חפץ
to delight in
also: take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘of men’
Form
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms 12 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 29 times (39%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular 13 times (17%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 10 times (13%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular 5 times (7%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 5 times (7%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular 4 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular 3 times (4%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular 2 times (3%)
+4 more forms (4 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 75 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H2654 appears — 71 distinct verses across 22 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 1 verse
Numbers 1 verse
Deuteronomy 3 verses
- Deuteronomy 21:14 חָפַ֣צְתָּ Qal pf 2ms It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.
- Deuteronomy 25:7 יַחְפֹּץ֙ Qal impf 3ms If the man doesn't want to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.
- Deuteronomy 25:8 חָפַ֖צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he stand, and say, I don't want to take her;
Judges 1 verse
Ruth 1 verse
1 Samuel 3 verses
- 1 Samuel 2:25 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Yahweh, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they didn't listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh was minded to kill them.
- 1 Samuel 18:22 חָפֵ֤ץ Qal pf 3ms Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.
- 1 Samuel 19:1 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.
2 Samuel 4 verses
- 2 Samuel 15:26 חָפַ֖צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs but if he say thus, I have no delight in you; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seems good to him.
- 2 Samuel 20:11 חָפֵ֧ץ Qal pf 3ms There stood by him one of Joab's young men, and said, He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab.
- 2 Samuel 22:20 חָ֥פֵֽץ Qal pf 3ms He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
- 2 Samuel 24:3 חָפֵ֖ץ Qal pf 3ms Joab said to the king, Now Yahweh your God add to the people, however many they may be, one hundred times; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
1 Kings 2 verses
- 1 Kings 9:1 חָפֵ֖ץ Qal pf 3ms It happened, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of Yahweh, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,
- 1 Kings 10:9 חָפֵ֣ץ Qal pf 3ms Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel: because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore made he you king, to do justice and righteousness.
2 Chronicles 1 verse
Esther 5 verses
- Esther 2:14 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms In the evening she went, and on the next day she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, who kept the concubines: she came in to the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and she were called by name.
- Esther 6:6 חָפֵ֣ץ יַחְפֹּ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Qal impf 3ms So Haman came in. The king said to him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? Now Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?
- Esther 6:7 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Haman said to the king, For the man whom the king delights to honor,
- Esther 6:9 חָפֵ֣ץ חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Qal pf 3ms and let the clothing and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man therewith whom the king delights to honor, and cause him to ride on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.
- Esther 6:11 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Then took Haman the clothing and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.
Job 5 verses
- Job 9:3 יַ֭חְפֹּץ Qal impf 3ms If he is pleased to contend with him, He can't answer him one time in a thousand.
- Job 13:3 אֶחְפָּֽץ Qal impf 1cs "Surely I would speak to the Almighty. I desire to reason with God.
- Job 21:14 חָפָֽצְנוּ Qal pf 1cp They tell God, 'Depart from us, For we don't want to know about your ways.
- Job 33:32 חָפַ֥צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs If you have anything to say, answer me: Speak, for I desire to justify you.
- Job 40:17 יַחְפֹּ֣ץ Qal impf 3ms He moves his tail like a cedar: The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
Psalms 17 verses
- Psalms 18:19 חָ֥פֵֽץ Qal pf 3ms He brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
- Psalms 22:8 חָ֥פֵֽץ Qal pf 3ms "He trusts in Yahweh; Let him deliver him; Let him rescue him, since he delights in him."
- Psalms 37:23 יֶחְפָּֽץ Qal impf 3ms A man's goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
- Psalms 40:6 חָפַ֗צְתָּ Qal pf 2ms Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire. You have opened my ears: Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
- Psalms 40:8 חָפָ֑צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart."
- Psalms 41:11 חָפַ֣צְתָּ Qal pf 2ms By this I know that you delight in me, Because my enemy doesn't triumph over me.
- Psalms 51:6 חָפַ֣צְתָּ Qal pf 2ms Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
- Psalms 51:16 תַחְפֹּ֣ץ Qal impf 2ms For you don't delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.
- Psalms 51:19 תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ Qal impf 2ms Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
- Psalms 68:30 יֶחְפָּֽצוּ Qal impf 3mp Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples. Being humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations that delight in war.
- Psalms 73:25 חָפַ֥צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs Who do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth who I desire besides you.
- Psalms 109:17 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn't delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
- Psalms 112:1 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, Who delights greatly in his commandments.
- Psalms 115:3 חָפֵ֣ץ Qal pf 3ms But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
- Psalms 119:35 חָפָֽצְתִּי Qal pf 1cs Direct me in the path of your commandments, For I delight in them.
