יָחֵף
𐤉𐤇𐤐
yâchêph
H3182 adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
Describes being barefoot, without sandals or other footwear. In biblical contexts, it refers specifically to the state of having one's feet uncovered, often for emphasis in situations of mourning, humiliation, servitude, captivity, or as a sign of poverty, shame, or submission. The term is concrete, denoting physical absence of footwear rather than a metaphorical condition.
Semantic Range
barefoot, without sandals, unsandalled, exposed feet, sign of humiliation or mourning, associated with servitude or poverty
Root / Etymology
Root/Etymology: Root יחף, not attested elsewhere in biblical Hebrew; root meaning is 'to be bare' or 'to strip off (footwear)'. The word itself could derive from an unused root with the basic sense of removing or being without sandals, but this root is not found in known verbal forms in the Hebrew Bible. The form יָחֵף is a stative adjective meaning 'barefoot'.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Historical & Contextual Notes: יָחֵף appears in contexts indicating humility, deprivation, or forced exposure, such as in accounts of mourning (e.g., 2 Samuel 15:30), as a prophetic sign (Isaiah 20:2–4, where being barefoot and naked signifies impending captivity and shame for Egypt and Cush), and as symbolic of poverty or social disgrace. While most English translations render it simply as 'barefoot', the cultural meaning in the ancient Near Eastern context was significant: being barefoot was often associated with servitude, mourning, or disgrace, rather than voluntary comfort. In legal or ritual texts, removing footwear could signal social status or participation in certain rites (see also Deuteronomy 25:9–10 for symbolic removal of a sandal, though יָחֵף itself is not used there).
Translation Consistency
Most natural and common English equivalent for yâchêph’s concrete meaning of having the feet uncovered. "Barefoot" appears across the P2 renderings and captures physical lack of footwear and its cultural connotations (mourning, humiliation, servitude) more clearly than rarer alternatives like "unshod".
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from an unused root meaning to take off the shoes; unsandalled; barefoot, being unshod.
Bantu Hebrew
| Language | Bantu Word | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyu | gũcapa | to walk barefoot | |
| Swahili | chapa | barefoot (archaic, as a verb, 'to walk barefoot') |
Root Family
יחף (yâchêph) — to strip bare, to be without (footwear)
Word Forms
3 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3182-02 |
וְ/יָחֵֽף | veyachef | HC/Aamsa |
and barefoot | and barefoot | and barefoot | 3 |
H3182-01 |
מִ/יָּחֵ֔ף | miyachef | HR/Aamsa |
from being unshod | barefoot | from being barefoot | 1 |
H3182-03 |
יָחֵ֑ף | yachef | HAamsa |
barefoot | barefoot | barefoot | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
5 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3182-03 |
2 Samuel 15:30 | יָחֵ֑ף | yachef | HAamsa |
barefoot | barefoot | barefoot |
H3182-02 |
Isaiah 20:2 | וְ/יָחֵֽף | veyachef | HC/Aamsa |
and-barefoot | and barefoot | and barefoot |
H3182-02 |
Isaiah 20:3 | וְ/יָחֵ֑ף | veyachef | HC/Aamsa |
and barefoot | and barefoot | and barefoot |
H3182-02 |
Isaiah 20:4 | וְ/יָחֵ֑ף | veyachef | HC/Aamsa |
and barefoot | and barefoot | and barefoot |
H3182-01 |
Jeremiah 2:25 | מִ/יָּחֵ֔ף | miyachef | HR/Aamsa |
from being unshod | barefoot | from being barefoot |