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# כִּפֶּר

Biblical Hebrew · Strong's H3722

**cover over** — used 102 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

cover over [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3722/#m1)

### Brown–Driver–Briggs 1906

כִּפֶּר: vb.Pi denom. Pu [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3722/#m2)

**The whole BDB entry:** vb.Pi etc. denom. cover over (fig.), pacify, make propitiation;— Pf. כִּפֶּר Ex 30:10 + 31 times; 2 ms. sf. כִּפַּרְתָּ֑הוּ Ez 43:20; 3 mpl. יְכַפְּרוּ Ez 43:26; 2 mpl. כִּפַּרְתֶּם Ez 45:20; Impf. יְכַפֵּר Ex 30:10 + 10 times; יְכַפֶּר־ Lv 7:7 Nu 5:8; sf. יְכַפְּרֶנָּה Pr 16:14; 1 s. אֲכַפֵּר 2 S 21:3; אֲכַפְּרָה Gn 32:21 Ex 32:30, etc.; Imv. כַּפֵּר Dt 21:8 + 4 times; Inf. כַּפֵּר Ex 30:15 + 28 times; sfs. כַּפְּרִי Ez 16:63; כַּפֶּרְךָ Ex 29:36; כַּפְּרָהּ Is 47:11;— cover over, pacify, propitiate; אֲכַפְּרָה פָנָיו בַּמִּנְחָה Gn 32:21 let me cover over his face by the present (so that he does not see the offence, i.e. pacify him; E; RSOTJC, 2d ed., 381 ‘wipe clean the face,’ blackened by displeasure, as the Arabs says ‘whiten the face’); וְתִפֹּל עָלַיִךְ הֹוָה לֹא תוּכְלִי כַּפְּרָהּ Is 47:11 and disaster will fall upon thee, thou wilt not be able to propitiate it (by payment of a כֹּפֶר, see Is 43:3); pacify the wrath of a king Pr 16:14 (e.g. by a gift). cover over, atone for sin, without sacrifice: man as subj., בַּמָּה אֲכַפֵּר 2 S 21:3, with what shall I cover over (viz. the bloodguiltiness of the house of Saul, says David. The answer is by a death penalty of seven sons of the guilty house); בְּעַד חטאתכם Ex 32:30 on behalf of your sins (JE; Moses, by intercession); c. על of persons Nu 17:11, 12 (P; by incense), 25:13 (P when Phinehas slays the ringleaders). with God as subj., c. acc. pers., cover, i.e. treat as covered, view propitiously, Yahweh’s land Dt 32:43 (song); לְ pers. Dt 21:8 (bloodguiltiness flows away in the stream), Ez 16:63; בְּעַד of person 2 Ch 30:18; c. acc. of the sin ψ 65:4; 78:38, prob. also Dn 9:24 (‖ ח֯תם חטאת; עַל of sin, ψ 79:9 Je 18:23 (‖ מחה). It is conceived that God in his sovereignty may himself provide an atonement or covering for men and their sins which could not be provided by men. cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites, in the codes of H, P, and Ez: abs. וכ׳ הַכֹּהֵן and the priest shall make atonement Lv 16:32; c. acc. of sacred places (by the great sin-offering of the day of atonement), Lv 16:20, 33(×2); also Ez 43:20, 26; 45:20 (by the blood of the sin-offering ‖ חִטֵּא, טִהַר). usually c. עַל (1) of things, e.g. of the altar to which the blood of the sin-offering was applied Ex 29:36, 37; 30:10; Lv 8:15 (‖ קִדַּשׁ), 16:18; and specifically the horns of the altar Ex 30:10 the holy place of the tabernacle Lv 16:16 (by the great sin-offering, because of (מִן) the uncleannesses of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions); for the leprous house by ceremony of purification Lv 14:53 (‖ טִהַר); for the goat לעזאזל Lv 16:10 (which was presented before Yahweh to consecrate him for the bearing away of the sins of the people). (2) of persons, על־נפשׁתיכם, for your persons, yourselves, e.g. by the payment of atonement-money כֶּסֶף הַכִּפֻּרִים at the census Ex 30:15, 16; by the קרבן of the spoils Nu 31:50; by the blood upon the altar Lv 17:11; in the ritual עֲלֵיהֶם, עָלָיו by ministry of priest through the blood of the sin-offering Lv 4:20, 31; 8:34; 10:17; 12:7, 8; 14:19, 31; 16:30, 33; 23:28; Nu 8:12, 21; 15:25, 28(×2); 28:22, 30; 29:5; 2 Ch 29:24 Ne 10:34; of the trespass-offering Lv 5:16, 18, 26; 7:7; 14:21; 19:22; Nu 5:8; the whole burnt-offering Lv 1:4; 14:20; 16:24; by the oil used in purifying a leper Lv 14:18, 29; by the תרומה Ez 45:15; by the priestly ministry in general 1 Ch 6:34; by the substitution of the Levites for the firstborn Nu 8:19. Underlying all these offerings there is the conception that the persons offering are covered by that which