- Psalms 135:6 חָפֵ֥ץ Qal pf 3ms Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
- Psalms 147:10 יֶחְפָּ֑ץ Qal impf 3ms He doesn't delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
Proverbs 2 verses
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Song of Solomon 3 verses
- Song of Solomon 2:7 שֶׁ/תֶּחְפָּֽץ ptcl rel + Qal impf 3fs I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That you not stir up, nor awaken love, Until it so desires.
- Song of Solomon 3:5 שֶׁ/תֶּחְפָּֽץ ptcl rel + Qal impf 3fs I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That you not stir up, nor awaken love, Until it so desires.
- Song of Solomon 8:4 שֶׁ/תֶּחְפָּֽץ ptcl rel + Qal impf 3fs I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, That you not stir up, nor awaken love, Until it so desires. Friends
Isaiah 11 verses
- Isaiah 1:11 חָפָֽצְתִּי Qal pf 1cs "What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?," says Yahweh. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed animals. I don't delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs, Or of male goats.
- Isaiah 13:17 יַחְפְּצוּ Qal impf 3mp Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
- Isaiah 42:21 חָפֵ֖ץ Qal pf 3ms It pleased Yahweh, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable.
- Isaiah 53:10 חָפֵ֤ץ Qal pf 3ms Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Yahweh shall prosper in his hand.
- Isaiah 55:11 חָפַ֔צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
- Isaiah 56:4 חָפָ֑צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs For thus says Yahweh of the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant:
- Isaiah 58:2 יֶחְפָּצ֑וּ/ן יֶחְפָּצֽוּ/ן Qal impf 3mp + sfx n Qal impf 3mp + sfx n Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and didn't forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.
- Isaiah 62:4 חָפֵ֤ץ Qal pf 3ms You shall no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married.
- Isaiah 65:12 חָפַ֖צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I will destine you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but you did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn't delight.
- Isaiah 66:3 חָפֵֽצָה Qal pf 3fs He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog's neck; he who offers an offering, [as he who offers] pig's blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
- Isaiah 66:4 חָפַ֖צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn't delight.
Jeremiah 3 verses
- Jeremiah 6:10 יַחְפְּצוּ Qal impf 3mp To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can't listen: behold, the word of Yahweh is become to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
- Jeremiah 9:24 חָפַ֖צְתִּי Qal pf 1cs but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 42:22 חֲפַצְתֶּ֔ם Qal pf 2mp Now therefore know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place where you desire to go to sojourn there.
Ezekiel 3 verses
- Ezekiel 18:23 הֶ/חָפֹ֤ץ אֶחְפֹּץ֙ ptcl inter + Qal inf.abs Qal impf 1cs Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord Yahweh; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
- Ezekiel 18:32 אֶחְפֹּץ֙ Qal impf 1cs For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord Yahweh: therefore turn yourselves, and live.
- Ezekiel 33:11 אֶחְפֹּץ֙ Qal impf 1cs Tell them, As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn you, turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die, house of Israel?
Hosea 1 verse
Jonah 1 verse
Micah 1 verse
Malachi 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew verb חפץ centers on the idea of “to delight in.” Debuting at Genesis 34:19, it then recurs through the corpus. It appears 71 verses across 22 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its moderately common vocabulary. Alongside “to delight in” the lexicon also lists “take pleasure in”, “desire”, and “be pleased with” — part of its full sense range. It shares a root with חפץ and חפץ. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2654 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 71
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 71 distinct verses.
- 22 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 22 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #532
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 532 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 71 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 71 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 35 verses · 49%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 31 verses · 44%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 5 verses · 7%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Delighteth 8×, Delight 5×, Delighted 4×
