חָבָא (H2244) — Hebrew Lexicon

חָבָא

𐤇𐤁𐤀

châbâʼ

H2244 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חבא to hide, to conceal oneself, to withdraw from sight

Definition

To hide or conceal oneself, to take cover, to withdraw from view, most often used reflexively of a person going into concealment or acting in secrecy. The primary lexical meaning involves intentional movement out of sight, generally for safety, avoidance, or privacy. In some cases, it expresses the idea of an individual hiding themselves in reaction to danger or threat, as well as the deliberate keeping of actions or intentions secret from others.

Semantic Range

to hide oneself, to take cover, to withdraw from view, to act in secret, to be concealed; less commonly, to do something secretly

Root / Etymology

The verb חָבָא is derived from the root ח-ב-א, which carries the sense of 'to hide, conceal.' It shares semantic space with the related root חָבַב (ḥābab, to love, cherish, be hidden/protected), but its primary lexical function is distinct and centers on physical or metaphorical concealment. The form is a standard G-stem (qal) verb, no prefixation or apparent denominative formation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חָבָא appears predominantly in narrative contexts, describing individuals actively withdrawing from sight, often as a reaction to fear or perceived threat (e.g., Saul hiding among the baggage, 1 Sam 10:22). The verb is almost always reflexive or middle in sense (one concealing oneself), which distinguishes it from other verbs meaning generally to 'hide' (such as סתר). Unlike סתר, which can denote both active and passive hiding (to hide something or be hidden), חָבָא typically refers specifically to self-concealment or voluntary retreat from visibility. The verb occurs almost exclusively in later narrative or poetic passages and is relatively rare overall, which may suggest a specialized or archaic nuance by the time of the exilic or post-exilic periods. In translation, English 'hide oneself' or 'conceal oneself' captures the sense, but the idiomatic use in Hebrew emphasizes personal agency and intentional action. Subsequent eras and translations sometimes render occurrences with terms associated with secrecy (e.g., do secretly), but the underlying Hebrew is more about physical or existential withdrawal from view than about secrecy purely in the abstract.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root (compare חָבַב); to secrete; [idiom] held, hide (self), do secretly.

