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חָפֵר

𐤇𐤐𐤓

châphêr

H2659 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חפר to be ashamed, to be disgraced, to blush (from shame or exposure)

Definition

To experience shame, embarrassment, or disgrace, especially as a result of failure, public humiliation, or the exposure of guilt. In context, often refers to the inward emotion of being ashamed or the outward display of that emotion (such as blushing or being confounded). Can also denote being humiliated or brought to shame by others, or experiencing disappointment due to unmet expectations.

Semantic Range

to be ashamed, to feel disgrace or embarrassment, to be humiliated, to be disappointed, to be confounded, to blush (from shame or exposure), to be brought to public shame or reproach

Root / Etymology

Root חפר (ḥ-p-r), which in other contexts generally covers concepts 'to dig, search out, probe'. The use of חָפֵר (châphêr) with the sense 'to be ashamed' is likely a derived, figurative semantic development from the idea of uncovering or exposure (as by digging), thus exposing something to public view and resulting in shame or embarrassment. The precise pathway from root to this meaning is debated, and some lexicographers consider it a homograph of חפר ('to dig').

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, חָפֵר appears primarily in poetic and wisdom texts, often parallel with verbs denoting shame or defeat (e.g., בוש bôsh, כלם kalahm). The nuance is typically stronger than simple embarrassment: it can refer to being humiliated or feeling profound disgrace, especially in the context of military defeat, social exposure, or frustrated hopes. While the root consonants are the same as the verb meaning 'to dig,' the context and grammatical forms differentiate the meanings, and biblical usage gives no clear evidence that 'to blush' in the sense of facial reddening is a primary or separate meaning in biblical Hebrew. Later translation traditions sometimes rendered this as 'to be ashamed/confounded,' which captures only part of the semantic range. English translations such as 'be ashamed' or 'be confounded' may fail to reflect the full emotional and social dimensions implied in the original contexts. The usage remains relatively stable throughout the biblical period but becomes rare in post-biblical Hebrew.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root (perhaps rather the same as חָפַר through the idea of detection); to blush; figuratively, to be ashamed, disappointed; causatively, to shame, reproach; be ashamed, be confounded, be brought to confusion (unto shame), come (be put to) shame, bring reproach.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חפר (ḥ-p-r) — to be ashamed, to be disgraced, to blush from exposure

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1662 גַּת־הַחֵפֶר Digging-one
H2658 חָפַר he dug
H2660 חֵפֶר Digging-One
H2661 חֲפֹר to dig
H2662 חֶפְרִי the Chepherite

Word Forms

12 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2659-10 וְ/יַחְפְּר֑וּ veyacheperu HC/Vqi3mp and let them be confounded and they will be ashamed 5
H2659-07 וְ/חָֽפְרָה֙ vechaferah HC/Vqq3fs and humiliated and she was ashamed 2
H2659-01 חָפְרָ֖ה chaferah HVqp3fs shall be confounded she was ashamed 1
H2659-04 תַחְפִּ֑ירִי tachepiri HVhi2fs you will be disgraced you will put to shame 1
H2659-11 וְ/יַחְפִּֽיר veyachepir HC/Vhi3ms and shames and he will bring to shame 1
H2659-06 וַ/יֶּחְפָּֽרוּ vayecheparu HC/Vqw3mp and were disappointed and they were ashamed 1
H2659-09 וְ/תַ֨חְפְּר֔וּ vetacheperu HC/Vqi2mp and-you-will-be-ashamed and you will be ashamed 1
H2659-12 יֶחְפָּֽרוּ yecheparu HVqj3mp were ashamed let them be ashamed 1
H2659-03 הֶחְפִּ֥יר hechepir HVhp3ms is ashamed he put to shame 1
H2659-08 וְ/חָֽפְרוּ֙ vechaferu HC/Vqq3cp and-they-will-be-confounded and they were ashamed 1

Occurrences in Scripture

17 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2659-09 Isaiah 1:29 וְ/תַ֨חְפְּר֔וּ vetacheperu HC/Vqi2mp and-you-will-be-ashamed and you will be ashamed
H2659-07 Isaiah 24:23 וְ/חָֽפְרָה֙ vechaferah HC/Vqq3fs and will be confounded and she was ashamed
H2659-03 Isaiah 33:9 הֶחְפִּ֥יר hechepir HVhp3ms is ashamed he put to shame
H2659-04 Isaiah 54:4 תַחְפִּ֑ירִי tachepiri HVhi2fs you will be disgraced you will put to shame
H2659-07 Jeremiah 15:9 וְ/חָפֵ֑רָה vechaferah HC/Vqp3fs and humiliated and she was ashamed
H2659-01 Jeremiah 50:12 חָפְרָ֖ה chaferah HVqp3fs shall be confounded she was ashamed
H2659-08 Micah 3:7 וְ/חָֽפְרוּ֙ vechaferu HC/Vqq3cp and-they-will-be-confounded and they were ashamed
H2659-12 Psalms 34:6 יֶחְפָּֽרוּ yecheparu HVqj3mp were ashamed let them be ashamed
H2659-10 Psalms 35:4 וְ/יַחְפְּר֑וּ veyacheperu HC/Vqi3mp and be ashamed and they will be ashamed
H2659-10 Psalms 35:26 וְ/יַחְפְּר֨וּ veyacheperu HC/Vqi3mp and be confounded and they will be ashamed
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