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Hebrew verb · H2244

חָבָא

chabakhaw-baw'

to hide

33 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: châbâʼ

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H2244is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 13 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 32
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H2244

to secrete

The King James renders it: [idiom] held, hide (self), do secretly.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

chaba is rendered "to hide". It stands 33 times in the Hebrew text, across thirteen books.

  • Six of the uses stand in 1 Samuel, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 3:8Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
  • The Greek text spells it thirty-two different ways.

The first use

Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:8וַיִּתְחַבֵּ֨א

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

The word stands in thirteen of the 39 Old Testament books.

The other 26 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • and they hid themselves3
  • hiding himself3
  • she hid2
  • and he hid himself1
  • and he hid them1
  • and I hid1
  • and I hid myself1
  • and she had hidden1
  • and you will hide yourself1
  • did you hide yourself1
  • he hid himself1
  • he hid me1

and 16 more, 33 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

חָבָהchabahto hideUses5

The words it stands beside

All 33, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

32 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • מִתְחַבֵּ֖א2
  • בְּהֵחָבֵֽא׃1
  • הָחְבָּ֑אוּ1
  • הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָה1
  • הֶחְבִּ֙יאָה֙1
  • הֶחְבִּיאָ֑נִי1
  • הַמִּֽתְחַבְּאִ֤ים1
  • הִתְחַבְּאוּ־1
  • וָאַחְבִּא֩1
  • וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃1
  • וַיֵּחָבְא֥וּ1
  • וַֽיַּחְבִּיאֵ֞ם1

and 20 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • verb · reflexive (hithpael), participle · masculine singular3HVtrmsa
  • preposition + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), infinitive (“to…”)2HR/VNcc
  • verb · causative (hiphil), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person feminine singular2HVhp3fs
  • verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common plural2HVNp3cp
  • verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · masculine singular2HVNrmsa
  • Hc/Vhw1cs1Hc/Vhw1cs
  • Hc/Vhw3fs1Hc/Vhw3fs
  • Hc/Vhw3ms/Sp3mp1Hc/Vhw3ms/Sp3mp
  • Hc/VNq2ms1Hc/VNq2ms
  • Hc/VNq3cp1Hc/VNq3cp
  • Hc/VNw1cs1Hc/VNw1cs
  • Hc/VNw3mp1Hc/VNw3mp

Genesis

three uses
  • Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

    Genesis 3:8

    • וַיִּתְחַבֵּ֨אvaiyitchabe'Hc/Vtw3mstagged: and he hid himself
  • “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

    Genesis 3:10

    • וָאֵחָבֵֽא׃vaechave'Hc/VNw1cstagged: and I hid myself
  • Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.

    Genesis 31:27

    • נַחְבֵּ֙אתָ֙nachbetaverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: did you hide yourself

Joshua

five uses
  • Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent.

    Joshua 6:17

    • הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָהhechbeatahverb · causative (hiphil), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: she hid
  • And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day.

    Joshua 6:25

    • הֶחְבִּ֙יאָה֙hechbiahverb · causative (hiphil), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: she hid
  • Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah.

    Joshua 10:16

    • וַיֵּחָבְא֥וּvaiyechaveuHc/VNw3mptagged: and they hid themselves
  • And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”

    Joshua 10:17

    • נֶחְבְּאִ֥יםnechbeimverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · masculine pluraltagged: hidden
  • At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.

    Joshua 10:27

    • נֶחְבְּאוּ־nechbeu-verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they had hidden themselves

Judges

one use
  • He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.

    Judges 9:5

    • נֶחְבָּֽא׃ סnechba'verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he hid himself

1 Samuel

six uses
  • So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

    1 Samuel 10:22

    • נֶחְבָּ֖אnechba'verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · masculine singulartagged: hiding himself
  • Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

    1 Samuel 13:6

    • וַיִּֽתְחַבְּא֣וּvaiyitchabeuHc/Vtw3mptagged: and they hid themselves
  • So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”

    1 Samuel 14:11

    • הִתְחַבְּאוּ־hitchabeu-verb · reflexive (hithpael), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they have hidden themselves
  • When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle.

