Hebrew word · H2487

חֲלִיפָה

chalifot

change

From ḥālaf, 'to pass on, to change, to replace'. It means a change or substitution: changes of clothing (Gen 45:22; Judg 14:12–13; 2 Kgs 5:5), relief or release after service (Job 14:14, 'until my relief comes'), and relays of troops attacking in waves (Job 10:17).

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a change, change (of garments), replacement

1a) change (of raiment)

1b) relays

1c) relief (from death)

1d) changing, varying (course of life)

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 1 Kings 5:14

Range of meaning

From ḥālaf, 'to pass on, to change, to replace'. It means a change or substitution: changes of clothing (Gen 45:22; Judg 14:12–13; 2 Kgs 5:5), relief or release after service (Job 14:14, 'until my relief comes'), and relays of troops attacking in waves (Job 10:17).

Against the English

KJV 'by courses' and YLT 'by changes' are literal and accurate. 'Shifts' (BSB and others) is clear modern English, though it can suggest a factory day rather than month-long tours away from home.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrew Bible usage as listed above (BDB, HALOT s.v.). The military 'relay' sense in Job 10:17 is the closest parallel to this organized rotation.

From the study of Job 14:14

Range of meaning

A noun from the root ḥ-l-p, 'to pass on, change, replace, renew'. It is used for:

  • changes of clothing, i.e. fresh sets of garments (Gen 45:22; Judg 14:12–13; 2 Kgs 5:5)
  • relays or relief troops, fresh soldiers rotated in (Job 10:17, ḥălîp̄ôt wəṣāḇāʾ, 'relays and an army')
  • change in the sense of a reversal of fortune (Ps 55:19 [Heb 20], people who 'have no changes')

The verb from the same root means to sprout again (Job 14:7), to renew strength (Isa 40:31; 41:1), and to change something like a worn-out garment (Ps 102:26).

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'change' is accurate but vague. BSB/NIV/ESV 'renewal' keeps the link to the tree that sprouts again (v. 7). WEB 'release' and NASB-type 'relief' keep the military picture of being relieved at the end of a tour. No single English word carries both.

How it drifted

Because of 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 ('we shall all be changed'), English readers of the KJV often hear 'my change' as the resurrection change of the body. The Hebrew word has nothing to do with Paul's word. Its own pictures are a relief shift and fresh growth.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job itself puts ḥălîp̄ôt and ṣāḇāʾ side by side in 10:17 as military terms: relief troops and army. In 14:7 the tree's stump 'will sprout again' (yaḥălîp̄). The verb is used for renewed vigour in Isa 40:31. The Vulgate's immutatio mea ('my change') shaped the KJV.

From the study of Judges 14:12

Range of meaning

Ḥalifah comes from ḥalaf, "to pass on, change." Its basic sense is "exchange" or "replacement." Joined with "garments," it means suits of clothing one changes into: fine, festal sets of clothes. These were a recognized form of portable wealth and gifts of honor.

Against the English

KJV "change of garments" and ESV/WEB "changes of clothes" are literally accurate. A modern reader, though, hears "a change of clothes," meaning a spare outfit in a bag. BSB/NIV "sets of clothes" is neutral but still sounds ordinary. Renderings that add "festive" or "fine" get closer to the value involved.

How it drifted

Modern English "change of clothes" has become an everyday phrase for a spare outfit and has lost the sense of a valuable festal suit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 45:22: Joseph gives each brother a ḥalifot śemalot and Benjamin five, as marks of favor. 2 Kgs 5:5, 22–23: Naaman brings ten changes of garments along with silver and gold as a gift fit for a king, and Gehazi asks for two. In each case they rank alongside precious metals.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 45:22 חֲלִפ֣וֹת חֲלִפֹ֥ת changes of

    He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.

Judges · 3

  1. Judges 14:12 חֲלִפֹ֥ת changes of

    “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

    Here: From "to change": garments one changes into, meaning fine festal outfits kept for special occasions, a mark of wealth. They are not spare everyday clothes.

  2. Judges 14:13 חֲלִיפ֣וֹת changes of

    But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”

  3. Judges 14:19 הַחֲלִיפ֔וֹת the changes

    Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,

    Here: 'The changes', meaning the sets of fine festal clothing promised in 14:12–13. The definite article points back to those garments in particular, the wager stake.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 5:14 חֲלִיפ֔וֹת relays

    He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

    Here: 'Changes, relays, shifts': one group replaces another, as fresh troops relieve tired ones. It gives the system its shape: three crews taking turns.

2 Kings · 3

  1. 2 Kings 5:5 חֲלִיפ֥וֹת changes of

    “Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.

  2. 2 Kings 5:22 חֲלִפ֥וֹת changes of

    “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘Look, two young men from the sons of the prophets have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”

  3. 2 Kings 5:23 חֲלִפ֣וֹת changes of

    But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged Gehazi to accept them. Then he tied up two talents of silver in two bags along with two sets of clothing and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi.

Job · 2

  1. Job 10:17 חֲלִיפ֖וֹת changes

    You produce new witnesses against me and multiply Your anger toward me. Hardships assault me in wave after wave.

  2. Job 14:14 חֲלִיפָתִֽי׃ relief my

    When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.

    Here: 'My relief' or 'my change', literally 'my replacement', like a fresh relay of troops or a change of clothes. It echoes v. 7, where the felled tree 'sprouts again' (yaḥălîp̄, the same root). The word holds both pictures at once: being relieved from duty and being renewed.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 55:19 חֲלִיפ֣וֹת changes

    God will hear and humiliate them—the One enthroned for the ages—Selah because they do not change and they have no fear of God.

    Here: Plural of a noun from ḥalaf, 'pass on, change, swap'. Elsewhere it means changes of clothing, shifts of soldiers relieving each other, or a turn of fortune (Job 14:14). Here it may mean they never change their ways, or that their lives have had no setbacks, or both.

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