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Root Family

חבא (ḥ-b-ʾ) — to hide, to conceal oneself, to withdraw from sight

Strong's	Lemma	SIBI-P1
H4224	מַחֲבֵא	the hiding-places

Word Forms

29 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	Occurrences
`H2244-10`	מִתְחַבֵּ֖א	mitechabe	`HVtrmsa`	hiding	one hiding himself	3
`H2244-13`	נֶחְבָּֽא	necheba	`HVNp3ms`	he hid himself	he hid himself	3
`H2244-17`	תֵּחָבֵ֑א	techave	`HVNi2ms`	you will be hidden	you will hide yourself	1
`H2244-05`	הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָה	hechebeatah	`HVhp3fs`	she hid	she concealed	1
`H2244-07`	הֶחְבִּיאָ֑/נִי	hechebiani	`HVhp3ms/Sp1cs`	he hid me	he caused me to hide	1
`H2244-18`	וָ/אַחְבִּא֩	vaachebi	`HC/Vhw1cs`	and I hid	and I hid	1
`H2244-28`	יִתְחַבָּ֑אוּ	yitechabau	`HVti3mp`	are hid / become hard	they hide themselves	1
`H2244-20`	וַ/תַּחְבִּ֖א	vatachebi	`HC/Vhw3fs`	and-she-hid	and she caused to hide	1
`H2244-21`	וַֽ/יַּחְבִּיאֵ֞/ם	vayachebiem	`HC/Vhw3ms/Sp3mp`	and hid them	and he concealed them	1
`H2244-11`	מִֽתְחַבְּאִ֑ים	mitechabeim	`HVtrmpa`	hiding themselves	the ones hiding themselves	1
`H2244-24`	וַ/יִּֽתְחַבְּא֣וּ	vayitechabeu	`HC/Vtw3mp`	hid themselves	they hid themselves	1
`H2244-01`	בְּ/הֵחָבֵֽא	behechave	`HR/VNc`	to-hide	in hiding oneself	1
`H2244-06`	הֶחְבִּ֨יאָה֙	hechebiah	`HVhp3fs`	she-hid	she caused to hide	1
`H2244-27`	יֵחָֽבְאוּ֙	yechaveu	`HVNi3mp`	they-hide-themselves	they will hide themselves	1
`H2244-12`	נַחְבֵּ֨אתָ֙	nachebeta	`HVNp2ms`	did you flee secretly	you hid yourself	1
`H2244-15`	נֶחְבְּאִ֥ים	nechebeim	`HVNrmpa`	hiding	those hiding themselves	1
`H2244-03`	הָחְבָּ֑אוּ	hachebau	`HVHp3cp`	they are hidden	they were concealed	1
`H2244-16`	נֶחְבְּאוּ	nechebeu	`HVNp3cp`	they had been hid	they hid themselves	1
`H2244-25`	וְ/נַחְבֵּֽאתָ	venachebeta	`HC/VNq2ms`	and hide	and you hid yourself	1
`H2244-14`	נֶחְבָּ֑אוּ	nechebau	`HVNp3cp`	was hushed	they hid themselves	1
`H2244-29`	יִתְחַבֵּ֣א	yitechabe	`HVti3ms`	he hides himself	he will hide himself	1
`H2244-23`	וַ/יִּתְחַבֵּ֨א	vayitechabe	`HC/Vtw3ms`	and they hid	he hid himself	1
`H2244-26`	וְ/נֶחְבָּ֑אוּ	venechebau	`HC/VNp3cp`	and hid themselves	they concealed themselves	1
`H2244-19`	וָ/אֵחָבֵֽא	vaechave	`HC/VNw1cs`	and I hid	and I hid myself	1
`H2244-09`	לְ/הֵחָבֵֽא	lehechave	`HR/VNc`	to hide	to hide oneself	1
`H2244-02`	חֻ֝בְּא֗וּ	chubeu	`HVPp3cp`	they hide themselves	they were concealed	1
`H2244-04`	הַ/מִּֽתְחַבְּאִ֤ים	hamitechabeim	`HTd/Vtrmpa`	who had been hiding	the self-hiding ones	1
`H2244-22`	וַ/יֵּחָבְא֥וּ	vayechaveu	`HC/VNw3mp`	and hid themselves	and they concealed themselves	1
`H2244-08`	הִתְחַבְּאוּ	hitechabeu	`HVtp3cp`	they had hidden themselves	they hid themselves	1

