6:7; absolute Ani Micah 5:22.
3 be pleased:
a. determined, with infinitive Psa 40:14.
b. with בּ person 1Ch 28:4.
4 make acceptable, satisfy (by paying off debt), subject land, paying off its sabbaths (Di Dr and others accept, be satisfied with [in payment]) Lev 26:34, Lev 26:43; 2Ch 36:21, with accusative of guilt incurred (עָוֺן) Lev 26:41, Lev 26:43 ( < point all these as
Hiph`il, so SS Gerber).
Niph`al Perfect3masculine singular נִרְצָה Lev 1:4; Isa 40:2; Imperfect3masculine singular יֵרָצֶה Lev 7:18 +, etc.; — 1 passive of Qal 2, be accepted, of sacrifices, with ל person, Lev 1:4; Lev 22:25; with ל of sacrifice Lev 22:23, Lev 22:27; absolute Lev 7:18; Lev 19:7. 2 passive of Qal 4: עֲוֺנָהּ נִרְצָח Isa 40:2 her punishment is accepted (as satisfactory).
Pi`el Imperfect3masculine plural יְרַצּוּ Job 20:10, with accusative דַּלִּים seek the favour of the poor (but Bu SS Gerber from רצץ).
Hiph`il Perfect3feminine singular וְהִרְצָת (Ges§ 75m) consecutive Lev 26:34 the land shall pay off her sabbaths (accusative), compare Qal 4. Hithpa`el Imperfect3masculine singular יִתְרַצֵּה 1Sa 29:4 with what shall he make himself acceptable unto (אֶל) his lord? + 3 masculine plural יִתְרַצּוּ Hos 4:10 ᵐ5 We Now (for יפרצּו ᵑ0) they shall not have delight.

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

Topical studies with this word 3 entries

Love5 occurrences Willing43 occurrences Bear8 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