Hebrew word · H2651

חֹ֫פֶן

chafeneikhem

palm

The hollow of the hand. In the dual form it means both cupped hands together, a 'double handful'.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

handfuls, hollow of the hand

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: The hollow of the hand. In the dual form it means both cupped hands together, a 'double handful'. It occurs only a few times: Exodus 9:8, handfuls of furnace soot; Leviticus 16:12, the high priest's double handful of incense; Ecclesiastes 4:6, 'two handfuls of toil'; Proverbs 30:4, gathering the wind 'in his fists'; Ezekiel 10:2, 7.
Against the English: WEB 'both your hands' keeps the pair. Most modern versions' 'your hands' are acceptable. KJV 'thine hand' is singular and loses the picture of a full double scoop.
Used elsewhere in the period: Two of its few uses are close parallels to this scene. In Leviticus 16:12 the high priest, dressed in linen (16:4), takes a censer full of 'coals of fire' (gachalei-'esh) from the altar plus 'his two cupped hands full' of incense, and enters God's presence to make atonement. In Exodus 9:8–10 Moses takes 'your cupped hands full' of furnace soot and tosses it (zaraq) skyward, bringing boils on Egypt. Ezekiel 10:2 brings together linen, filled double handfuls, coals of fire and zaraq.

Range of meaning: The hollow of the hand, a cupped palm, or the double handful held in both cupped hands. It occurs only a few times: Exod 9:8 (handfuls of soot), Lev 16:12 (two handfuls of incense), Eccl 4:6 (a handful with quietness), Ezek 10:2,7.
Against the English: KJV/WEB 'fists' gives a picture of clenched hands. The Hebrew is the open, cupped hand that holds a measured amount. BSB/NIV/ESV 'hands' is closer.
How it drifted: 'Fists' was a 1611 choice. Today it suggests force rather than containment.
Used elsewhere in the period: Compare Isa 40:12, 'Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?' The idea is the same, though a different word (shoʿal) is used there. In the Septuagint, Prov 30:4 reads 'in his bosom'.

Range of meaning: The hollow of the hand, a fist, a handful; in the dual, both hands cupped together as one scoop.
Against the English: KJV 'both the hands full', BSB/NIV/WEB 'two handfuls', NASB 'two fists full'. 'Two handfuls' loses some of the scooping, grasping picture, which 'fists' or 'both hands full' keep.
Used elsewhere in the period: Exod 9:8 (double handfuls of soot); Lev 16:12 (the high priest's double handful of incense); Ezek 10:2, 7 (coals); Prov 30:4, 'Who has gathered the wind in his fists (ḥofnayim)?', a striking parallel, since wind cannot be gathered.

Exodus · 1

Exodus 9:8 חָפְנֵיכֶ֔ם hands your

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the furnace; in the sight of Pharaoh, Moses is to toss it into the air.

Leviticus · 1

Leviticus 16:12 חָפְנָ֔יו hands his

Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.

Here: Ḥōpen is the hollow of the hand. Here it has the Hebrew 'pair' ending: both palms cupped together into a scoop. The amount is set by the priest's own body, one double handful.

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 30:4 בְּחָפְנָ֡יו in hands his

Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!

Here: 'In his two cupped hands' (the form is dual, meaning a pair). The picture is someone holding the wind in a double handful, the way one carries grain or incense (Lev 16:12).

Ecclesiastes · 1

Ecclesiastes 4:6 חָפְנַ֛יִם two hands

Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

Here: A dual form, meaning 'a pair of': both hands cupped together to scoop up as much as possible, as with a double handful of soot or incense (Exod 9:8; Lev 16:12). It pictures grasping for the maximum.

Ezekiel · 2

Ezekiel 10:2 חָפְנֶ֤יךָ cupped hands your

And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

Here: A form meaning a pair: 'your two hollowed hands', the amount both hands can scoop together. It is a full double handful, not a pinch. KJV's 'thine hand' loses this.
Ezekiel 10:7 חָפְנֵ֖י [the] cupped hands of

Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out.

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