חָגַג
𐤇𐤂𐤂
châgag
H2287 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To celebrate a festival or pilgrimage; specifically, to keep or observe a religious feast by participating in worship, ritual gatherings, or sacred processions. The verb denotes the act of formally celebrating festival occasions, often with ritual movement, singing, and communal rejoicing. In some contexts, it can convey the idea of circling, dancing, or movement associated with festival observance.
Semantic Range
to celebrate a pilgrimage festival, to hold or keep a sacred feast, to participate in a religious procession, to dance or move in festal celebration, to perform ritual observances associated with feasts
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root ח-ג-ג (חָגַג), related to notions of circling or making a pilgrimage. The root's core sense is 'to circle, move in a circle,' which is reflected in the ritual procession elements of festival celebration. The verb as used in the Hebrew Bible primarily refers to religious celebration rather than the root's base physical meaning.
Historical & Contextual Notes
חָגַג appears predominantly in connection with Israelite religious festivals, such as Passover (Pesach), the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and the Festival of Weeks (Shavuot) or Booths (Sukkot). It typically refers to formal communal observance rather than private celebration. The movement inherent in the root (circling, dancing, or pilgrimage) survives in certain liturgical practices. In poetic passages (e.g., Psalms), the term may refer more broadly to rejoicing or festal behavior. In contrast to זָבַח (to sacrifice) or עָשָׂה (to do/observe in a more general sense), חָגַג focuses on the participatory, communal aspect of sacred festival observance. In later Hebrew and Aramaic, related nouns (e.g., חַג) continue as the generic term for festivals. English translations often use 'celebrate a feast' or 'keep a festival,' which can be broader than the Hebrew's specifically ritual and processional nuance. The term does not, in biblical contexts, refer to secular or non-ritual celebration.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root (compare חָגָא, חוּג); properly, to move in acircle, i.e. (specifically) to march in asacred procession, to observe afestival; by implication, to be giddy; celebrate, dance, (keep, hold) a (solemn) feast (holiday), reel to and fro.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חגג (ḥ-g-g) — to circle, to move in a circle, to celebrate a festival
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2282 | חַג | in the pilgrimage festivals |
| H2283 | חָגָא | to whirling terror |
| H2291 | חַגִּי | the Festive-descendant |
| H2294 | חַגִּית | Festive Woman |
| H2328 | חוּג | pilgrimage festival of |
Word Forms
11 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2287-07 |
וְ/חַגֹּתֶ֥ם | vechagotem | HC/Vqq2mp |
and you shall celebrate | and you shall celebrate in pilgrimage | 3 |
H2287-04 |
תָּחֹ֥ג | tachog | HVqi2ms |
you shall celebrate | you celebrate a festival | 2 |
H2287-03 |
לָ/חֹ֖ג | lachog | HR/Vqc |
to keep | to celebrate a pilgrimage-festival | 2 |
H2287-05 |
תָּחֹ֥גּוּ | tachogu | HVqi2mp |
you shall celebrate | you (masc. pl.) will celebrate the pilgrimage-feast | 2 |
H2287-08 |
וְ/חֹ֣גְגִ֔ים | vechogegim | HC/Vqrmpa |
and celebrating | and festival-celebrating ones | 1 |
H2287-02 |
חוֹגֵֽג | chogeg | HVqrmsa |
celebrating | festival-celebrating one | 1 |
H2287-09 |
וְ/לָ/חֹ֖ג | velachog | HC/R/Vqc |
and to celebrate | and to celebrate a festival | 1 |
H2287-11 |
יָח֣וֹגּוּ | yachogu | HVqi3mp |
they reeled | they celebrate a festival | 1 |
H2287-06 |
תְּחָגֻּֽ/הוּ | techaguhu | HVqi2mp/Sp3ms |
you shall celebrate it | you (masculine plural) shall celebrate him in festival | 1 |
H2287-10 |
וְ/יָחֹ֥גּוּ | veyachogu | HC/Vqi3mp |
that they may hold a feast | and they will celebrate the pilgrimage-feast | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
16 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2287-10 |
Exodus 5:1 | וְ/יָחֹ֥גּוּ | veyachogu | HC/Vqi3mp |
that they may hold a feast | and they will celebrate the pilgrimage-feast |
H2287-07 |
Exodus 12:14 | וְ/חַגֹּתֶ֥ם | vechagotem | HC/Vqq2mp |
and you shall celebrate | and you shall celebrate in pilgrimage |
H2287-06 |
Exodus 12:14 | תְּחָגֻּֽ/הוּ | techaguhu | HVqi2mp/Sp3ms |
you shall celebrate it | you (masculine plural) shall celebrate him in festival |
H2287-04 |
Exodus 23:14 | תָּחֹ֥ג | tachog | HVqi2ms |
you shall celebrate | you celebrate a festival |
H2287-05 |
Leviticus 23:39 | תָּחֹ֥גּוּ | tachogu | HVqi2mp |
you shall celebrate | you (masc. pl.) will celebrate the pilgrimage-feast |
H2287-07 |
Leviticus 23:41 | וְ/חַגֹּתֶ֤ם | vechagotem | HC/Vqq2mp |
and you shall celebrate | and you shall celebrate in pilgrimage |
H2287-05 |
Leviticus 23:41 | תָּחֹ֥גּוּ | tachogu | HVqi2mp |
you shall celebrate | you (masc. pl.) will celebrate the pilgrimage-feast |
H2287-07 |
Numbers 29:12 | וְ/חַגֹּתֶ֥ם | vechagotem | HC/Vqq2mp |
and you shall celebrate | and you shall celebrate in pilgrimage |
H2287-04 |
Deuteronomy 16:15 | תָּחֹג֙ | tachog | HVqi2ms |
you shall celebrate | you celebrate a festival |
H2287-08 |
1 Samuel 30:16 | וְ/חֹ֣גְגִ֔ים | vechogegim | HC/Vqrmpa |
and celebrating | and festival-celebrating ones |