Occurrences in Scripture

33 total occurrences

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1
`H2244-23`	Genesis 3:8	וַ/יִּתְחַבֵּ֨א	vayitechabe	`HC/Vtw3ms`	and they hid	he hid himself
`H2244-19`	Genesis 3:10	וָ/אֵחָבֵֽא	vaechave	`HC/VNw1cs`	and I hid	and I hid myself
`H2244-12`	Genesis 31:27	נַחְבֵּ֨אתָ֙	nachebeta	`HVNp2ms`	did you flee secretly	you hid yourself
`H2244-05`	Joshua 6:17	הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָה	hechebeatah	`HVhp3fs`	she hid	she concealed
`H2244-06`	Joshua 6:25	הֶחְבִּ֨יאָה֙	hechebiah	`HVhp3fs`	she-hid	she caused to hide
`H2244-22`	Joshua 10:16	וַ/יֵּחָבְא֥וּ	vayechaveu	`HC/VNw3mp`	and hid themselves	and they concealed themselves
`H2244-15`	Joshua 10:17	נֶחְבְּאִ֥ים	nechebeim	`HVNrmpa`	hiding	those hiding themselves
`H2244-16`	Joshua 10:27	נֶחְבְּאוּ	nechebeu	`HVNp3cp`	they had been hid	they hid themselves
`H2244-13`	Judges 9:5	נֶחְבָּֽא	necheba	`HVNp3ms`	he hid himself	he hid himself
`H2244-13`	1 Samuel 10:22	נֶחְבָּ֖א	necheba	`HVNsmsa`	hidden	he hid himself
`H2244-24`	1 Samuel 13:6	וַ/יִּֽתְחַבְּא֣וּ	vayitechabeu	`HC/Vtw3mp`	hid themselves	they hid themselves
`H2244-08`	1 Samuel 14:11	הִתְחַבְּאוּ	hitechabeu	`HVtp3cp`	they had hidden themselves	they hid themselves
`H2244-04`	1 Samuel 14:22	הַ/מִּֽתְחַבְּאִ֤ים	hamitechabeim	`HTd/Vtrmpa`	who had been hiding	the self-hiding ones
`H2244-25`	1 Samuel 19:2	וְ/נַחְבֵּֽאתָ	venachebeta	`HC/VNq2ms`	and hide	and you hid yourself
`H2244-29`	1 Samuel 23:23	יִתְחַבֵּ֣א	yitechabe	`HVti3ms`	he hides himself	he will hide himself
`H2244-13`	2 Samuel 17:9	נֶחְבָּא֙	necheba	`HVNsmsa`	is hiding	he hid himself
`H2244-21`	1 Kings 18:4	וַֽ/יַּחְבִּיאֵ֞/ם	vayachebiem	`HC/Vhw3ms/Sp3mp`	and hid them	and he concealed them
`H2244-18`	1 Kings 18:13	וָ/אַחְבִּא֩	vaachebi	`HC/Vhw1cs`	and I hid	and I hid
`H2244-20`	2 Kings 6:29	וַ/תַּחְבִּ֖א	vatachebi	`HC/Vhw3fs`	and-she-hid	and she caused to hide
`H2244-10`	2 Kings 11:3	מִתְחַבֵּ֖א	mitechabe	`HVtrmsa`	hiding	one hiding himself
`H2244-03`	Isaiah 42:22	הָחְבָּ֑אוּ	hachebau	`HVHp3cp`	they are hidden	they were concealed
`H2244-07`	Isaiah 49:2	הֶחְבִּיאָ֑/נִי	hechebiani	`HVhp3ms/Sp1cs`	he hid me	he caused me to hide
`H2244-27`	Amos 9:3	יֵחָֽבְאוּ֙	yechaveu	`HVNi3mp`	they-hide-themselves	they will hide themselves
`H2244-17`	Job 5:21	תֵּחָבֵ֑א	techave	`HVNi2ms`	you will be hidden	you will hide yourself
`H2244-02`	Job 24:4	חֻ֝בְּא֗וּ	chubeu	`HVPp3cp`	they hide themselves	they were concealed
`H2244-26`	Job 29:8	וְ/נֶחְבָּ֑אוּ	venechebau	`HC/VNp3cp`	and hid themselves	they concealed themselves
`H2244-14`	Job 29:10	נֶחְבָּ֑אוּ	nechebau	`HVNp3cp`	was hushed	they hid themselves
`H2244-28`	Job 38:30	יִתְחַבָּ֑אוּ	yitechabau	`HVti3mp`	are hid / become hard	they hide themselves
`H2244-01`	Daniel 10:7	בְּ/הֵחָבֵֽא	behechave	`HR/VNc`	to-hide	in hiding oneself
`H2244-11`	1 Chronicles 21:20	מִֽתְחַבְּאִ֑ים	mitechabeim	`HVtrmpa`	hiding themselves	the ones hiding themselves
`H2244-09`	2 Chronicles 18:24	לְ/הֵחָבֵֽא	lehechave	`HR/VNc`	to hide	to hide oneself
`H2244-10`	2 Chronicles 22:9	מִתְחַבֵּ֣א	mitechabe	`HVtrmsa`	was hiding	one hiding himself
`H2244-10`	2 Chronicles 22:12	מִתְחַבֵּ֖א	mitechabe	`HVtrmsa`	hiding	one hiding himself

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