Hebrew word · H2649

חִפָּזוֹן

vechipazon

haste

Hurried, anxious haste, the hurry of people under pressure or in alarm. It comes from the root ḥpz, 'to hurry in fear or alarm' (compare 2 Sam 4:4, where the nurse flees and drops the child; Ps 31:22 [Heb 23], 'in my alarm').

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

hurriedly, in haste, trepidation, hurried flight

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 52:12

Range of meaning

Hurried, anxious haste, the hurry of people under pressure or in alarm. It comes from the root ḥpz, 'to hurry in fear or alarm' (compare 2 Sam 4:4, where the nurse flees and drops the child; Ps 31:22 [Heb 23], 'in my alarm').

Against the English

English 'haste' or 'hurry' is neutral. A modern reader hears only 'don't rush.' The Hebrew word carries a sense of alarm, and above all it was a recognisable phrase from the Passover story.

How it drifted

There is no drift in the meaning, but the allusion is lost. The word occurs only three times in the Hebrew Bible, and the other two are about the night Israel left Egypt. English cannot signal this.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 12:11: Passover eaten 'in haste' (bĕḥippāzôn), belt fastened and staff in hand. Deut 16:3: unleavened bread 'because you came out of the land of Egypt in haste (bĕḥippāzôn)'. Isa 52:12 is the only other use. The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) renders it 'with turmoil/agitation' (meta tarachēs), which keeps the note of alarm.

From the study of Deuteronomy 16:3

Range of meaning

Haste, hurried flight, trepidation. The verb chafaz (H2648) means to hurry in alarm or flee in panic: the nurse who "fled in haste" with Mephibosheth so that he fell (2 Samuel 4:4), the Arameans who threw away their gear "in their haste" (2 Kings 7:15), and "I said in my alarm" (Psalm 31:22 [Hebrew 31:23]).

Against the English

"In haste" or "in a hurry" captures the speed but not the fear. The Latin Vulgate's in pavore, "in terror," brings out the alarm.

How it drifted

"Haste" in modern English is neutral about emotion. The Hebrew word carries fright and urgency.

Used elsewhere in the period

The noun appears only three times: Exodus 12:11 ("you shall eat it in haste, it is the LORD's Passover"), here, and Isaiah 52:12, "you shall not go out in haste (bechippazon), nor go in flight, for the LORD will go before you." Isaiah's prophecy of a new exodus deliberately reverses this verse.

From the study of Exodus 12:11

Range of meaning

A rare noun meaning 'hurried flight, haste under alarm.' It occurs only three times: Exod 12:11, Deut 16:3 and Isa 52:12. Its verb root ch-p-z means 'to be alarmed, to hurry away in fright': the nurse who 'fled in her haste' and dropped Mephibosheth (2 Sam 4:4); David 'hurrying' to escape Saul (1 Sam 23:26); 'I said in my alarm' (Ps 31:22; 116:11). BDB and HALOT both give a sense of trepidation alongside speed.

Against the English

English 'haste' or 'hurry' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) is accurate about speed but usually sounds neutral, like being late for a train. NLT's 'with urgency' gets the pressure across but not the fear. The Hebrew carries the nervous edge of people who expect to have to run.

How it drifted

No real historical drift. English simply has no single word that combines 'hurry' with 'alarm', so the emotional side drops out.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 16:3 ties the unleavened bread to this word: 'bread of affliction, for in chippazon you came out of the land of Egypt.' Isa 52:12 deliberately reverses it for a new exodus from Babylon: 'you will not go out in chippazon, nor go in flight, for YHWH goes before you.' The LXX renders it meta spoudēs, 'with haste/eagerness'; the Vulgate has festinanter, 'hurriedly'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 12:11 בְּחִפָּז֔וֹן in haste

    This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.

    Here: Not leisurely speed but the hurry of people on edge. The root is used for scrambling away in fright. The meal is eaten in the atmosphere of a night of terror and imminent flight.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 16:3 בְחִפָּז֗וֹן in haste

    You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.

    Here: "In haste," with a sense of alarm, the hurry of a frightened escape rather than calm speed. It is the same word as Exodus 12:11, "you shall eat it in haste."

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 52:12 בְחִפָּזוֹן֙ in haste

    For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

    Here: A rare word found elsewhere only for the Passover night (Exod 12:11; Deut 16:3). It carries the sense of urgent, nervous hurry, and here it deliberately recalls the first Exodus in order to set this one against it.

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