Hebrew noun (masculine) · H3724
כֹּפֶר
kopherko'-fer
ransom; pitch; henna; village
17 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: kôpher
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H3724is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 10 of 39Old Testament books
- 13spellings
- 4meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H3724
properly, a cover, i.e. (literally) a village (as covered in); (specifically) bitumen (as used for coating), and the henna plant (as used for dyeing); figuratively, a redemption-price
The King James renders it: bribe, camphire, pitch, ransom, satisfaction, sum of money, village.
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
kopher is rendered "ransom; pitch; henna; village". It stands 17 times in the Hebrew text, across ten books.
- Three of the uses stand in Proverbs, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists four meanings for it, beginning with "ransom".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 6:14Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.
- The Greek text spells it thirteen different ways.
The first use
Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Genesis 6:14בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
What the word means
The word carries four meanings: ransom, and pitch, and henna, and village.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| ransomStrong's entry A | Tagged aslisted under the table | WhereGenesis 6:14Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside… |
| pitchStrong's entry B | Tagged aslisted under the table | Wherein the ledger below |
| hennaStrong's entry C | Tagged aslisted under the table | Wherein the ledger below |
| villageStrong's entry D | Tagged aslisted under the table | Wherein the ledger below |
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- a ransom6
- ransom3
- ransom of2
- henna plants1
- ransom his1
- ransom your1
- the henna blossom1
- the village of1
- with the pitch1
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.
13 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
- כֹ֔פֶר3
- כֹּ֣פֶר3
- בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃1
- הַכֹּ֤פֶר׀1
- כֹ֙פֶר֙1
- כֹּ֖פֶר1
- כֹּ֧פֶר1
- כֹּ֝֗פֶר1
- כֹּ֑פֶר1
- כֹֽפֶר׃1
- כָּפְרֽוֹ׃1
- כְּפָרִ֖ים1
and 1 more spellings in the ledger below.
The grammar of each form
- noun · masculine singular9HNcmsa
- noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)3HNcmsc
- noun · masculine plural1HNcmpa
- noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular1HNcmsc/Sp2ms
- noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular1HNcmsc/Sp3ms
- preposition with the article + noun · masculine singular1HRd/Ncmsa
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singular1HTd/Ncmsa
Genesis
one use
Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.
- בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃bakoferpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: with the pitch
Exodus
two uses
If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
- כֹּ֖פֶרkofernoun · masculine singulartagged: a ransom
“When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered.
- כֹּ֧פֶרkofernoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: ransom of
Numbers
two uses
You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
- כֹ֙פֶר֙khofernoun · masculine singulartagged: a ransom
Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
- כֹ֔פֶרkhofernoun · masculine singulartagged: a ransom
1 Samuel
two uses
The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
- כֹּ֣פֶרkofernoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: the village of
Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
- כֹ֔פֶרkhofernoun · masculine singulartagged: a ransom
Job
two uses
to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’
- כֹֽפֶר׃khofernoun · masculine singulartagged: a ransom
Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray.
- כֹּ֝֗פֶרkofernoun · masculine singulartagged: ransom
Psalms
one use
No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
- כָּפְרֽוֹ׃kaferonoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: ransom his
Proverbs
three uses
He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.
- כֹּ֑פֶרkofernoun · masculine singulartagged: ransom
Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
- כֹּ֣פֶרkofernoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: ransom of
The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright.
- כֹּ֣פֶרkofernoun · masculine singulartagged: a ransom
Song of Solomon
two uses
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.
- הַכֹּ֤פֶר׀hakoferthe definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: the henna blossom
Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates with the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,
- כְּפָרִ֖יםkefarimnoun · masculine pluraltagged: henna plants
Isaiah
one use
For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
- כָפְרְךָ֙khaferekhanoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: ransom your
Amos
one use
For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
- כֹ֔פֶרkhofernoun · masculine singulartagged: ransom
Where it leads
Studies that open this word1
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.