כָּסַף
to long for
also: yearn for, long after 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
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘for the work of thy hands thou wouldest long’
Form
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- 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”).
Person
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H3700 appears in the Book of Job — 1 distinct verse. 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.
Job
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.
“to long for” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb כסף (kâçaph). The Hebrew Bible uses it only 5 verses. It concentrates in Psalms, which alone accounts for 40% of its uses. First canonically at Genesis 31:30, it enters the text early. Different stems carry different senses — BDB groups them under 2 stems, among them Qal and Niphal. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3700 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 →
- 5
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 5 distinct verses.
- 4 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 4 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #3,040
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 3,040 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 5 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 5 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 3 verses · 60%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1 verse · 20%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1 verse · 20%
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).
- King James Version: Desired 1×, Is greedy 1×, Longedst 1×
- American Standard Version: Hath no shame 1×, Is greedy 1×, Longedst 1×
- Berean Standard Bible: Greedy 1×, Longs 1×, You long 1×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Desired 1×, Greatly 1×, He longs 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3700 across 6 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3700 across 6 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3700 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3700 across 7 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
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 2 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.
Qal
- for the work of thy hands thou wouldest long; like a lion that longeth to rend.
Niphal
- . thou didst long sorely for thy father’s house
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
[ כָּסַף ] vb. long (for)
— 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.
כָּסַף
- (b. h.) to peel, whiten (cmp. חָסַף).—Part. pass. כָּסוּף, pl. כְּסוּפִים bright. Sifré Deut. 13 וותיקים כ׳ distinguished (of position), bright of intellect; ib. Num. 92 וכסופים.
- 1. to grow pale, fade, wither. Pes. III, 5 (expl. שיאור) כל שהִכְסִיפוּ פניו כאדם וכ׳ a dough the surface of which becomes pale and wrinkled, like (the sight of) a man whose hair (שַׂעַר) stands up from fright. Nidd. 47ᵃ משיַכְסִיף ראש וכ׳ when the centre of the oblate portion of the breast begins to be wrinkled; Tosef. ib. VI, 4 משיִכָּסֵף (Nif.). Sabb. 34ᵇ ה׳ התחתון when the lower horizon becomes pale (is no longer red); Y. Ber. I, 2ᵇ bot.—Pes. 39ᵃ פניו מַכְסִיפִין the leaves look faded (and curled); a. e.
- 2. to deteriorate, fall in value, opp. השביח (cmp. חָסַר). Arakh. 30ᵃ וה׳ ועמד על מנה and fell until it was worth only one Manah. Keth. 80ᵇ שמא תַכְסִיף the soil may deteriorate (through neglect); a. e.
- 3. to put to shame; to frighten, to alarm. Ex. R. s. 35 (play on כֶּסֶף, I Chr. XXIX, 4) שהיה מַכְסִיף כל הזהבים it alarmed all gold-workers (emptying their shops); Cant. R. to III, 10; Y. Yoma IV, 41ᵈ top שהיה מ׳ בעד וכ׳ spread alarm among all the shops of &c. e.g. 1 Chronicles 29:4
- to grow pale &c., v. supra.
כְּסַף I
- , to feel ashamed, frightened. Targ. Y. Num. XII, 14 (h. text הכלם); a. e.—Arakh. 16ᵇ דלִיכְסוֹף זרעיה וכ׳ that the seed of Rab should be put to shame through me. Taan. 22ᵃ וכְסִיפָא להו מילתא וכ׳ Ms. M. 2 a. Rashi (Ms. M. 1 only וכסיפא להו, ed. ואִכְּסִיפוּ Ithpe.) and the gentlemen (you) felt abashed to tell us; a. fr.—[Targ. Ps. XLI, 7 יכסף some ed., read: יכנף, v. כְּנַף I.]
