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# חִידָה

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H2420

**riddle** — used 17 times in the Hebrew Bible. Below: its meanings with their sources, MACULA's glosses, and 2 verses word for word and in JPS 1917.

## Meaning

### OpenScriptures lexical index

riddle [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2420/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

חִידָה: n.f. riddle, enigmatic, perplexing saying or question [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2420/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** n.f. riddle, enigmatic, perplexing saying or question;—abs. ח׳ Ju 14:12 + 6 times; sf. חִידָתִי Ju 14:18 ψ 49:5; חִידָֽתְךָ Ju 14:13; pl. abs. חִידוֹת 1 K 10:1 + 4 times; חִידֹת Nu 12:8; sf. חִידֹתָם Pr 1:6;— riddle = dark, obscure utterance Nu 12:8 (JE; opp. פֶּה־אֶל־פֶּה and מַרְאֶה); of something put indirectly and needing interpretation;—an allegory חוד ח׳ Ez 17:2 (‖ מְשֹׁל מָשָׁל); allegor. and fig. sayings Pr 1:6 (‖ מְלִיצָה מָשָׁל and דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים); enigmat. sentences and comparisons, declaring fate of Chaldeans Hb 2:6 (+ מְלִיצָה; ‖ מָשָׁל), perplexing moral problem ψ 49:5 (c. פָּתַח open, propound; ‖ מָשָׁל), a lesson taught indirectly ψ 78:2 (ח׳ מִנִּי קֶדֶם, c. הִבִּיעַ; ‖ מָשָׁל). riddle, enigma, to be guessed, in Ju 14: with vb. חוּד Ju 14:12, 13, 16 propound a riddle. with vb. הִגִּיד tell (give answer to) a riddle Ju 14:14, 15, 17, 19. with vb. מצא find out a riddle Ju 14:18. perplexing questions by which queen of Sheba put Sol. to the test (נִסָּה) 1 K 10:1 = 2 Ch 9:1. with הֵבִין skilled in double-dealing Dn 8:23 (Bev).

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 17 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (7 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (5 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: riddle (8); riddles (3); a riddle (2).

## In the verses

[Psalms 78:2](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.78.2/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.78.2/#tree)

אֶפְתְּחָ֣ה בְמָשָׁ֣ל פִּ֑י אַבִּ֥יעָה חִ֝יד֗וֹת מִנִּי־קֶֽדֶם׃

*Word for word:* I.will.open in a.parable mouth my I.will.pour.forth riddles from antiquity

*JPS 1917:* I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter dark sayings concerning days of old;

[Psalms 49:5](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.49.5/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.49.5/#tree)

אַטֶּ֣ה לְמָשָׁ֣ל אָזְנִ֑י אֶפְתַּ֥ח בְּ֝כִנּ֗וֹר חִידָתִֽי׃

*Word for word:* I.will.incline to a.proverb ear my I.will.open with a.harp riddle my

*JPS 1917:* I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2420.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2420/): every English meaning parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.

Sources. The words, their counts, glosses and the word-for-word renderings: MACULA Hebrew (the Westminster Leningrad Codex; Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0). Meanings: the OpenScriptures lexical index (CC BY 4.0), Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906 and Jastrow 1903 (public domain, via Sefaria); Targum Onkelos from Sefaria (public domain). Translation: JPS 1917 (public domain, from eBible.org).