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חׇפְשִׁי

𐤇𐤐𐤔𐤉

chophshîy

H2670 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root חפשׁ to search, seek

Definition

Free, not bound by legal, social, or economic obligations; used particularly for individuals who are no longer enslaved or subject to compulsory service. The term describes both personal status (e.g., a person released from servitude) and broader conditions (e.g., exemption from forced labor, levies, or obligations), encompassing autonomy and voluntary association or service.

Semantic Range

free (from slavery), emancipated, exempt (from taxes or labor), at liberty, not under constraint or compulsion

Root / Etymology

חָפְשִׁי derives from the root חָפַשׁ (ḥ-p-sh), whose basic sense is 'to search, seek.' However, in nominal usage (חָפְשִׁי), the connection is metaphorical: the 'searched out' one, perhaps indicating someone who has been examined and then released, i.e., granted freedom. This nominal usage only appears in post-root development and is not clearly traceable in Semitic cognates. The root meaning 'to search' is distinct from the nominal meaning 'free.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, חָפְשִׁי refers primarily to persons (most notably former slaves, e.g., Exod 21:2-5; Jer 34:9-11) who have been manumitted and now enjoy legal, social, and economic autonomy. The term can also refer to exemption from labor (Isa 58:6) or mandatory obligations (e.g., tax, corvée). Unlike the root בן ('ben,' son) or עֶבֶד ('eved,' servant/slave), חָפְשִׁי is a legal status term and rarely found outside contexts of personal manumission or legal exemption. In post-exilic and later Hebrew, the concept was extended to mean 'free citizen,' in contrast to subject peoples or forced laborers. English translations often render חָפְשִׁי as 'free' or 'at liberty,' but sometimes fail to capture the nuanced difference between release from servitude and wider exemptions from social obligations. The English term 'liberty' reflects later interpretative tradition but the biblical Hebrew sense is more legalistic and less abstract than modern political usage. The term should not be anachronistically equated with later philosophical or political understandings of 'freedom.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from חָפַשׁ; exempt (from bondage, tax or care); free, liberty.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חפשׁ (ḥ-p-š) — to search, seek

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2668 חֻפְשָׁה state of emancipation
H2669 חׇפְשׁוּת the freedom

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2670-01 חָפְשִֽׁי chafeshi HAamsa free free man 9
H2670-02 חָפְשִׁ֔ים chafeshim HAampa free free men 5
H2670-03 לַֽ/חָפְשִׁ֖י lachafeshi HRd/Aamsa free to a free man 3

Occurrences in Scripture

17 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2670-03 Exodus 21:2 לַֽ/חָפְשִׁ֖י lachafeshi HRd/Aamsa free to a free man
H2670-01 Exodus 21:5 חָפְשִֽׁי chafeshi HAamsa free free man
H2670-03 Exodus 21:26 לַֽ/חָפְשִׁ֥י lachafeshi HRd/Aamsa free to a free man
H2670-03 Exodus 21:27 לַֽ/חָפְשִׁ֥י lachafeshi HRd/Aamsa free to a free man
H2670-01 Deuteronomy 15:12 חָפְשִׁ֖י chafeshi HAamsa free free man
H2670-01 Deuteronomy 15:13 חָפְשִׁ֖י chafeshi HAamsa free free man
H2670-01 Deuteronomy 15:18 חָפְשִׁי֙ chafeshi HAamsa free free man
H2670-01 1 Samuel 17:25 חָפְשִׁ֖י chafeshi HAamsa free free man
H2670-02 Isaiah 58:6 חָפְשִׁ֔ים chafeshim HAampa free free men
H2670-02 Jeremiah 34:9 חָפְשִׁ֑ים chafeshim HAampa free free men
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