- American Standard Version†: Delighteth 8×, Delight 5×, He delighteth 4×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Delight 9×, Desire 4×, Is delighted 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Delight 13×, Delights 10×, I desire 6×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2654 across 75† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 37 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2654 across 73† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 36 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H2654 across 73† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 27 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2654 across 90† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 30 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
12 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 12 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
חפץ I
Qal
- Pf. ח׳ Gn 34:19 + 28 times; f. חָפֵ֑צָה Is 66:3; 2 m. חָפַצְתָּ Dt 21:14 + 4 times; חָפָ֫צְנוּ Jb 21:14, etc., + 14 times Pf.; Impf. יַחְפֹּץ Dt 25:7 + 7 times; יֶחְפָּ֑ץ ψ 37:23; 147:10; pl. יַחְפְּצוּ Is 13:17; Je 6:10; יֶחְפָּ֑צוּ ψ 68:31; יֶחְפָּצוּ֑ן Is 58:2(×2) etc. + 9 times Impf.; Inf. abs. חָפֹץ Ez 18:23; on Pt. חָפֵץ = adj. verb., v. infr.;— e.g. Genesis 34:19
- 1. of men:
- a. take pleasure in, delight in, c. בְּ, a woman Gn 34:19 (J), Dt 21:14; Est 2:14; a man 1 S 18:22; 19:1 2 S 20:11; in matters and things 2 S 24:3; Is 13:17; 66:3; Je 6:10 ψ 109:17; 112:1; 119:35; Pr 18:2; Est 6:6, 7, 9(×2), 11; c. acc. ψ 68:31 Is 58:2; Ec 8:3; implic. obj. ψ 73:25. e.g. Genesis 34:19
- b. delight, desire, be pleased to do a thing, would do it Dt 25:7, 8 1 K 9:1; Est 6:6 Ru 3:13 ψ 40:9; Jb 9:3; 13:3; 21:14; 33:32; Is 58:2; Je 42:22. e.g. Deuteronomy 25:7
- c. abs. עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּ֑ץ until it please (of love) Ct 2:7; 3:5; 8:4. e.g. Song of Solomon 2:7
- 2. of God:
- a. delight in, have pleasure in, c. בְּ, persons Nu 14:8 (J), 2 S 15:26; 22:20 = ψ 18:20, 1 K 10:9 = 2 Ch 9:8, ψ 22:9; 41:12; Is 62:4; not in the strength of a horse ψ 147:10; in doing evil Mal 2:17; in the death of the sinner Ez 18:32; 33:11; but in mercy, justice, and righteousness Je 9:23; בחר באשׁר (לא) חפצתי Is 56:4; 65:12; 66:4; not with (acc.) the blood of bullocks Is 1:11; זבח(ים) ψ 40:7; 51:18, 21, or the death of the sinner Ex 18:23(×2); but with חסד Ho 6:6 Mi 7:18, אמת ψ 51:8; with the way of a man ψ 37:23; כל אשׁר חפץ ψ 115:3; 135:6 Pr 21:1; אשׁר חפץ Is 55:11; Jon 1:14. e.g. Numbers 14:8
- b. pleased to do a thing c. inf. Ju 13:23 1 S 2:25; Is 53:10. e.g. Judges 13:23
- c. with impf. subj. (Ges§ 142(3)c) י׳ חָפֵץ יגדיל תּורה Yahweh was pleased to magnify teaching Is 42:21.—On Jb 40:17 v. חָפַץ. e.g. Isaiah 42:21
חפץ II verb. delighting in, having pleasure in
- 1. of man, c. acc. ψ 34:13; 35:27 Mal 3:1; c. inf. Ne 1:11; abs. הֶחָפֵץ whosoever would 1 K 13:33; אם חפץ אתה if thou pleasest 1 K 21:6; נֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה willing soul 1 Ch 28:9; pl. cstr. before nouns abs. ψ 35:22; 40:15 = 70:3; דְּרוּשִׁים לְכָל־חֶפְצֵיהֶם studied of all who take pleasure in them ψ 111:2. e.g. Psalms 34:13
- 2. of God, לֹא אֵל־חָפֵץ רֶשַׁע אַתָּה thou art not a God taking pleasure in wickedness ψ 5:5. e.g. Psalms 5:5
חפץ III bend down (Arabic خَفَضَ lower, depress, as wings Qor 15
Qal
- Impf. יַחְפֹּץ זְנָכוֹ כְמוֹ־אֶרֶז Jb 40:17; he bendeth down (extendeth down stiffly) his tail like a cedar, v. Wetzst in De Job 526 Hi Hiob 299. e.g. Job 40:17
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. delight in (cf. Arabic حَفِظَ be mindful of, attentive to, keep, protect, Aramaic ܚܦܛ whence ܚܦܺܝܛ eager, zealous, Arabic حَفِيظَةٌ anger (excitement), أَحْفَظَ enrage (Aramaic and Arabic of excited attention, Heb. of delighted attention), Dl Pr 168 Nö ZMG 1886, 742; NH חֵפֶץ weakened to thing, v. De Ec. Gloss., Ph. in n.pr. חפצבעל);—
II. adj. verb. delighting in, having pleasure in;—ח׳ ψ 5:5 + 4 times; pl. חֲפֵצִים Mal 3:1 Ne 1:11; cstr. חֲפֵצֵי ψ 35:27 + 2 times; sf. חֶפְצֵיהֶם ψ 111:2; f. חֲפֵצָ֑ה 1 Ch 28:9;—
I. vb. bend down (Arabic خَفَضَ lower, depress, as wings Qor 15:88)—only
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
חָפַץ
- 1. to bend (v. Job XL, 17); חָפֵץ to be busy with, to be anxious, desire.—Pesik. Haḥod. p. 47ᵇ הוא ח׳ לגאול אתכם He is anxious to redeem you; ib. ח׳ בגאולתכם; Pesik. R. s. 15 ה׳ לגאולתכם; Cant. R. to II, 8; a. e.—[ e.g. Job 40:17
- 2. to hold in one’s hand, cmp. חָפַן; v. next w.]