- , Af. אַכְסֵיף
- 1. to frighten; to put to shame. Targ. Ps. XLIV, 10; a. fr.—Kidd. 81ᵃ כַּסִּיפְתִּינָן (כַּסַּפְ׳) thou didst frighten us (by a false alarm). Ḥag. 5ᵃ וכַסַּפְתֵּיה and thou didst put him to shame; Koh. R. end וכַסִּיפְתֵּיה. Sabb. 3ᵇ דאי לאו … כספתיה וכ׳ for if he were not a great man, thou mightst have put him to shame, for he might have given thee an inappropriate reply. Hor. 13ᵇ מַכְסְפִיתוּ לי Ms. M. (ed. כסיפיתנן, corr. כַּסִּיפְתּוּנָן) you might have put me to shame; a. e.
- 2. to reduce in value, to cause deterioration. Keth. 104ᵇ מְכַסְּפֵי (or מַכְסְפֵי) they (the heirs) will neglect it (instead of improving).—[
- 3. to feel ashamed. Targ. Ps. LXXIV, 21 מַכְסִיף (prob. to be read: מַכְסַף or מְכַסַּף, part. pass.).]
- to be made pale, to be frightened, to be put to shame. Targ. Job VI, 20; a. e.—Kidd. l. c. מוטב תִּיכַּסְּפוּ … ולא תיכספו מיני וכ׳ it is better that you of the house of Amram be frightened through me in this world, than that you should be ashamed of me (as a sinner) in the world to come. B. Bath. 111ᵃ; Ab. Zar. 36ᵃ איכ׳ he felt alarmed. Taan. 25ᵃ אִיכַּסְּפָא ועיילא וכ׳ (missing in Ms. M.) she felt abashed and went &c.; a. fr.
כֶּסֶף
- preced. wds.) silver; (sub. מעה) a silver piece, M’ah (one sixth of a Denar, v. Zuckerm. Jüd. Münz. p. 15; p. 33, note 203); in gen. money, value. Kidd. I, 1 בכ׳ by (handing to her) an object of value. Yeb. 63ᵇ שמזונותיו תלויין בכַסְפּוֹ whose livelihood depends on his money (a money-lender). Shebu. VI, 1 הטענה שתי כ׳ the claim must amount to no less than two M’ah. Tosef. Keth. XIII (XII), 3 כ׳ בבל the Babylonian silver standard; כ׳ א"י the Palestinean &c. Ib. כ׳ שדיברה … זו היא כ׳ צורי זה ירושלמי wherever the Torah speaks of Kesef (as fines), it must be paid according to the Tyrian standard … that is the Jerusalem kesef (eight times the provincial kesef כ׳ מדינה, v. Zuckerm. l. c.); a. v. fr.—Pl. כְּסָפִים. B. Mets. 42ᵃ; Pes. 31ᵇ כ׳ אין להם שמירה וכ׳ coins given in trust are not duly guarded unless they are buried in the ground. Y. Yoma IV, beg. 41ᵇ בשלשה … ובכ׳ by three methods was the land of Israel divided, by lots, by the Urim and Tummim, and according to the value of property; a. e.
כְּסַף II
- Targ. Gen. XX, 16. Ib. XLIV, 8; a. fr.—Y. Kidd. I, 58ᵈ יַקִּירָא. Y. Bicc. III, 65ᵈ top מתמני בכ׳ appointed to office for money. B. Kam. 87ᵃ אפחתה מכַּסְפָּהּ Ms. M. he lessened her value; a. fr.—Pl. כַּסְפַּיָּיא. Targ. Gen. XLII, 25; 35.—Y. Bicc. l. c. לא בכ׳ אתמני was it not through gifts of money that he was appointed?
כַּסָּף
- (denom. of כֶּסֶף) silver-smith.—Pl. כַּסָּפִים, כַּסָּפִין. Succ. 51ᵇ. Cant. R. to V, 5.
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 6 distinct written forms H3700 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| יִכְס֣וֹף | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Psalms 17:12 | 1 |
| נִכְסְפָ֬ה | Verb, Niphal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular | Psalms 84:2 | 1 |
| נִכְסַ֖פְתָּה | Verb, Niphal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Genesis 31:30 | 1 |
| נִכְסָֽף | Verb, Niphal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular | Zephaniah 2:1 | 1 |
| נִכְסֹ֥ף | Verb, Niphal, Infinitive Absolute | Genesis 31:30 | 1 |
| תִכְסֹֽף | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Job 14:15 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3700, 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 5 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 5 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
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.
