Hebrew word · H2247

חָבָה

venachbetem

to hide

To hide or withdraw oneself. It is a rarer form of the common verb ḥābāʾ ('to hide'), used of keeping oneself concealed from danger (compare 1 Kings 22:25, 'to hide yourself' in an inner room).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to withdraw, hide, hide oneself

1a) (Qal) to withdraw

1b) (Niphal) to hide oneself, remain hidden, withdraw

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 Isaiah 26:20

Range of meaning

To hide or withdraw oneself. It is a rarer form of the common verb ḥābāʾ ('to hide'), used of keeping oneself concealed from danger (compare 1 Kings 22:25, 'to hide yourself' in an inner room).

Against the English

All English versions say 'hide' (yourself/yourselves), which is accurate. The irregular Hebrew form cannot be shown in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

The theme of being hidden on the day of wrath appears in Zephaniah 2:3 ('perhaps you will be hidden on the day of the LORD's anger') and Psalm 27:5 and 31:20 (God hides the faithful in his shelter). Isaiah 2:10, 19–21 is the dark counterpart: there the proud hide in rocks and caves from the LORD.

From the study of 1 Kings 22:25

Range of meaning

From khavah / khava', 'to hide'. In this reflexive form it means 'hide oneself, keep out of sight', usually out of fear or shame: Adam and Eve hiding among the trees (Gen 3:10, same root), Saul hidden among the baggage (1 Sam 10:22), the five kings in the cave at Makkedah (Josh 10:16–17).

Against the English

Every version has 'to hide (yourself)', which is accurate. The meaning is not in dispute. The spelling is unusual (see textual notes).

Used elsewhere in the period

The two spellings, with a final he (חבה) and with a final aleph (חבא), occur side by side for the same verb. The parallel in 2 Chr 18:24 has the more common form ending in aleph. Both appear in the Hebrew Bible; compare Isa 26:20, 'hide yourself (khavi) for a little while' in an inner room (kheder), where the same two ideas occur together.

From the study of Joshua 2:16

Range of meaning

To hide oneself, withdraw from view. Closely related to the more common ḥāvāʾ (H2244), "to hide," and lexicons sometimes list this form under that root instead.

Against the English

"Hide yourselves" (KJV, WEB, BSB) is accurate. YLT's "ye have been hidden" copies the Hebrew tense form too literally; in context it is a future instruction.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 26:20 ("hide yourself for a little while until the wrath has passed"); the related root is used of Adam hiding (Gen 3:10) and of Israelites hiding in caves from the Philistines (1 Sam 13:6).

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 2:16 וְנַחְבֵּתֶ֨ם and you will hide yourselves

    “Go to the hill country,” she said, “so that your pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there for three days until they have returned; then go on your way.”

    Here: "And you shall hide yourselves." The verb form is reflexive (they hide themselves) and continues the commands, so it is an instruction, not a prediction.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 22:25 לְהֵחָבֵֽה׃ to hide yourself

    Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”

    Here: A reflexive infinitive: 'to hide yourself'. It names the purpose of going into the room. The prophet who strutted about in iron horns (v. 11) will end up cowering out of sight.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 7:12 לְהֵחָבֵ֤ה to hide themselves

    So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and enter the city.’”

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 26:20 חֲבִ֥י hide

    Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.

    Here: 'Hide!' The idea is to stay out of sight and out of the way while danger passes, not to run away for good. The form is unusual, possibly an older or Aramaic-style spelling of the masculine command.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 49:10 וְנֶחְבָּ֖ה and it will hide itself

    But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.

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