Hebrew word · H2626
חֲסִין
chasin
mighty
"Strong, mighty." It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. Related words: Hebrew ḥāsōn "strong" (Amos 2:9, of oaks; Isa 1:31), ḥōsen "wealth, strength" (Isa 33:6; Prov 15:6), and Aramaic ḥsn "to be strong; to take possession" (Dan 7:18, 22).
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
strong, mighty
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
- Range of meaning
"Strong, mighty." It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. Related words: Hebrew ḥāsōn "strong" (Amos 2:9, of oaks; Isa 1:31), ḥōsen "wealth, strength" (Isa 33:6; Prov 15:6), and Aramaic ḥsn "to be strong; to take possession" (Dan 7:18, 22).
- Against the English
"Mighty" (BSB, WEB, NASB, ESV, NIV) and "strong" (KJV, YLT) are both accurate. None of them can show that the word is rare, elevated and Aramaic-flavored.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list it as an Aramaism, an adjective of the Aramaic form qatīl. That may point to a later date or simply to the poet's choice of a rare, high-style word.
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 89:8 חֲסִ֥ין׀ [is] mighty
O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You? O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.
Here: "Mighty one." The word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It looks Aramaic and is related to Hebrew ḥāsōn, "strong" (Amos 2:9; Isa 1:31). It is a rare, elevated word for sheer strength, fitting God's victory over the sea in the next verse.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.