Hebrew word · H2648

חָפַז

tachpezu

to hurry

To hurry, especially in fear: to rush away in alarm, to be panic-stricken, to be in trepidation. The haste it describes is usually the haste of fright, not of efficiency.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to hurry, flee, hasten, fear, be terrified

1a) (Qal) to be in a hurry, be alarmed

1b) (Niphal) to be in a hurry

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 Psalm 31:22

Range of meaning

To hurry, especially in fear: to rush away in alarm, to be panic-stricken, to be in trepidation. The haste it describes is usually the haste of fright, not of efficiency.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT 'in my haste'; BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB 'in my alarm'; NLT 'in panic'. 'Haste' captures the physical sense of the root but today suggests being in a rush. 'Alarm' or 'panic' gives the emotional state.

How it drifted

In 1611 'haste' still carried the sense of agitated urgency. Modern 'haste' mainly means speed or impatience ('more haste, less speed'), so the fear in the word is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Sam 4:4: Mephibosheth's nurse 'fled in her haste' (bechofzah) when news of Saul's death came, and the child fell. Ps 48:5 [Heb 6]: kings saw Zion, were terrified and 'fled in alarm' (nechpazu). Deut 20:3: 'do not panic' (al-tachpezu) before battle. Ps 116:11 has the same phrase: 'I said in my alarm, All men are liars.' The Septuagint here translates it with ekstasis, 'being beside oneself', and the Vulgate follows with 'in excessu mentis meae' ('in the going-out of my mind').

From the study of 1 Samuel 23:26

Range of meaning

To hurry or hasten, but almost always the haste of alarm: to be startled, panicked, or in a frightened rush (BDB, HALOT). The related noun chippazon means 'haste' and describes Israel eating the Passover in a hurry (Exod 12:11; Deut 16:3).

Against the English

BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV and NASB say 'hurrying' or 'hurried,' which gets the speed but loses the fright. KJV says 'made haste ... for fear of Saul,' which puts the fear back in. However, it adds the fear as a separate phrase, when in Hebrew it belongs to the verb itself.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 20:3: soldiers before battle are told 'do not panic' (al-tachpezu). 2 Sam 4:4: Mephibosheth's nurse 'in her haste' (bechopzah) to flee drops him. 2 Kgs 7:15: the Arameans throw away gear 'in their haste' as they flee. Ps 48:5: hostile kings 'were terrified, they fled in alarm' (nechpazu). Ps 31:22 and 116:11: 'I said in my alarm' (bechopzi). Ps 104:7: the waters 'hurried away' at God's thunder. Every use pairs speed with shock or fear.

From the study of Deuteronomy 20:3

Range of meaning

To hurry or hasten, specifically hasty movement from alarm: to flee in a panic, to rush off in fright. Examples: the nurse who fled in haste with Mephibosheth and dropped him (2 Sam 4:4); the Arameans who threw away their gear 'in their haste' (2 Kgs 7:15); 'I said in my alarm (bechofzi)' (Ps 31:22; 116:11). The noun chippazon, 'hasty flight', describes the Exodus meal eaten in haste (Exod 12:11; Deut 16:3).

Against the English

KJV 'tremble' turns it into a shaking of the body and loses the rush. YLT 'make haste' is literal but sounds harmless. BSB 'be alarmed' gets the emotion but not the motion. 'Panic', as several modern versions have it, comes closest: fear that sets the feet running.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 2 Kgs 7:15 the same root describes a routed army scattering equipment as it flees, the very battlefield outcome the priest forbids. Rabbinic exegesis (m. Sotah 8:1) applies this phrase to the clash of shields and the tramp of soldiers' boots.

Similar words

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 20:3 תַּחְפְּז֛וּ you make haste

    saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

    Here: Fear that turns into frantic, hasty motion: panic, bolting, breaking ranks in a rush. YLT's 'make haste' keeps the literal sense of movement. KJV's 'tremble' loses it.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 23:26 נֶחְפָּ֤ז hurrying away

    Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.

    Here: This verb means hurrying out of fright, the haste of someone alarmed. It is not calm speed. As a participle it pictures the scramble while it is still happening.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 4:4 בְּחָפְזָ֥הּ when hurried she

    And Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to escape, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 7:15 בְּחָפְזָ֑ם in hurrying of them

    And they tracked them as far as the Jordan, and indeed, the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste. So the scouts returned and told the king.

Job · 1

  1. Job 40:23 יַחְפּ֑וֹז it is alarmed

    Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 31:22 בְחָפְזִ֗י when was hastening I

    In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.

    Here: Literally 'in my hurrying', but the verb describes the scramble of fear: panicked flight, trepidation. 'In my panic' or 'in my alarm' is the picture, and it carries the hint that what was said in that state was not a settled judgment.

  2. Psalm 48:5 נֶחְפָּֽזוּ׃ they hurried away

    They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.

  3. Psalm 104:7 יֵחָפֵזֽוּן׃ they hurried away !

    At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

  4. Psalm 116:11 בְחָפְזִ֑י when was hastening I

    In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”

    Here: "In my alarm": literally "in my hurrying", but the hurry this root means is the scramble of someone in terror, running from danger. It tells us what state he was in when he spoke. It does not mean he was impatient or careless with words.

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