חֵפֶץ
- preced.)
- 1. thing (held in hand), object. B. Mets. IV, 10 בכמה ח׳ זה how much is this worth? Cant. R. to I, 4 כל ח׳ טוב any good thing; a. fr.
- 2. concern, business; desire, desirable object. Ib.; Pesik. Sos, p. 147ᵃ אין לי ח׳ טוב ממך I have nothing more desirable than thyself. Koh. R. to V, 7 נעשה חֶפְצוֹ his desire was fulfilled. Num. R. s. 19 אל תחזירני מן חֶפְצִי וכ׳ do not turn me off from (refuse) my desire which &c.; a. fr.—Pl. חֲפָצִים. M. Kat. 9ᵇ (ref. to Prov. III, 15, a. VIII, 11) הא חֶפְצֵי שמים but heavenly affairs (religious deeds) are equal to it (the study of the Law). Y. Peah I, 15ᵈ bot. (ref. to Prov. l. c.) חפצים וכ׳ ‘desirable things’, that means jewels and pearls, ‘thy desirable things’, that means &c. Ib. חֲפָצֶיךָ וחֲפָצַי וכ׳ thy treasures and my treasures cannot compare to what I sent you; Gen. R. s. 35, end.—Sabb. 113ᵃ (ref. to Is. LVIII, 13) חֲפָצֶיךָ אסורין ח׳ שמים וכ׳ thy pursuits are forbidden (on the Sabbath), but heavenly affairs (consultation about public welfare, education &c.) are permitted; ib. 150ᵃ; a. fr. e.g. Proverbs 3:15
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 37 distinct written forms H2654 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| חָפֵ֥ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Esther 2:14 | 11 |
| חָפַ֖צְתִּי | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Deuteronomy 25:8 | 6 |
| חָפֵ֣ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Esther 6:6 | 5 |
| חָפֵ֖ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Genesis 34:19 | 4 |
| אֶחְפֹּץ֙ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Ezekiel 18:23 | 3 |
| חָ֥פֵֽץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | 2 Samuel 22:20 | 3 |
| חָפֵ֤ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | 1 Samuel 18:22 | 3 |
| חָפַ֣צְתָּ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Deuteronomy 21:14 | 3 |
| יַחְפֹּ֣ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 40:17 | 3 |
| שֶׁ/תֶּחְפָּֽץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular | Song of Solomon 2:7 | 3 |
| חָפַ֥צְתִּי | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Job 33:32 | 2 |
| חָפָ֑צְתִּי | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Isaiah 56:4 | 2 |
| חָפָֽצְתִּי | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Isaiah 1:11 | 2 |
| יַחְפְּצוּ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Isaiah 13:17 | 2 |
| אֶחְפָּֽץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Job 13:3 | 1 |
| הֶ/חָפֹ֤ץ | Verb, Qal, Infinitive Absolute | Ezekiel 18:23 | 1 |
| חֲפַצְתֶּ֔ם | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural | Jeremiah 42:22 | 1 |
| חָפֵ֔ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Malachi 2:17 | 1 |
| חָפֵ֧ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | 2 Samuel 20:11 | 1 |
| חָפֵ֨ץ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Judges 13:23 | 1 |
| חָפֵֽצָה | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular | Isaiah 66:3 | 1 |
| חָפַ֔צְתִּי | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Isaiah 55:11 | 1 |
| חָפַ֖צְתָּ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Jonah 1:14 | 1 |
| חָפַ֗צְתָּ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 40:6 | 1 |
| חָפָֽצְנוּ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Plural | Job 21:14 | 1 |
| יֶחְפָּ֑ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 147:10 | 1 |
| יֶחְפָּֽץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 37:23 | 1 |
| יֶחְפָּֽצוּ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Psalms 68:30 | 1 |
| יֶחְפָּצ֑וּ/ן | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Isaiah 58:2 | 1 |
| יֶחְפָּצֽוּ/ן | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Isaiah 58:2 | 1 |
| יַ֭חְפֹּץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 9:3 | 1 |
| יַחְפֹּ֖ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Ecclesiastes 8:3 | 1 |
| יַחְפֹּ֥ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Esther 6:6 | 1 |
| יַחְפֹּ֧ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Ruth 3:13 | 1 |
| יַחְפֹּץ֙ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Deuteronomy 25:7 | 1 |
| תַחְפֹּ֣ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 51:16 | 1 |
| תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 51:19 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2654, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 61 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 71 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 34:19
- Numbers 14:8
- Deuteronomy 21:14
- Judges 13:23
- Ruth 3:13
- 1 Samuel 2:25
- 2 Samuel 15:26
- 1 Kings 9:1
- 2 Chronicles 9:8
- Esther 2:14
- Job 9:3
- Psalms 37:23
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
