Hebrew noun (feminine) · H2420
חִידָה
chidahkhee-daw'
riddle
17 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: chîydâh
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H2420is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 9 of 39Old Testament books
- 16spellings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H2420
a puzzle, hence, a trick, conundrum, sententious maxim
The King James renders it: dark saying (sentence, speech), hard question, proverb, riddle.
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
chidah is rendered "riddle". It stands 17 times in the Hebrew text, across nine books.
- Eight of the uses stand in Judges, more than in any other book.
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Numbers 12:8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
- The Greek text spells it sixteen different ways.
The first use
I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
Numbers 12:8בְחִידֹ֔ת
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
What the word means
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- the riddle4
- a riddle2
- by difficult matters2
- riddle my2
- riddles2
- and parables their1
- by riddles1
- of intrigues1
- of the riddle1
- riddle your1
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.
All 17, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
16 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
- הַחִידָ֖ה2
- בְחִיד֜וֹת1
- בְּחִידֽוֹת׃1
- בְחִידֹ֔ת1
- הַ֣חִידָ֔ה1
- הַֽחִידָ֥ה1
- הַחִידָ֑ה1
- וְחִידֹתָֽם׃1
- חִידָ֑ה1
- חִידָ֖ה1
- חִ֝יד֗וֹת1
- חִיד֣וֹת1
and 4 more spellings in the ledger below.
The grammar of each form
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singular5HTd/Ncfsa
- noun · feminine plural3HNcfpa
- preposition + noun · feminine plural3HR/Ncfpa
- noun · feminine singular2HNcfsa
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singular2HNcfsc/Sp1bs
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine plural1HC/Ncfpc/Sp3mp
- noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular1HNcfsc/Sp2ms
Numbers
one use
I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
- בְחִידֹ֔תvechidotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: by riddles
Judges
eight uses
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
- חִידָ֑הchidahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a riddle
But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”
- חִידָתְךָ֖chidatekhanoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: riddle your
So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.” For three days they were unable to explain the riddle.
- הַחִידָ֖הhachidahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the riddle
So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
- הַ֣חִידָ֔הhachidahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the riddle
Then Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.” “Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”
- הַֽחִידָ֥הhachidahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the riddle
She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and finally on the seventh day, because she had pressed him so much, he told her the answer. And in turn she explained the riddle to her people.
- הַחִידָ֖הhachidahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: the riddle
Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”
- חִידָתִֽי׃chidatinoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: riddle my
Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
- הַחִידָ֑הhachidahthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: of the riddle
1 Kings
one use
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
- בְּחִידֽוֹת׃bechidotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: by difficult matters
2 Chronicles
one use
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.
- בְחִיד֜וֹתvechidotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: by difficult matters
Psalms
two uses
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
- חִידָתִֽי׃chidatinoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: riddle my
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
- חִ֝יד֗וֹתchidotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: riddles
Proverbs
one use
by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
- וְחִידֹתָֽם׃vechidotamconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: and parables their
Ezekiel
one use
“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
- חִידָ֖הchidahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a riddle
Daniel
one use
In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
- חִידֽוֹת׃chidotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: of intrigues
Habakkuk
one use
Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’
- חִיד֣וֹתchidotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: riddles
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.
