Hebrew word · H2010

הֲנָחָה

vahanachah

holiday

It appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It is formed from the causative of nuaḥ, 'to rest', so it means 'a granting of rest', 'relief' or 'release'.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

a day of rest, holiday, a giving of rest, holiday making

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Esther 2:18

Range of meaning

It appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It is formed from the causative of nuaḥ, 'to rest', so it means 'a granting of rest', 'relief' or 'release'. Proposed senses: (a) remission or reduction of taxes; (b) a public holiday, rest from work; (c) an amnesty, or release from obligations such as military service or forced labor.

Against the English

KJV 'release' is vague but honest. BSB 'tax holiday' and ESV 'remission of taxes' choose the tax reading. WEB, NIV and NASB 'holiday' choose the rest-day reading. Each modern choice settles a question the Hebrew leaves open.

How it drifted

English 'holiday' now suggests a day off or vacation. If that is the meaning here, it was an official royal grant of rest from labor, not a leisure day. In later and modern Hebrew hanaḥah means 'reduction, discount', which shows how the word developed toward the tax sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Herodotus 6.59 says that when a new Persian king came to the throne he remitted the unpaid tribute of all the cities. Herodotus 3.67 says the usurper 'Smerdis' won the provinces by granting three years' freedom from tribute and military service. The Septuagint has aphesis, 'release, remission' (the word used for the Jubilee and debt release in Lev 25). The Vulgate has requiem, 'rest'. Rashi and later Jewish commentators take it as a lightening of taxes in the queen's honor.

Where it appears

Esther · 1

  1. Esther 2:18 וַהֲנָחָ֤ה and a holiday

    Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.

    Here: 'And a release.' The noun appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from the root nuaḥ, 'rest', in its causative sense, 'give rest'. It means some public relief granted by the crown: remission of taxes, a holiday from work or duty, or an amnesty. The exact kind is debated.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.