is regarded as sufficient and satisfactory by Yahweh. (The purpose of the covering is stated Lv 16:30 יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי י׳ תִּטְחָ֑רוּ = shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you, from all your sins shall ye be clean before Yahweh, and Nu 8:21 וַיְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם לְטַהֲרָם and (Aaron) made atonement for them to cleanse them.) the need of the atonement is expressed by מִן: others understand מִן as = away from; cf. Di Lv 4:26, RiSühne 50 f.. מֵחטאתו because of his sin Lv 4:26; 5:6, 10; 16:34; מטמאתו Lv 14:19; 16:16; מזוב Lv 15:15, 30; מֵאֲשֶׁר חָטָא Nu 6:11; also עַל, עַל־חַטָּאתוֹ on account of his sin Lv 4:35; 5:13; 19:22; על־שׁגגתוֹ Lv 5:18. c. בְּ instr. בְּאֵיל Lv 5:16; 19:22; Nu 5:8; with a trespass-offering Lv 7:7; כִּי־הַדָּם הוּא בַּנֶּפֶשׁ יְכַפֵּר Lv 17:11 for it is the blood with the living being that covers over (H, see נפשׁ 3 (a); RV by reason of the life after De Di Kn Bähr Kau and most moderns; AV follows 𝔊 𝔙 𝔗, so Ges Ew§ 282 a. Anm. 1: ‘for the soul’); c. בְּ loc. בַּקֹּדֶשׁ Lv 6:23; 16:17, 27 c. בַּעַד pers., on behalf of Lv 9:7(×2); 16:6, 11, 17, 24 (by Aaron), Ez 45:17 (by the prince). Pf. כֻּפַּר Ex 29:33 Is 28:18 (but read תֻּפַר,—√ I. פרר,—so 𝔗 Hu We Che SS al. v. BrMP 209); Impf. יְכֻפַּר Nu 35:33; + 3 times; 3 fs. תְּכֻפָּ֑ר Is 6:7 be covered over, atoned for. apart from the ritual, חטאתך תכפר Is 6:7 thy sin shall be covered over (‖ וְסָר עֲוֹנֶךָ; by the touch of the live coal from the altar); אִם־יְכֻפַּר הֶעָוֹן הַזֶּה לָכֶם Is 22:14 surely this iniquity shall not be covered over for you; c. בְּ instr. בזאת יכפר עון Is 27:9 by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be covered over (‖ הסר חטאתו; namely by the destruction of idolatrous objects); בחסד ואמת יכפר עון Pr 16:6 by mercy and fidelity iniquity is covered over. c. לְ for whom, לארץ לא יכפר לדם Nu 35:33 for the land atonement cannot be made, in view of the blood shed in it, except by the blood of the shedder of blood; in the ritual of P, c. בְּ instr. אֲשֶׁר כֻּפַּר בָּהֶם Ex 29:33 wherewith atonement was made (ram of consecration). Impf. יִתְכַּפֵּר 1 S 3:14; c. בְּ instr. אִם־יִתְכַּפֵּר עֲוֹן בֵּית־עֵלִי בְּזֶבַח וּבְמִנְחָה the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be covered by peace-offering or minchah (in other words there was no atonement for it; cf. Pu Is. 22:14). (Ges§ 55, 9 Pf. וְנִכַּפֵּר לָהֶם הַדָּם Dt 21:8 and the blood shall be covered for them.

Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 93 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses (14 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 2 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (10 candidates)

## Glosses

MACULA's English glosses of the word in the text, with how often each is used: he will make atonement (36); make atonement (31); it will be atoned for (5).

## In the verses

[Numbers 28:30](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/NUM.28.30/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/NUM.28.30/#tree)

שְׂעִ֥יר עִזִּ֖ים אֶחָ֑ד לְכַפֵּ֖ר עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

*Word for word:* a.male.goat of.goats one to make.atonement on you

*JPS 1917:* one he-goat, to make atonement for you.

[Numbers 28:22](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/NUM.28.22/) · [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/NUM.28.22/#tree)

וּשְׂעִ֥יר חַטָּ֖את אֶחָ֑ד לְכַפֵּ֖ר עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

*Word for word:* and a.male.goat of.a.sin.offering one to make.atonement on you

*JPS 1917:* and one he-goat for a sin-offering, to make atonement for you.

## On Mova

- [This word in the Tanakh dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/3722.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of its meanings](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3722/): 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).