Hebrew word · H2643
חַף
chaf
clean
This word appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning has to be worked out from related words. It is most likely linked to the root ḥ-p-p, 'to rub, wash'. That root is attested in Aramaic and in later Hebrew, where the Mishnah uses it for washing or combing the hair.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
innocent, pure, clean
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
This word appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning has to be worked out from related words. It is most likely linked to the root ḥ-p-p, 'to rub, wash'. That root is attested in Aramaic and in later Hebrew, where the Mishnah uses it for washing or combing the hair. So the word means 'washed clean', hence 'innocent'.
- Against the English
The KJV and NASB have 'innocent', while the BSB and ESV have 'clean'. Both are reasonable. 'Clean' keeps the washing picture, and 'innocent' brings out the legal sense.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Later Hebrew uses the root for washing hair (Mishnah). It should not be confused with the Hebrew root ḥ-p-p 'to shield, cover' found in Deut 33:12. Lexicons such as HALOT and BDB connect ḥaf with the 'wash' root.
Where it appears
Job · 1
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Job 33:9 חַ֥ף [am] innocent
‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.
Here: This word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. It likely comes from a root meaning 'to wash or rub clean', so it pictures someone washed spotless, that is, innocent.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.