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# חָפַר

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H2658

**dig** — used 22 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

dig [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2658/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

חָפַר: vb. dig, search for [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2658/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** vb. dig, search for (Arabic حَفَرَ id.; Aramaic חֲפַר, ܚܦܰܪ, id.; NH חֵפֶר act of digging)— Pf. ח׳ Jb 39:29; וְחָפַרְתָּ֫ Jb 11:18; וְחָפַרְתָּ֫ה Dt 23:14; חָפַרְתִּי Gn 21:30; חָֽפְרוּ Gn 26:18 + 2 times; חָפָ֑רוּ Gn 26:32; חֲפָרוּהָ Nu 21:18; Impf. וַיַּחְפֹּר Gn 26:18, 22; וַיַּחְפִּרֵהוּ ψ 7:16; וָאֶחְפֹּר Je 13:7; יַחְפְּדוּ Jb 39:21 (but read יַחְפֹּר so 𝔊 𝔙 𝔖 Di) Dt 1:22; וַיַּחְפְּרוּ Gn 26:19 + 2 times; וַיַּחְפְּרֻהוּ Jb 3:21; Inf. cstr. לַחְפֹּר Jos 2:2, 3 + Is 2:20 (cf. infr.); Pt. חֹפֵר Ec 10:8;— dig: a well, c. acc. בְּאֵר Gn 21:30 (E), 26:15, 18(×2), 19, 21, 22, 32 (J), Nu 21:18 (E); cf. Ex 7:24 (E); dig (a hole, implied as obj.) Dt 23:14; a pit, with hostile purpose, as snare or trap, fig. of malicious plan, c. acc. בּוֹר ψ 7:16 (‖ כָּרָה); so c. acc. גומץ Ec 10:8, cf. ח׳ לְנַפְשִׁי \[שַׁחַת\] ψ 35:7; of horse, dig, i.e. paw the ground, יַחְפֹּר בָּעֵמֶק Jb 39:21 (so read, v. supr.) he paweth in the valley (cf. Arabic حَافِرٌ hoof). dig for something hidden, c. acc. Jb 3:21 (fig. of longing for death), Je 13:7 (no obj. expr.) search, search out, explore, c. acc. הָאָרֶץ Jos 2:2, 3 (JE), Dt 1:22; of eagle, search for food, c. acc. ח׳ אֹכֶל Jb 39:29, with especially reference to keen vision (‖ מֵרָחוֹק עֵינָיו יַבִּיטוּ); so = search or look carefully about before going to rest Jb 11:18 (no obj.).—לַחְפֹּר Is 2:20 v. חֲפַרְפָּרָה infr.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 21 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (5 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (6 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: they dug (3); I dug (2); he dug (2).

## In the verses

[Job 11:18](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.11.18/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.11.18/#tree)

וּֽ֭בָטַחְתָּ כִּי־יֵ֣שׁ תִּקְוָ֑ה וְ֝חָפַרְתָּ֗ לָבֶ֥טַח תִּשְׁכָּֽב׃

*Word for word:* and you.will.be.secure (dm) there.\[is\] hope and you.will.be.well.protected to security you.will.lie.down

*JPS 1917:* And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt look about thee, and shalt take thy rest in safety.

[Job 39:29](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.39.29/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.39.29/#tree)

מִשָּׁ֥ם חָֽפַר־אֹ֑כֶל לְ֝מֵרָח֗וֹק עֵינָ֥יו יַבִּֽיטוּ׃

*Word for word:* from there it.spies.out food (to) from afar eyes its they.look

*JPS 1917:* From thence she spieth out the prey; her eyes behold it afar off.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2658.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2658/): 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).