Hebrew word · H3585

כַּ֫חַשׁ

kachash

lie

A lie, deception, or falsehood. The related verb (kiḥesh) means to deny, deceive, or act falsely, and is also used of things that fail or disappoint: 'the new wine will fail her' (Hos 9:2), 'the olive crop fails' (Hab 3:17). A related word describes flesh that wastes away (Ps 109:24).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) lying, deception

2) leanness, failure

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 Hosea 10:13

Range of meaning

A lie, deception, or falsehood. The related verb (kiḥesh) means to deny, deceive, or act falsely, and is also used of things that fail or disappoint: 'the new wine will fail her' (Hos 9:2), 'the olive crop fails' (Hab 3:17). A related word describes flesh that wastes away (Ps 109:24).

Against the English

BSB, KJV and WEB 'lies' and NIV 'deception' are accurate, but 'lies' alone suggests only spoken untruths. The Hebrew also covers false dealing, betrayal of loyalty, and things that promise much and deliver nothing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hosea uses it repeatedly as a core charge: 'swearing, lying (kaḥesh), murder' (4:2), kings delighted 'with their lies' (7:3), 'Ephraim surrounds me with lies' (11:12 [12:1 Heb]). The Septuagint renders the phrase karpon pseudē, 'false fruit'.

From the study of Hosea 11:12

Range of meaning

A lie, deception, denial, failing someone. The related verb means to deny, to deal falsely, to fail (of crops: Hab 3:17, 'the olive crop fails'), and to cringe in false submission (Ps 18:44).

Against the English

'Lies / falsehood' is accurate. But English 'lies' sounds like single false statements, while kakhash also covers a whole pattern of false loyalty: saying one thing to God and doing another.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Hosea: 4:2 (in the list of sins, 'swearing, lying [kakhesh]'), 7:3 ('with their lies they gladden princes'), 10:13 ('you have eaten the fruit of lying'). Josh 24:27 uses the verb for denying God.

From the study of Hosea 7:3

Range of meaning

A lie, deception or falsehood. The related verb means to deny, to deceive, or to 'cringe', that is, to make a show of submission without meaning it (Ps 18:44; 66:3; Deut 33:29, where enemies 'come cringing'). A related sense is 'failing' or 'growing lean' (Ps 109:24).

Against the English

'Lies' (KJV, BSB, NASB, WEB) is correct but plain. Renderings like 'treachery' bring out the political side: deception aimed at those in power. Neither English word carries the 'fake loyalty' sense of the related verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hosea uses this word as one of his key charges: 'there is cursing, lying (kaḥēš), murder' (4:2); 'you have eaten the fruit of lies' (10:13); 'Ephraim surrounds me with lies' (11:12 Eng / 12:1 Heb). The Septuagint has pseudos, 'falsehood'.

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 16:8 כַ֝חֲשִׁ֗י leanness my

    You have bound me, and it has become a witness; my frailty rises up and testifies against me.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 59:12 וּמִכַּ֣חַשׁ and from lying

    By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.

    Here: 'And from lying.' The word means deceit, falsely denying something, or false dealing. Next to 'curse' it may suggest false oaths and lying accusations.

Hosea · 3

  1. Hosea 7:3 וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶ֖ם and by lies their

    They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.

    Here: 'And by their lies' (plural: many lies, a habit of deceit). The related verb can mean to deny, deceive, or put on a show of loyalty you do not feel. Here it suggests flattery and false allegiance offered to the court.

  2. Hosea 10:13 כָ֑חַשׁ lying

    You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,

    Here: 'Lying' or 'deception'. The related verb is used of a crop that fails or lets you down (Hos 9:2; Hab 3:17), so 'fruit of deception' is also a harvest that betrays the one who eats it. Hosea uses the same word for Israel's dealings with God and with each other (4:2; 7:3; 11:12 [12:1 Heb]).

  3. Hosea 11:12 בְכַ֙חַשׁ֙ with lying

    Ephraim surrounds Me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.

    Here: 'With lying.' Kakhash is a lie that denies, betrays or lets someone down. It is a key word in Hosea (4:2; 7:3; 10:13: 'you have eaten the fruit of lies'). Here it is what Ephraim surrounds God with.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 3:1 כַּ֤חַשׁ lying

    Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.

    Here: Deceit in the sense of something that fails to be what it presents itself as: false promises, treachery, faked loyalty. In a political setting it fits broken treaties and the propaganda of empire.

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