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פֶּסַח

𐤐𐤎𐤇

peçach

H6453 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The festival known as Passover, commemorating the Israelite exodus from Egypt and their deliverance from destruction, as well as the sacrificial lamb or goat (pesach sacrifice) associated with that event. The term refers primarily to the ritual observance involving the slaughter and consumption of a specific animal at a set time. In later periods, it also denotes the entire festival period.

Semantic Range

Passover sacrifice, Passover festival, ritual meal, commemoration of exodus, the animal offered for Passover, the period of the festival

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root פָּסַח (pasach), meaning 'to pass over,' 'to spare,' or 'to protect.' The nominal form פֶּסַח (pesach) refers to the rite or sacrifice associated with divine protection or passing over. Although the verbal root denotes the action of skipping or sparing, the noun specifically designates a ritual event and its associated offering.

Historical & Contextual Notes

פֶּסַח originally referred to both the sacrificial animal and the ritual itself instituted in Exodus 12, marking the deliverance of the Israelites in Egypt when destruction 'passed over' their houses. In the pre-monarchic and monarchic periods, pesach was centered on a family or, later, national sacrifice. In exilic and post-exilic periods, סמך broadened to encompass the festival week. The term became a central marker of Israelite and later Judahite identity. While the English term 'Passover' attempts to capture the idea of 'passing over,' it often obscures the specific reference to the sacrificial aspect; later translations and traditions (such as 'Easter' or 'Jewish Passover') may not fully encapsulate the biblical observance, which focused on both family and communal participation. פֶּסַח is distinct from חַג הַמַּצּוֹת ('Feast of Unleavened Bread') even though the two are closely linked in biblical texts.

Translation Consistency

primary "Passover" 47 occurrences

פֶּסַח primarily names the festival and its ritual animal; the natural, commonly used English equivalent is the proper noun “Passover.” Using this single base word covers the festival, the sacrificial meal/animal (e.g., “Passover lamb” or “Passover sacrifice”), and the festival period while remaining natural and immediately recognizable.

Alternatives (2 occurrences):
"like the passover-rite" (2x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from פָּסַח; a pretermission, i.e. exemption; used only techically of the Jewish Passover (the festival or the victim); passover (offering).

Bantu Hebrew

Language Bantu Word Transliteration Meaning
Bemba Pusuka To be delivered from danger. Passover was deliverance, salvation from danger.
Kikuyu gũtũnyuka to escape, to get free
Kongo vunuka to escape, to be delivered
Nguni Phunyuka Escaping, slipping away, or getting away from a situation
Shona phunyuka to escape, elude, or get away

See all 9 languages →

Root Family

פסח (Pasecha) — to pass over, to spare, to leap

Root פסח to pass over, to spare, to leap
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H6454 פָּסֵחַ Limping-One
H6455 פִּסֵּחַ limping one

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H6453-03 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite 19
H6453-02 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite 10
H6453-07 פֶּ֔סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice 9
H6453-01 פֶ֤סַח fesach HNcmsa the Passover Passover rite Passover rite 5
H6453-06 לַ/פְּסָחִים֒ lapesachim HRd/Ncmpa for the Passover offerings to the Passover sacrifices for the Passover sacrifices 3
H6453-05 כַּ/פֶּ֣סַח kapesach HRd/Ncmsa like the Passover like the Passover-rite like the Passover-rite 2
H6453-04 הַ/פְּסָחִ֗ים hapesachim HTd/Ncmpa of the Passovers the Passover sacrifices the Passover sacrifices 1

Occurrences in Scripture

49 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H6453-07 Exodus 12:11 פֶּ֥סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-02 Exodus 12:21 הַ/פָּֽסַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 Exodus 12:27 פֶּ֨סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-02 Exodus 12:43 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa of the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-01 Exodus 12:48 פֶסַח֮ fesach HNcmsa the Passover Passover rite Passover rite
H6453-02 Exodus 34:25 הַ/פָּֽסַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa of the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 Leviticus 23:5 פֶּ֖סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-02 Numbers 9:2 הַ/פָּ֖סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-02 Numbers 9:4 הַ/פָּֽסַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Numbers 9:5 הַ/פֶּ֡סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Numbers 9:6 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-01 Numbers 9:10 פֶ֖סַח fesach HNcmsa the Passover Passover rite Passover rite
H6453-03 Numbers 9:12 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa of the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Numbers 9:13 הַ/פֶּ֔סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-01 Numbers 9:14 פֶ֨סַח֙ fesach HNcmsa the Passover Passover rite Passover rite
H6453-03 Numbers 9:14 הַ/פֶּ֛סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa of the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 Numbers 28:16 פֶּ֖סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-03 Numbers 33:3 הַ/פֶּ֗סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa of the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 Deuteronomy 16:1 פֶּ֔סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-07 Deuteronomy 16:2 פֶּ֛סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-02 Deuteronomy 16:5 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Deuteronomy 16:6 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Joshua 5:10 הַ/פֶּ֡סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Joshua 5:11 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa of the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-01 2 Kings 23:21 פֶ֔סַח fesach HNcmsa Passover Passover rite Passover rite
H6453-05 2 Kings 23:22 כַּ/פֶּ֣סַח kapesach HRd/Ncmsa like the Passover like the Passover-rite like the Passover-rite
H6453-03 2 Kings 23:23 הַ/פֶּ֧סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-02 Ezekiel 45:21 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-02 Ezra 6:19 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 Ezra 6:20 הַ/פֶּ֨סַח֙ hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 2 Chronicles 30:1 פֶּ֔סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 30:2 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 2 Chronicles 30:5 פֶּ֛סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 30:15 הַ/פֶּ֔סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover sacrifice
H6453-04 2 Chronicles 30:17 הַ/פְּסָחִ֗ים hapesachim HTd/Ncmpa of the Passovers the Passover sacrifices the Passover sacrifices
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 30:18 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-07 2 Chronicles 35:1 פֶּ֖סַח pesach HNcmsa Passover Passover sacrifice Passover sacrifice
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 35:1 הַ/פֶּ֔סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover sacrifice
H6453-02 2 Chronicles 35:6 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover sacrifice
H6453-06 2 Chronicles 35:7 לַ/פְּסָחִים֒ lapesachim HRd/Ncmpa for the Passover offerings to the Passover sacrifices for the Passover sacrifices
H6453-06 2 Chronicles 35:8 לַ/פְּסָחִ֗ים lapesachim HRd/Ncmpa for the Passover offerings to the Passover sacrifices for the Passover sacrifices
H6453-06 2 Chronicles 35:9 לַ/פְּסָחִים֙ lapesachim HRd/Ncmpa for the Passover offerings to the Passover sacrifices for the Passover sacrifices
H6453-02 2 Chronicles 35:11 הַ/פָּ֑סַח hapasach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover sacrifice
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 35:13 הַ/פֶּ֛סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 35:16 הַ/פֶּ֔סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 35:17 הַ/פֶּ֖סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
H6453-01 2 Chronicles 35:18 פֶ֤סַח fesach HNcmsa Passover Passover rite Passover rite
H6453-05 2 Chronicles 35:18 כַּ/פֶּ֣סַח kapesach HRd/Ncmsa like-the-Passover like the Passover-rite like the Passover-rite
H6453-03 2 Chronicles 35:19 הַ/פֶּ֥סַח hapesach HTd/Ncmsa the Passover the Passover rite the Passover rite
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