    1 Samuel 14:22

    • הַמִּֽתְחַבְּאִ֤יםhamitchabeimthe definite article (“the”) + verb · reflexive (hithpael), participle · masculine pluraltagged: who had hidden themselves
  • so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.

    1 Samuel 19:2

    • וְנַחְבֵּֽאתָ׃venachbetaHc/VNq2mstagged: and you will hide yourself
  • Observe and find out all the places where he hides. Then come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will search him out among all the clans of Judah.”

    1 Samuel 23:23

    • יִתְחַבֵּ֣אyitchabe'verb · reflexive (hithpael), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he hides himself

2 Samuel

one use
  • Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’

    2 Samuel 17:9

    • נֶחְבָּא֙nechba'verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · masculine singulartagged: hidden himself

1 Kings

two uses
  • for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)

    1 Kings 18:4

    • וַֽיַּחְבִּיאֵ֞םvaiyachbiemHc/Vhw3ms/Sp3mptagged: and he hid them
  • Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.

    1 Kings 18:13

    • וָאַחְבִּא֩vaachbi'Hc/Vhw1cstagged: and I hid

2 Kings

two uses
  • So we boiled my son and ate him, and the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him.’ But she had hidden her son.”

    2 Kings 6:29

    • וַתַּחְבִּ֖אvatachbi'Hc/Vhw3fstagged: and she had hidden
  • And Joash remained hidden with his nurse in the house of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

    2 Kings 11:3

    • מִתְחַבֵּ֖אmitchabe'verb · reflexive (hithpael), participle · masculine singulartagged: hiding himself

1 Chronicles

one use
  • Now Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves.

    1 Chronicles 21:20

    • מִֽתְחַבְּאִ֑יםmitchabeimverb · reflexive (hithpael), participle · masculine pluraltagged: hiding themselves

2 Chronicles

three uses
  • Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”

    2 Chronicles 18:24

    • לְהֵחָבֵֽא׃lehechave'preposition + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to hide yourself
  • Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah, and Jehu’s soldiers captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. So Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So no one was left from the house of Ahaziah with the strength to rule the kingdom.

    2 Chronicles 22:9

    • מִתְחַבֵּ֣אmitchabe'verb · reflexive (hithpael), participle · masculine singulartagged: hiding himself
  • And Joash remained hidden with them in the house of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

    2 Chronicles 22:12

    • מִתְחַבֵּ֖אmitchabe'verb · reflexive (hithpael), participle · masculine singulartagged: hiding

Job

five uses
  • You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.

    Job 5:21

    • תֵּחָבֵ֑אtechave'verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: you will be hidden
  • They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

    Job 24:4

    • חֻ֝בְּא֗וּchubeuverb · intensive passive (pual), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they are made to hide themselves
  • the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.

    Job 29:8

    • וְנֶחְבָּ֑אוּvenechbauHc/VNq3cptagged: and they hid themselves
  • The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

    Job 29:10

    • נֶחְבָּ֑אוּnechbauverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they were hidden
  • when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?

    Job 38:30

    • יִתְחַבָּ֑אוּyitchabauverb · reflexive (hithpael), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: they become hard

Isaiah

two uses
  • But this is a people plundered and looted, all trapped in caves or imprisoned in dungeons. They have become plunder with no one to rescue them, and loot with no one to say, “Send them back!”

    Isaiah 42:22

    • הָחְבָּ֑אוּhachebauverb · causative passive (hophal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they are hidden
  • He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

    Isaiah 49:2

    • הֶחְבִּיאָ֑נִיhechbianiverb · causative (hiphil), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singular + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: he hid me

Daniel

one use
  • Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.

    Daniel 10:7

    • בְּהֵחָבֵֽא׃behechave'preposition + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: in hiding themselves

Amos

one use
  • Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.

    Amos 9:3

    • יֵחָֽבְאוּ֙yechaveuverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: they will hide themselves

The letters

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →